carlowpeople highest, most frequent readership in carlow
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April 19, 2022
carlowpeople highest, most frequent readership in carlow
.ie .ie t: 059 914 1877
November 19, 2019 April 19, 2022
FREE
12,000 copies
Pharma giant MSD to create 100 new jobs There is good news on the job front for Carlow after it was revealed that pharmaceutical giant MSD, which is part of the US group Merck, is planning to build a manufacturing facility in Co Carlow which could create more than 100 long-term jobs. Last month, MSD submitted a planning application to Carlow County Council to develop the facility, with a decision due in May this year. The application states that MSD is looking to build a sterile manufacturing facility at the site of its existing biologics
formulation and filling facility. It is believed that if the planning application is successful, MSD could create more than 100 long-term jobs and more than 600 construction jobs at the site. Planning documents filed alongside the application show MSD plans for the development to have a total gross floor area of over 1.9 acres. It will include a new twostorey building, incorporating production suites, utilities, a warehouse, workshops, laboratories, offices, and plant
rooms, according to the Sunday Independent. To date, MSD has invested approximately €4bn in its Irish operations. Its annual turnover ranks it as one of Ireland’s top 20 companies. Last month, MSD Ireland anounced it is looking for 70 voluntary redundancies at its Cork plant. The site, which was established more than 35 years ago, currently employs around 700 people full time. MSD Ireland is one of the
country’s leading healthcare companies, having first established here over 50 years ago. According to the company’s website, it currently has 2,800 employees across six sites in Ballydine, Co Tipperary, Brinny, Co. Cork, Carlow, Dunboyne, Co Meath and Dublin. The company’s sites here manufacture approximately half of MSD’s top 20 products, which are distributed to up to 60 countries around the world.
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Ryan Tubridy, judge of National Broadband Ireland’s Imagine the Future competition, with Lauren Cleary (11) and Andrew Connolly (11), who are taking part in the competition. Pic: Brian Arthur
04| news in brief Carlow adults ‘lack protein in diet’ SIXTY-EIGHT per cent of County Carlow adults believe they either do not eat enough protein, or are unaware if they are consuming the required amount in their diet, a new national survey has found. The research, conducted among 1,000 people over the age of 18 by iReach, paid particular attention to protein in adult diets. After middle age, adults lose 3% of their muscle strength every year, on average, limiting their ability to perform many routine activities.
April 19, 2022
Carlow students in the frame for top art contest
Call-out to local portrait artists THE National Gallery of Ireland seeks applications from Carlow artists, children and young people for this year’s Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize. for Virgin Media Television. The closing date for entries to the Zurich Portrait Prize and Zurich Young Portrait Prize is 22 June 2022. Exhibitions featuring shortlisted works in both competitions run at the National Gallery of Ireland between 26 November 2022 and 2 April 2023. Find out more at www.nationalgallery.ie.
Following in the footsteps of some of the leading Irish artists who competed during the early part of their careers – renowned figures such as Graham Knuttel, Robert Ballagh, Dorothy Cross and Bernadette Madden – young artists who submitted entries to this year’s Texaco Children’s Art Competition, including all those from Co Wexford, are currently
having their works evaluated as the judging process gets underway. Pictured above is adjudicator, Eoin Butler, holding two of the entries received from Co Carlow this year – a work entitled ‘Still Life’ (left) by a pupil from Brownshill Art Studio, and another entitled ‘Magic Carpet’, by a pupil from Creative Processes Art School.
Looking for grinds? School Is Easy is here to help you Advertorial As we battle to cope with the restrictions imposed by Covid-19 regulations, home-based learning has taken on a new importance. Many parents who want their children to enjoy the benefits of one-to-one tuition are, nevertheless, nervous about having a stranger in their home or sending young students to a tuition centre. School is Easy (SIE) can solve that problem. We can offer one-to-one or group grinds for Primary, Junior Certificate or Leaving Certificate school students at a time that works for you and your family. We offer the following subjects, from Primary to Secondary to Specialist Third Level courses: Irish/Gaelige, English, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, French, German, Spanish, History, Geography, Business Studies, Economics, Design and Technology, Music, and Physical Education . Going to university and dreading the college exams? No problem, we have skilled and experienced tutors to help every student.
