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Cavan and Monaghan each have a share in Lotto luck, in Laois four redundant workers are looking for new homes, and two Limerick students are off to the Antarctic.
Antrim: Heritage Society pleads for building
Members of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society strongly petitioned environment minister Sammy Wilson to halt the demolition of the Oldpark Presbyterian Church, which was sold by the Presbyterian Church to a property developer last week. The church had been unused for fifteen months since the area no longer held a congregation and, as it is not a listed building, the new owners were free to demolish it to make way for apartments. A move by architects, who drew up plans by which the developer could convert the church to apartments while maintaining the façade was also unsuccessful, and the church was demolished last week.
Armagh: Photographer to lead twelve 'jumpers'
Philip Wilson, a photographer with the Ulster Gazette, is heading a team of twelve from Armagh city who will undertake parachute jumps to raise money to build an orphanage in Zimbabwe. He will be joined by the other members of his band, Inflame, James Scott, Andrew Magwood and Andrew Graham, along with Johnny Henry, Stephen Quinn, Cyril Flanagan, Chris Murphy, Lee Rainey, Richard Dawson, Tom Laverty and Chris Doonan. The jump will take place in Co. Derry in early December and the men hope to raise £5,000 for the orphanage, which haws been supported by Alan and Dorothy Graham for the past ten years.
Carlow: Rathoe celebrates forty years
In September 1968 Rathoe National School opened its doors for the first time as a six-teacher school under principal Martin Ruschitzko, and at the end of October an open day at the school will mark the fortieth anniversary. Although in the 1990s dwindling numbers reduced it to a three-teacher school, there are now seven teachers under its present principal Bláthnaid McDermott. On October 26 Mass will be celebrated in St Patrick's Church and then the school will stage A Walk Down Memory Lane, followed by a community dinner dance in the evening at the Ramada Hotel, Killerig.
Cavan: Seventh time lucky for Cootehill shop
Although the actual prize money might have gone across the county border to Ballybay, the first winning ticket in the new Monday Million lottery draw was sold in a Cootehill shop. Hannigan's have recorded their seventh major win, with two full lotto jackpots, two Lotto Plus One wins, one Lotto Plus Two win and one of the early Euro Plus wins. Neil Hannigan admits to doing the lotto himself but says he has never had a major win. However his shop's record has certainly attracted more customers, since many people now see is as a "lucky" place to buy lottery tickets.
Clare: Former councillor objects to development
Among those objecting to the development of affordable housing on the Miltown Malbay road in Kilkee is former councillor Sean Marrinan, who owns property close by. The proposed location for the local authority plan for twenty-three houses is, according to Mr Marrinan, in a "visually vulnerable area"; this aspect was also cited by another objector, John Cosgrove. Earlier planning applications for the same site were turned down on the grounds that two-storey houses would be inappropriate. Danny McDonnell, meanwhile, based his objection on the deficiency in the public water supply.
Cork: Art in a Cork pub for Cambodia
Henchy's Pub in St Luke's is staging an exhibition of nearly one hundred art works for the next two weeks in order to raise money for Anita's Orphanage in Cambodia. Martin McHenry, a local builder, came across the orphanage while travelling three years ago and befriended the manager. He promised to help provide a home for the orphans and, with his friend Maura Sheehan, has held a number of fundraising events. The exhibition, which includes paintings, glass works and sculpture, was formally opened by the director of Cork Film Festival Mick Hannigan.
Derry: Barracks to become movie house
During this year's Hallowe'en celebrations in Derry the former British army barracks at Ebrington will be transformed into a drive-in movie park. According to the city's mayor, Gerard Diver, who announced the innovation, the Banks of the Foyle Hallowe'en Carnival will also have a fancy dress parade on the riverfront, which will be followed by a major fireworks display staged from the middle of the river with musical accompaniment. The parade will this year have a new route, from the Guildhall along Queen's Quay, finishing on the Strand Road.
Donegal: Massive catch by Killybegs vessels
Alastair McClay, fish wholesaler in Donegal town, bought more than his fair share of fish last week when three enormous swordfish were landed by fishing trawlers Atlantic Quest and Eternal Dawn, and brought in to Killybegs. The total weight of the three fish was more than one thousand pounds, with the largest being more than thirteen feet long. Alastair offloaded the swordfish to four restaurants, with the largest being bought by the Coach Line restaurant in Sligo town. One of the fish stayed in the county, having been bought by Harvey's Point Hotel just outside the town, while the third was shared between two Galway restaurants.
Down: Spectacular show over Ballyhornan
When a spectacular light show appeared in the sky over Ballyhornan last week it was viewed by musician and publican Colm Mullan from his home. Colm, who owns Mullan's in Downpatrick, was at home with a friend when they noticed the light over Gunns Island which at first they thought was a plane in trouble. However it transpired that what they were viewing was an unusually large meteor, though this means that it was the size of a pea rather than a grain of rice. However the 'fireball' occurred because the meteor burned up within the earth's atmosphere.
Dublin: Firefighters break Channel record
Six members of the Dublin Fire Brigade have taken four hours off the Irish record for swimming the English Channel. The men, all seasoned swimmers, completed the swim from Dover to Cap Griz Nez in a time of twenty-one hours and twelve minutes. Accompanied by team manager Dave Fitzgerald and paramedic Colm Murphy, the team comprised captain Rachael Lee, Greg O'Dwyer, Brian McLoughlin, Tom Healy, Tony Cruise and Brendan McGrattan and they spent one hour at a time in the water in rotation. At the same time they managed to raise €7,000 for the charity Cairde Ethiopia.
Fermanagh: Floral award for Enniskillen
In only its first time of entering, Enniskillen made the list of sixty-nine finalists out of a total entry of more than one thousand in the Royal Horticultural Society Britain in Bloom campaign. Gerry Knox, Director of Technical Services with the District Council, and chairman of the local campaign committee Bert Johnson represented the town at the awards ceremony at Chester Race Course. They were presented with a Silver Award in the Town category of the competition after the judges had paid two visits to the town, one unannounced and the second during which they were given a tour of the town and lake.
Galway: Blue heron is the new tourist attraction
Birdwatchers from all over Ireland, and a group from Britain, have been making their way to Letterfrack after the sighting of a rare bird. Local man Tom McCrudden was the first to report the sighting of the blue heron, a native of North America, in Barnaderg Bay to conservation ranger Aonghus Ó Dómhnaill. Word soon spread and by lunchtime on that day most of Ireland's birdwatchers had made their way to Letterfrack. Some arrived from England that evening and a few days later a group arrived from England in a specially chartered plane.
Kerry: Explorer's daughter to present Polar medals
The four members of the first Irish team to reach the South Pole are to be presented with medals by Mary Crean O'Brien, daughter of explorer Tom Crean from Annascaul. Ms Crean O'Brien, who will be ninety in December, will present the medals at the Siamse Tire Theatre in Tralee to team leader Pat Falvey, Shaun Menzies, Jonathan Bradshaw and Clare O'Leary, though the latter member of the Beyond Endurance expedition is unable to attend in person due to work commitments. They will be presented with the specially minted Tom Crean Society Medal, given for outstanding achievement in the Antarctic.
Kildare: If at first you don’t succeed…
Donadea singer Sharon Condon might not have made the final cut in the You're a Star programme, but she wasn’t discouraged from trying again and earlier this year took part in auditions for a new girl group to be put together by Louis Walsh. One of some four thousand hopefuls, Sharon was remembered by Louis Walsh from her earlier appearances, and she has now been included in the final line-up of the as yet unnamed group. In a few weeks time the five will appear on the Late, Late Show, just as Boyzone did ten years ago. Sharon is not the only musical member of her family, one of her brothers is drummer with the tribute band Fat Lizzy, and her mother, grandfather and great-grandfather have all been noted singers.
Kilkenny: Official opening of Hoban garden
A delegation of more than twenty officials from the White House in Washington were in Cuffsgrange during the week for the official opening of the memorial garden to architect James Hoban. Among those at the James Hoban Memorial Arbour at Desart were executive director of the project Denis Bergin, and White House curator Bill Allman, who spoke of the contribution made by Hoban to the early growth of the American capital. The opening followed a week of lectures and exhibitions in Dublin and Kilkenny which were organised by NUI Maynooth to mark the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Hoban's birth.
Laois: Redundant felines looking for homes
The closure of the former Cúl na Móna factory at Togher in Portlaoise has not only left workers without an occupation, for the factory was also home to four cats which used to help control rodents. Now Caitriona Smyth of the local branch of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals has appealed for people to offer homes to the redundant felines, who are all very healthy and well cared for. The company and the society are to jointly finance the spaying or neutering of the animals before they are handed over to their new owners.
Leitrim: New life for Old Courthouse?