We provide safe, online tutorials that are recorded so that your child can future reference any topic covered. When you work with SIE, you will get nothing but the best. All of our tutors have formal education, classroom experience and a passion for teaching. For senior subjects we use college and university instructors with a Masters degree. The choice is yours when it comes to the style of tutoring and our range of subjects is broad. We don’t use generic tutoring lessons. We customise each programme based on the student’s needs, goals and capacity and we take care to match students with the right tutors. We are easy to work with. We screen tutors for you. We identify learning deficiencies and we get results . Our certified tutors will provide an initial assessment, if you need it, to ascertain your child’s requirements. Call us today on 01 556 3553 to book a consulation. We will be delighted to match you with a tutor.
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Winners in the seven age categories, including one exclusively for artworks by young artists with special needs, will be announced in late May. Currently in its 68th year, the Texaco Children’s Art Competition is the longest-running art sponsorship in Ireland. First held in 1955, it is hosted by Valero Energy, which markets fuel under the Texaco brand.
We’re near the top for Covid-19
Waterford, Carlow, Kerry, Limerick and Tipperary had the highest rate of incidence of Covid-19 last week. Figures show Waterford topped the league table with an incidence of 661.9 per 100,000 followed by Carlow with 586.7 per 100,000. The figures from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre are based on free HSE PCR tests and do not include people who found they were positive after a home antigen test. The counties with the lowest incidence are Monaghan, Donegal, Mayo, Cavan, Meath, Leitrim, Roscommon, Louth and Dublin. It comes against an improving Covid-19 picture with the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 falling to 933, although 58 of them are in intensive care. There were 2,098 PCRconfirmed cases yesterday with 2,630 people registering a positive result through home antigen tests. Figures show the number of Covid-19 outbreaks also fell to 133 last week – a drop of 38 compared to the previous week.
Our house prices rise 3.8% in just three months
The price of the average second-hand three-bed semi in County Carlow has risen by 3.8% to €202,500 in the last three months, according to a national survey by Real Estate Alliance. And the survey has shown that 40% of sales in the county are to first-time buyers, with 38% of all purchasers coming from outside the area. Across the county, the average time taken to sell is three weeks, the Q1 REA Average House Price Index has shown. Prices in Carlow town rose by €5,000 to €210,000, an increase of 2.4%, with 20% of sales to first time buyers and 25% of buyers from outside the county. “Demand continues to outstrip supply, and we are seeing multiple interested parties and offers on practically every property going to market,” said Harry Sothern of REA Sothern, Carlow town. Tullow prices increased by 5.4% this quarter to €195,000, with 60% of sales to first time buyers and 50% of purchasers from outside the county. “There is very little stock in the market place at present, with a good level of enquiries in the first quarter of 2022,” said Matthew Conry, REA Dawson, Tullow.
“We saw strong prices achieved for properties presented in good condition, and expect more houses to come on the market in the coming months.” The REA Average House Price Survey concentrates on the actual sale price of Ireland’s typical stock home, the threebed semi, giving an accurate picture of the second-hand property market in towns and cities countrywide. Nationally, house prices are increasing at an average of almost €100 a day as the market shows no signs of slowing up in the early months of 2022, the survey found. Average house prices rose by 3.16% nationally in the first three months of year, matching the 1% a month increases experienced during the Celtic Tiger days. The price of a three-bedroomed semi-detached house across the country rose by almost €9,000 over the past three months to €278,500 – representing an annual increase of over 14%. Commuter counties saw house prices increase 4.47% – which is a significant jump of €13,000 to €305,000 – and double the rate of the increases seen in the capital.
THE Institute of Technology Carlow won four categories and the Robocode competition at the Irish Games Fleadh 2022, hosted by the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), Thurles Campus. The all-island gaming competition returned after a one-year hiatus, with organisers opting to run a virtual competition while focusing on a social issue. This year competitors were
asked to design games around the theme Positive Action to Support Climate Change. The IT Carlow Games Fleadh 2022 wins included: • Highly Commended Programming implementation for the game Vacuum Master. • Best in Game Play; Best in Game Narrative and addressing Climate Change; and Best Game built using a Programming Language for Climate Chaos.