A suggestion has been put forward that a practical use be found for the Old Courthouse in Drumkeerin. Councillor Mary Bohan proposed at a recent meeting of the county council that the building be allocated to the local youth club. Her idea, that it become a drop-in centre for teenagers in the area, was supported by her fellow councillors. The proposal is also in line with a recommendation of the Tidy Towns judges last year that a community use be found for the building. The Old Courthouse is a listed building and it has been empty for the last number of years.
Limerick: Two Limerick students in Antarctic group
Two students from the county are included in a group of seven transition year students who are joining the Antarctic Voyage of Discovery led by Pat Falvey next month. Shane Wharton, aged just fifteen, from St Nessan's Community College is one of those who won a place on the expedition, while also going is sixteen-year-old Sinead Walsh from the Salesian Secondary College in Pallaskenry. On the expedition the students will be collecting data on global warming and climate change. Sinead will also be representing the late Limerick climber Ger McDonnell; one of the seven chosen had to come from the school attended by the climber in Kilcornan.
Longford: Irish language group formed in Longford
The first meeting of Longfort Le Chéile, Oiche Shóisialta, took place in Keogh's Bar last week. Secretary of the new group is Yvonne Ní Mhurchú while chairperson is Thomas O Maonaigh, who said it was local interest in the language that had prompted the formation of the group. One of its aims is to widen the use of Irish from the purely educational milieu to public use. At present Irish classes are held in the libraries in both Longford and Granard and it is also planned to revive the conversation group, Ciuorcal Comhrá, which meets in the Longford Arms.
Louth: Courageous step taken by sisters
Bronagh Conlon McAvinchey from Monasterboice, along with three of her four sisters, has voluntarily undergone radical surgery to limit her chances of developing cancer. The sisters discovered that they carried the BRCA1 gene which gives a predisposition to cancer, and they are now raising funds so that more research can be carried out into the genetic aspect. Bronagh and her sisters have undergone both hysterectomies and double mastectomies. Both Bronagh and her older sister have had breast cancer and the family has now set up The Generation Ball to raise up to €40,000 for a project with Cancer Research UK.
Mayo: Presidents opens Peace Park in Castlebar
President Mary McAleese was in Castlebar during the week to perform the official opening of the Mayo Peace Park and Remembrance Garden. The park, which commemorates more than one thousand men and women from the county who died in all conflicts in the past century, features a polished stone memorial inscribed with their names. Among those attending the ceremony were veterans of past conflicts and relatives of those who died, in addition to the Australian Ambassador to Ireland, Ann Plunkett. The ceremony concluded with the President laying a wreath, while a bugler from the Irish Guards sounded the Last Post.
Meath: Meath man's astronomy legacy goes to Cork
The family of Colm Cannon, who died recently, have decided to donate his astronomy equipment worth tens of thousands of euro to the Blackrock Castle Observatory in Cork. A guide in the Phoenix Park, Colm was given his first telescope by his mother Kathleen when he was twelve years old and later became a founding member of Astronomy Ireland. Colm set up his first observatory using a cold storage container in the garden of the family home in Dunboyne and at the time of his death he had ten telescopes along with star charts, cameras and a range of printed material. A plaque is to be erected to Colm's memory in Cork and it has also been proposed that a commemorative tree be planted.
Monaghan: First Monday win comes to Ballybay
A new lotto game started at the beginning of the week, Monday Millionaire, and the very first winner of €1m comes from Ballbay. Grandmother Eileen Farrelly bought her ticket in Hannigan's shop in Cootehill and said she felt she was going to be lucky that day. Eileen, who works in home support with the Health Service Executive, spent the evening celebrating with her daughter Sharon after having phoned her shopfitter partner Peter, who was away at the time. One of the first things she will do with her new-found fortune is to replace her twelve-year-old Nissan Micra.
Offaly: Preview of pool for public
Although the official opening of the new swimming pool and leisure centre in Tullamore is not due to take place for another two weeks, on one day last week local residents were given a chance for a preview. The €12m complex on a five-acre site at Cloncollig has a twenty-five metre pool, a learner pool and a play pool for children as well as one large and two smaller gymnasiums and a number of all-weather pitches. The complex is also environmentally friendly, with a large number of solar panels on the roof to pre-heat domestic water. Having already given employment to one hundred and twenty people during construction, the complex will employ twenty when it is up and running.