IT Carlow ahead of Fleadh game
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April 19, 2022
opinion&comment
It’s the little things that make our hospitals look sick
B
ig changes have been announced for Ireland’s hospital system. That worries me, for I remember other announcements of big changes. They always cost a lot of money; they rarely made things better and they sometimes made them worse. The new plan for Regional Health Areas sounds disturbingly similar to the plan for Regional Health Boards, which was a big announcement in 1970. It failed because local politicians were given control of the boards and most of these councillors put regional pointscoring before public health. The system collapsed in 2005, under the weight of its own bureaucracy. It was replaced by the centralised Health Service Executive (HSE). It has been the object of several grandiose schemes, the grandest of them
Michael Wolsey
all being Sláintecare, of which the return to regionalism is a part. While the big targets have been debated, dissected and discarded, opportunities have been missed for small changes that, while they would not have revolutionised the hospital sys-
tem, could have made actual hospitals better for real patients. And there is a lot of room for improvement. A recentlypublished Independent Review of Unplanned Care found little sign of planning and not much care in the nine hospitals surveyed. There was widespread placing of patients almost at random any bed, any time, anywhere, including mixed gender wards. The report said this did not create extra capacity, but led to “safari rounds” as doctors hunted around hospitals to locate the patients they were meant to be treating. None of the nine hospitals was found to operate a 24/7 model of safe and effective care. The HSE says things have improved in the two years since the report was compiled and, on some specifics, that may be true. But I fear the system is still dominated by a culture that concentrates on big ideologi-
cal objectives - like Regional Health Areas - and ignores the value of sound hospital management. At around the time the Independent Review was being conducted, I had personal experience of some of the failings it discovered. My wife had suffered a surprise seizure and was directed by a GP to the emergency department of a large public hospital. It was packed with would-be patients and their escorts. The most overcrowded place was the reception area because nobody could get out of it until they had seen the one triage nurse on duty. There were three receptionists but only one nurse and the logjam was made worse by the fact that she would regularly leave her station and head off with a patient to find a doctor, or show the way to the x-ray unit. When my wife finally got out
of the packed reception area she ended up on the inevitable trolley. “You could do with a pillow there,” said a passing nurse. And indeed should could. But, despite several requests, she never got one. Five or six medical people spoke to my wife over the course of the next few hours. They all asked her pretty much the same questions and not one of them ever completed their inquiries before being called away to deal with someone else. Twice she was asked if she was on any medication. Twice she replied that she was but couldn’t remember the names of the drugs. She pointed out that she had been in the hospital after a recent fall and they had her records. Twice she was told that the staff couldn’t access records at night. Similar difficulties were being experienced by people all around us. None of them were problems that required much
money to fix, just a bit of sensible management. The hospital staff were all working extremely hard in very trying conditions, but they were not working to good effect and its resources were not wellused: there were more people working in the carpark than in the reception area. And while there may have been a shortage of medical staff there should certainly not have been a shortage of pillows. These are issues for hospital management. They are not the sort of problems that focus the minds of politicians and public health chiefs and I doubt, somehow, that they will be the focus of our new Regional Health Areas. But these are problems which directly concern patients and somebody needs to fix them. If the little details continue to be ignored, regionalisation will be just another big idea that leads nowhere.
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April 19, 2022
It’s ‘now or never’ to stop global warming
WE have less than three years to stop the rise of carbon emissions and less than a decade to cut them in half, the UN has said in a shocking report on global warming. That daunting task is still possible, but current policies are leading the planet towards catastrophic temperature rises, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) made clear. The 2,800-page report — by far the most comprehensive assessment of how to halt global warming — outlines “a litany of broken climate promises”, said UN chief Antonio Guterres in a scathing attack on governments and industry. “Some government and business leaders are saying one thing but doing another. Simply put, they are lying. And the results will be catastrophic,” Mr Guterres said in a video message released at the same time as the recent UN report. In its third major review in just eight months, the IPCC pointed out that greenhouse gas emissions have risen 12% since
VAT cut on gas but not on oil heating
Leah Quish (9) at the launch of Round Up for Ronald McDonald House in Crumlin Hospital. Pic: Andres Poveda Catherine O’Keeffe, Dr Sabina Brennan and Kathleen Hurley-Mullins at the launch of Menopause Success Summit which will be held on May 21. For more information and tickets go to www. menopausesuccesssummit.com Pic: Mark Stedman
2010 and by 54% since 1990 and are now higher than at any point in human history. It said that if global CO2 emissions continue at current rates, the remaining carbon budget for keeping warming to 1.5C will likely be exhausted by
2030. The report highlights that there are options in all sectors to at least halve emissions by 2030 but says that this will require major transitions in the sector. Cutting back on long-haul flights, switching to plantbased diets, climate-proofing
buildings and other ways of cutting the consumption that drives energy demand could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40-70% by 2050. This means global emissions will have to be reduced by 43% by 2030.