Roscommon: Roscommon claims the latest candidate
The latest candidate in the US presidential election has her roots in Roscommon, according to genealogist Mary Lee Dunn. It was known that Sarah Palin's mother was a Sheeran and now the family has been traced back to the townland of Knockhall in the parish of Kilglass. Ms Dunn traced the connection through a database she had compiled while writing a book on Ballykilcline, and found a Michael Sheiran born in the county in 1823 who became a US citizen in 1855. Also found in the database was a James Sheeran who is believed to have been Michael's brother, despite the different spelling of the name.
Sligo: Two golden days for Tubbercurry couple
Tommy and Anne Killoran from Tubbercurry not only celebrated their golden wedding anniversary recently, but it was also the golden anniversary of their business on Teeling Street. A coach took all the revellers to the church in Strokestown, where the couple were married, for a renewal of vows, before heading back to The Traditional Restaurant where food and entertainment were laid on. Chief among the organisers of the event was Tommy and Anne's daughter Anne Lynch, and she was ably assisted by her brothers Tommy junior and Noel and their wives, and her sisters Mary, Bridie and Margaret.
Tipperary: Mullinahone teacher's project on way to Hong Kong
Kate O'Connell, who teaches at Scoil Mhuire in Kilvemnon near Mullinahone, will be travelling to Hong Kong in November to represent Ireland at the 2008 Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teachers' Forum. She will be demonstrating a digital learning project she devised for her class in the two-teacher school for the construction of model aeroplanes. "Flying High: Exploring Aviation" managed to integrate all the subjects on the national school curriculum and has already achieved success at the European stage of the competition, held in Zagreb.
Tyrone: Billy's mother to set up foundation
Charlotte Caldwell from Omagh, whose small son Billy has benefited from the generosity of many to fund his medical treatment in Chicago, is to head a foundation which will help finance his continuing treatment and will also help other families to pay for treatment for their children. Charlotte has had a meeting with First Minister Peter Robinson and his wife Iris, who were both supportive of the project. It is hoped that the foundation will be launched in the next two weeks and Charlotte is also hoping that Peter and Iris Robinson will attend the fundraising Gala Ball to be held at the Mellon Country Inn in December.
Waterford: Marine gallantry medal for Waterford garda
In Dublin Castle last week Garda David Hearne was one of the recipients of the Michael Heffernan award for marine gallantry. He received the award for carrying out two rescue operations in one day in April of last year, the first at Merchant's Quay where he rescued a man who had lost consciousness in the water, and later at Poleberry, where a man had jumped into John's river. Both Garda Hearne and the man were pulled under the water a number of times and they were eventually brought to safety by people gathered on the river bank who formed a human chain. After a change of clothes Garda Hearne returned to normal duty.
Westmeath: Threefold reward for marching band
After its first National Championships in Arklow recently the Ravens Marching Band from Athlone returned victorious with two trophies and a cup, the latter for Best Newcomers. Their two trophies were awarded in the categories of Most Disciplined Newcomers and Musical Effect. Director of Music Colm Bolger, while delighted with the success of the musicians, is also hoping to expand the club to include majorettes, flag twirlers and a colour guard. Prospective musicians are accepted from the age of six but there is no upper age limit, evidenced by the fact that at present among those learning the trombone are three grandfathers.
Wexford: Surprise visit home by Enniscorthy sisters
Twin sisters from Enniscorthy who are both settled in Australia paid a surprise visit to their home town of Enniscorthy recently to see their parents and their younger sister. Tina and Mary Moorehouse surprised Tom and Theresa and their sister Fran, her husband Martin and the couple's ten-week-old twins Jessie and Jamie. Tina and Mary, married to the Murnane brothers, both live in Brisbane. After their marathon journey they were met at the airport by their cousin Francis O'Connor and their visit home also coincided with the Coláiste Bride school reunion in the Riverside Park Hotel.
Wicklow: Multiple awards for Arklow cheesemaker
John Hempenstall, founder and director of the Wicklow Farmhouse Cheese company based in Curranstown, Arklow, is confident that the recent clutch of awards will help open up new export markets for his product. At the World Cheese Awards the Wicklow Blue took the Best Irish Cheese as well as a gold and bronze medal, after bringing home a gold, silver and two bronze medals from the British Cheese Awards last month. Prior to that the company's cheeses took a gold and two bronze medals at the Nantwich International Cheese Show in the UK. John, whose family have been farming at Curranstown for several generations, turned to cheesemaking just three years ago.
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