The Cabinet has signed off on the plan to reduce the VAT rate on gas and electricity from 13.5% to 9% - but there will be no reduction in home heating oil. The Department of Environment, Climate and Communications said that the temporary VAT reductions will begin on May 1 and will last until the end of October. Cuts to excise duty on petrol and diesel, announced last month, will last until Budget 2023. An additional €100 fuel allowance payment will be made, and a programme of communications will be launched to inform businesses and consumers of ways to reduce energy costs. But an overall cut on VAT looks increasingly uncertain, despite talks in recent weeks between Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe with the European Commission. Tánaiste Leo Varadkar recently indicated that a VAT cut is currently not possible.
“We already have a discretionary VAT rate in Ireland. We have the lowest VAT rate, or one of the lowest VAT rates, in Europe,” Mr Varadkar said. He added if the Government was to cut VAT from its current rate of 13.5% to 12%, when the Government came to raise VAT again it would have to revert to 23% and Ireland would lose its special low VAT rate. The Central Statistics Office confirmed that inflation in March rose to 6.7% from 5.6% in February. This is the largest annual increase in the rate of inflation since November 2000 when annual inflation stood at 7%. Both electricity and gas bills are going up at over 20% on an annual basis with significant price rises due to take effect later this month. Home heating oil took a leap of over 58% in March, a rise of almost 127%. Petrol is up just over 35% while diesel is up by 46%, the CSO said.
Rewilding project Tenancies back with a buzz must be
registered with RTB
Garden designer Diarmuid Gavin with Ben Geraghty THE Great Rewilding initiative, which aims to address Ireland’s declining bee and pollinator populations, has been launched once more by Keelings. The campaign is in its second year and will aim to distribute 250 million native Irish wildflower seeds, an additional 150 million seeds compared with last year. Following the success of the initiative in 2021, Keelings are inviting the people of the sunny South East to get involved by redeeming promotional codes from their unique berry punnets online, in return for free Irish wildflower seeds.
Each seed pack is packed full of 30 different Irish wildflower species and will be sure to brighten up any garden across the country as summer approaches. As part of The Great Rewilding initiative, Keelings has also distributed native Irish wildflower seed packs to 1,000 schools across the country, meaning children and teachers alike can get outdoors, create environments for pollinators to thrive in while learning all about bio-diversity. For further information and tips, please visit www. keelingsgreatrewilding.ie
Landlords are being warned they are now required to register tenancies annually with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), under new legislation which came into effect this month. Landlords must now register their tenancies each year, within one month of the anniversary of when the tenancy began. The RTB said the change will allow them to gather more accurate and detailed tenancy and rent data, “ensuring more effective regulation of the rental sector”. The annual costs of registering a tenancy will be €40 for private, costs and Student Specific Accommodation (SSA) rentals. The fee for tenancies managed by AHBs will be €20 annually, while there will be a fee waiver for landlords who currently have a ‘Further Part 4’ tenancy in place. The RTB confirmed there will be a four-month transition period for tenancies with renewal anniversaries between April 4th-July 3rd, 2022.
April 19, 2022
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April 19, 2022
World to plough on in Ratheniska
IRELAND is to hold this year’s World Ploughing Contest in Ratheniska, Co Laois on September 21st and 22nd, it has emerged. The call came from the World Ploughing Board, “could another country step up and host the 2022 World Contest” following the unprecedented cancellation of the event, which had been due to take place this year in Russia. Over the last couple of weeks many meetings have taken place to resolve the issue and the final decision was made to host the 67th World Ploughing, alongside the Nationals, in Ratheniska. World Ploughing Organisation General Secretary Anna Marie McHugh said: “I am delighted [today] to announce that 25 countries from all over the globe from Africa to Australia will be participating in this year’s World Ploughing Contest in Ireland. “The very best international ploughing competitors and their teams will be battling it out on Irish soil in September to become supreme World Champions,” she added. To plan for your National Ploughing Championships experience and journey and for regular updates, please see www.npa.ie.
Artists with a big heart Carlow painters donate work to charity online sale
A TOTAL of 12 big-hearted artists from Carlow have generously donated their work for Incognito 2022, in aid of the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation. Ireland’s biggest online art sale is now in its sixth year, and what makes Incognito different to other art sales is that the buyer has no idea who the artist is until after the sale closes. Among the Carlow artists taking part this year are Lorraine Fenlon from Pollerton; Trish Duffe from Muine Bheag; and Gwen Wilkinson from Borris. Funds raised from Incognito 2022 will help provide specialist home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for 12 children with highly complex medical and lifelimiting conditions across the county. The postcard-sized works of art are priced at €65 each, and not only will purchasers be supporting a great cause in Jack and Jill, they will secure a piece of art that they truly love, without knowing who the artist is, and that’s something really special.
xxxxx
Lorraine Fenlon, from Pollerton
The collection can now be viewed online at www. incognito.ie, ahead of the sale which takes place on Thursday April 21 from 9.30am. Among the stars to submit
work this year are Ronnie Wood, Andrea Corr, Christy Dignam, and singer/songwriters Samantha Mumba, Lyra, Damien Dempsey and Robert Grace.
Two of the ‘incognito’ submissions from Carlow, above and top.
Crime figures return to ‘normal’
Kilkenny Chill Chainnigh
ADMINISTRATOR
Music Generation Kilkenny REF NO: 2022MAR233 Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, as Lead Partner for Kilkenny Local Music Education Partnership, wishes to employ an Administrator to assist the Music Generation Development Officer with the organisation, promotion and day-to-day running and delivery of Music Generation performance music education programmes in Kilkenny. Further details and application form are available from: www.kcetb.ie The closing date for receipt of applications is: Wednesday, 20 April 2022 (12 noon). Late applications will not be accepted. Shortlisting will apply. Kilkenny and Carlow ETB is an equal opportunities employer.
Comhairle Chontae Chill Chainnigh
Kilkenny County Council
Music Generation, Ireland’s national music education programme initiated by Music Network, co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds and the Department of Education in partnership with Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board.
Marty Whelan has teamed up with Specsavers to turn up the volume on hearing loss. and encourage people to take a proactive approach to their hearing health. Pic: Andres Poveda
Man (60s) held over armed robbery
A man in his 60s was arrested following an armed robbery at a business in Co Carlow on April 9. The incident occurred in Pollerton. At approximately 9pm, a masked man entered the business premises armed with a firearm and threatened members of staff. He demanded cash from the person behind the counter
and left the scene with a large sum of money. No one was injured during the robbery. A firearm and quantity of cash were recovered at a property in Carlow town during a follow-up search on Sunday evening. A man aged in his 60s was arrested and is currently detained under Section 30, Offences Against the State Act, 1939.
THE end of lockdown and a return to some sense of ‘normality’ have had an impact on local crime figures, said Superintendent Aidan Brennan at a recent meeting of the Carlow Joint Policing Committee. So far this year, 127 arrests have been made, compared with 161 in the first two months in 2021. The number of vehicles seized by gardaí had reduced from 60 to 34. There have been 59 crime checkpoints and 150 mandatory intoxicant testing checkpoints, with 12 detections for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in January and February, down from 17 the previous year. Drug possession detections were reduced significantly from 42 to 14. Sale or supply offences have also reduced – from 23 to eight. There were 93 reports of property crime, including thefts, burglary and criminal damage, compared with 59 the previous year. However, Supt Brennan said burglaries nationally had been trending downward in recent years.
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April 19, 2022
Carlow Cheatharlach ADMINISTRATOR MUSIC GENERATION – CARLOW (Fixed Term Contract – 3 days a week) Ref. No. 2022MAR235
Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, as Lead Partner for Carlow Local Music Education Partnership, wishes to employ an Administrator to assist the Music Generation Development Officer with the organisation, promotion and day-to-day running and delivery of Music Generation performance music education programmes in Carlow. The closing date for receipt of applications is: Wednesday, 20 April 2022 (12 noon). Further details and application form are available from www.kcetb.ie Late applications will not be accepted. Shortlisting will apply. Kilkenny and Carlow ETB is an equal opportunities employer. Music Generation, Ireland’s national music education programme initiated by Music Network, co-funded by U2, The Ireland Funds and the Department of Education in partnership with Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board.
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April 19, 2022
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April 19, 2022
WILDLIFE
ninenottomiss
Holly Blue
book of the week
with Justin Ivory
Holly Blue butterfly (Photo Justin Ivory) A walk with the family mutt and my teenage kids in glorious April sunshine on Saturday was brought to an abrupt halt when I hissed the command ‘Everybody freeze’. Quickly handing the pooches’ lead to my daughter to hold, I stealthily took my camera from my shoulder and dropping to one knee started firing off shots. A flash of delicate blue out of the corner of my eye had brought about this turn of events. My bemused teenagers were curious to know what it was. ‘It’s a Holly Blue butterfly’ I replied. ‘Is this the first time you have ever seen one?’ they enquired. ‘Not all. It’s just my first of the year’ I explain followed by eye-rolling and incredulous looks from the interrogators! The Holly Blue (Celastrina argiolus) is a beautiful, small, delicate gem of a butterfly. The upper wings are a beautiful light, lilac-blue. The male has very thin black borders on the wings. These black borders are much broader in females. The under-wings are a pale silvery, powder blue speckled with black spots.
Holly Blue (Photo Justin Ivory) We have two other species of blue butterfly in Ireland – the Common Blue (Polyommatus icarus) and the Small Blue (Cupido minimus). While the Holly Blue bears similarities to Common Blue males, it lacks the orange under-wing spotting of that species. Also of the three blue species, Holly Blue is more likely to be seen flying above head height around bushes and trees whereas the others fly lower to the ground. Eggs of the first (spring) brood are laid on Holly as this is the preferred food plant of the pale green caterpillars. When this second generation come to lay eggs completely different food plants are chosen for the larvae (caterpillars) with mainly Ivy being chosen but also Bramble and Dogwood. So it is really important we protect and promote these plants.
tv show of the week
HOROSCOPES
film of the week
the death’s head chess club by John Donoghue
clear history RTE2, 22.30pm, Thursdays
the cellar Cinemas nationwide
IN 1962, Emil Clément comes face to face with Paul Meissner at a chess tournament in Holland. They haven t seen one another in almost two decades. Clément, once known only as The Watchmaker, is a Jewish former inmate of Auschwitz. Whilst there, he was forced to play chess against Nazi guards. If he won, he could save a fellow prisoner s life; if he lost, he would lose his own. Meissner, a soft-spoken priest, was also at Auschwitz. He was the SS Officer who forced The Watchmaker to play. Gripping historical thriller.
NEW comedy panel show, Clear History, is fronted by Kevin McGahern, with team captains Joanne McNally and Colin Murphy. In the brand-new RTÉ2 series, which will rewrite the past in the name of comedy, weekly guests will be asked to put comically cringey moments from their personal histories on public display. Opposing teams will re-live iconic moments from the nation’s history as well as their own personal embarrassments, hoping to make them much funnier the second time around. Stars team leads Joanne McNally and Jason Byrne.
KEIRA (Elisha Cuthbert) and her husband Brian (Eoin Macken) move into an old house in Ireland with the hope of rebuilding their business and staving off financial ruin. However, the house’s cellar holds a dark and powerful entity and when their daughter (Abby Fitz) disappears into the cellar, Keira must venture after her in order to find her... it’s claim to Irish fame is that it was filmed in Roscommon and uses Clonalis House as its setting — but if could have been shot anywhere. A bit of a by the numbers scare, but worth a night out to support the domestic movie industry.
stream of the week
RECIPE of the week
album of the week
AriesTogether, you’re a powerful community force. Discuss a shared vision and coordinate actions. Adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Connect and hold on. Support each other. TaurusShare a dream or vision with a strong professional team and you’re unbeatable. Inspire others and pull together. GeminiDiscipline with planning and preparation pays off. Stick to basics and fundamentals before advancing. Discover a hidden truth. CancerConfirm intuition with facts and data, especially regarding family or shared finances. Changes necessitate budget revisions. LeoYou can see a path to realize a long-term, heartfelt vision or dream. Use your creativity. Grow what you love.
hacks Amazon Prime
Healthy pasta primavera www.bbc.co.uk/recipes
red hot chili peppers Unlimited Love
THE new series courtesy of Amazon Prime, ’Hacks’ explores a dark mentorship that forms between Deborah Vance (Jean Smart), a legendary Las Vegas comedian, who is trying to salvage her waning career, and Ava (Hannah Einbinder), an entitled, outcast 25-year-old television writer. Vance is losing her relevance, and the head of the casino wants to reduce the number of her performances. Ava has been ostracised for an “insensitive tweet” and is struggling to find work. The duo realises they could help each other and decide to team up, but very reluctantly.
PASTA and a healthy spread of green veggies and other bits and pieces? Can’t go wrong. The carb kick and the health kick all at once! Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and put a steamer (or colander) over the water. Steam the beans, asparagus and peas until just tender, then set aside. Boil the pasta while frying the leaks and sweating with the other veg. The only tricky bit is adding the fromage frais to the leeks and very gently warm through, stirring constantly to ensure it doesn’t split. Add chicken if you wish. Yum.
ALWAYS divisive, the Chillis are back again to spark debate over their credentials. Unlimited Love is the 10th studio album from the band who are officially the most successful (socalled) alternative rock outfit in the world with more than 100 million records sold worldwide. The Irish Times wrote: The album opens inoffensively enough with Black Summer, a passable song as long as you ignore the mediocrity of the lyrics, which make Bono’s much maligned Paddy’s Day poem look as profound as TS Eliot’s The Wasteland. Ooops.
charity of the week
wine of the week
walk of the week
VirgoAll that physical practice is beginning to pay off. Luck shines on your dream. Take practical steps to achieve a milestone. LibraFortune follows disciplined collaborative efforts. You can see the prize that you and your partner have been working for. ScorpioHousehold matters need attention. Make repairs. Consider long-range plans. Get inventive to find creative, cost-effective solutions. Sagittarius-
You’re especially clever and creative. Write your discoveries. Diplomacy can resolve a challenge. Find areas of connection. CapricornYou can make good money. It may require making a mess or overcoming an obstacle. Things could get chaotic.
incognito art sale www.incognito.ie
lidl new range www.lidl.ie
wicklow town heritage trail www.wicklowtown.ie/heritage-trail
Samantha Mumba is one of 1,200 artists taking part in this year’s Incognito art sale in aid of the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation, which celebrates 25 years in 2022. The biggest online art sale in Ireland, what makes Incognito unique is the artist’s identity remains a mystery until the sale closes. Each artwork costs €65, with all funds raised going to support Jack and Jill’s in-home specialist nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for children. The sale gets underway on Thursday, 21 April 2022.
THERE are some great summery wines in stock now at Lidl with our favourite being the demi-sec Alsace Grand Cru Mambourg Gewurztraminer (€14.99). The wine bursts rose water aromas and has textured creamy fruits. While it might not be sweet enough for most desserts (fruit desserts might work), try it with a plate of cheese instead. Also look out for the Grand Tokaji Selection Furmint (€9.99) which is also lightly sweet and worth a try. And for that price, you can’t go wrong.
FOLLOWING the success of the recent inaugural walk, plans are now being put in place to have a weekly guided walk of the Wicklow Town Heritage Trail. The starting point will be from the first stop on the Heritage Trial at St Patrick’s Church in Wicklow town and the walk will be led by local historian, John Finlay, on Saturdays. The Heritage Trail features 24 points of interest detailing the history of Wicklow town, from the landing of St Patrick in 432, to the end of the Civil War in 1923, with seven new storyboards with QR codes.
AquariusA personal ambition takes focus. New possibilities entice you to pursue something long-desired. Take charge for positive results. PiscesPeaceful meditation illuminates hidden thoughts, perks and motivations. An insight provides freedom from endless repetition. Envision a perfect outcome.
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April 19, 2022
opinion&comment
Journey to Qatar nears its end
A
fter the latest p l a y - o f f qualifications, the unveiling of the official match ball and the customary draw to give England a handy group (Iran, USA and a play-off winner), Qatar 2022 is beginning to feel a whole lot closer. I know it’s not until much later in the year, but I for one am getting excited, and am not afraid to say so. Qatar 2022 has been beaten with many sticks since it was announced in 2010. Louis van Gaal was the latest to have a pop. “It’s all about money” is a good one, as if FIFA was never all about money before Qatar. Or the “it’ll be too hot” line the tournament is being played in November and the conditions will be the same for every team. The conditions that migrant workers have had to endure is well-documented, and a real horror story, but unfortunately the way of economics since the dawn of time has seen people who need work travel to where
Brian Quigley there is work, regardless of the risks. The bitter irony here is that soccer – which is the most popular sport in Qatar – was brought to the country through migrant oil workers after the Second World War. The name of the 2022 World Cup football – ‘Al Rihla’ – means ‘the journey’ in Arabic, and it couldn’t be more fitting for a tournament that has caused so much controversy. But in the end, it’s all about the ball. The hosts, the stadiums, the squads, the group draw and the media are just bit-part players of varying importance. Without the ball nothing can
happen.So, ‘Al Rihla’ takes over from the ‘Telstar’, which was the official ball of Russia 2018. It is the fourteenth successive ball created for a FIFA World Cup by Adidas. According to the launch blurb, it travels faster than any other ball in the tournament’s history, thanks to the innovative 20-panel shape. It’s also the first FIFA World Cup ball to be made exclusively
with water-based inks and glues, so the sustainability flag gets a wave too. This year needs the Qatar tournament - Covid-19, Russia invading Ukraine and rapid inflation have depressed us all. We need a distraction, something to entertain us, something to unite us. Hopefully the tournament can score on all fronts. But who will win? I have the answer – thanks to a little applied mathematics!
ACCREDITED
There will be 32 nations competing in Qatar. Have they all got an equal chance of winning? In theory yes, but in actuality no. There have been 21 previous World Cups, and the statistics on where they were held, who won them and who guided the winners to victory can go a long way towards predicting who will lift the World Cup trophy this December. All previous World Cups have been won by either a UEFA (European) or CONMEBOL (South American) nation. There will be 13 UEFA nations in Qatar and either four or five CONMEBOL nations. Straight away, for me, 32 potential winners becomes 17 or 18. CONMEBOL nations have won nine World Cups in total, but crucially have won more away from South America (five) than they have in South America (four). UEFA nations on the other hand have won 12 World Cups in total, but only two of these wins have been outside Europe. So, the evidence suggests it is statistically more likely that a CONMEBOL side will win in
Qatar than a UEFA side. So, for me, 17 or 18 potential winners becomes four or five. Another interesting fact to consider is that all previous World Cups have been won by countries whose manager was born in that country (knowing this, you would wonder why any FA would appoint a foreign manager!). Tite, Brazil’s current manager, is Brazilian. Argentina’s current manager, Lionel Scaloni, is Argentinan. Uruguay’s manager (Diego Alonso) is Uruguayan. Ecuadar have qualified from South America alongside these three but employ an Argentinian manager, as do Peru who have made the play-off spot. So, I reckon either Brazil, Argentina or Uruguay will win in Qatar, on the evidence above. Trying to drill down further is a tough call; Argentina have probably the greatest individual player in Lionel Messi, Uruguay have the most experienced squad in terms of collective caps and Brazil have the most players in their squad playing in the Premier League, supposedly the best in the world. Bring it on!
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We take a look back at extracts from old newspapers to see what was in the news this month in years gone by
Sun Ind 07/01/1940
Irish Press 13/04/1938
Freemans Jrn 07/04/1864
Irish Ind 02/04/1937
Freemans Jrn 01/04/1843
Irish Ind ..19/04/1932
Irish Ind 14/04/1936
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carlowpeople.ie April 19, 2022