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Antrim: A golden tour for a golden anniversary
One couple from Bushmills truly had a golden wedding celebration recently when they visited the only working goldmine in these islands, at Cavanacaw near Omagh. When Angela Willis from Bushmills saw a television programme about the Galantas gold mine she told her husband Brian that she would like a small piece of gold from the mine to mark their anniversary. And so the couple started the day with a visit to the Bushmills Inn before being taken by helicopter to the mine. After a tour of the open cast workings Brian presented Angela with a piece of gold jewellery made from ore taken from the Galantas site.
Armagh: Special sisters organise a charity ball
The Conlon sisters from just outside Armagh city have organised a charity ball at the Culloden Hotel in Belfast this weekend to raise money for Cancer Research UK. The five sisters, Mary, Caroline, Bronagh, Theresa and Bernie, have all been found to have the BRCA 1 gene which predisposes them to breast cancer. The women also have two brothers, one of whom has also been identified as a carrier while the other is still awaiting results of his test. The ball, which has completely sold out, will also feature an auction and the sisters hope to raise £30,000 over the next six months for research.
Carlow: Carlow man makes bid for failed property empire
It has emerged that Stuart Pearson, who inherited a fortune derived from land and property five years ago from family members, has been in talks for some time with the administrators of Taggart Holdings, the property developers which went into receivership a few weeks ago. He is said to be hoping to finalise the deal by early December. The twenty-four year old Carlow-born property dealer, who is married with two children, also runs a newsagents on Upper Main Street in Graiguenamanagh and has recently moved with his family to live in the neighbouring county.
Cavan: Launch of new book on the county
Last week in the Johnston Central Library in Cavan town a new book on the county was launched. "County Cavan - Land of Water, Earth and Air", is the work of Cavan native Ciaran Parker while the illustrations are by artist Jim McPartlin, originally from Dublin. However he and his wife Mary moved to the county four years ago and settled in Virginia. Among the topics covered in the book are some of the counties lakes including Ramor, Sheelin and Sillane, the drumlins of north and east Cavan, the flax plant, the Border and the bogland and mountains of the west of the county.
Clare: No redundancy worries for Fiachra
Although he is fearful for his job as a member of the ground staff at Shannon Airport, Fiachra Meere from Barefield, Ennis no longer need worry about his finances. For the thirty-three year old has just taken top prize in the Paddy Power Irish Masters which was held in Dublin last weekend. Fiachra, who began playing poker six years ago, didn't have the €1,650 entry fee to the tournament, but luckily won a free buy-in at the casino where he usually plays in Limerick. And he went on to beat the more than four hundred other contestants in a thirty-hour game which netted him €187,000.
Cork: Clare is preserving old shops on film
With the assistance of a grant from the Heritage Council Clare Keogh is capturing on film some of the old shops in Cork, having spent two years visiting them. Among those caught on her camera are the saddle and harness shop of John Manley in Blackpool, set up by John's grandfather, and Twomey's Grocery Shop on Barrack Street, which was established sixty-five years ago by the parents of its present proprietor, Breda Twomey. Also to be featured in the book arising from the project is octogenarian Mrs O'Leary who presides over Saint Philomena's Stores in Ballyphehane.
Derry: New bridge to unite the city
A new bridge for pedestrians and cyclists across the River Foyle is to be built in order to create a shared city centre, according to Minister for Social Development Margaret Ritchie. The £13m structure will link Guildhall to the old Ebrington barracks site on the Waterside and it is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Funding has been made available from the EU Peace Programme and also involved in the project is Ilex, the Derry urban regeneration company. The new bridge will be the third bridge across the River Foyle in the city.
Donegal: Age and fear of heights is no deterrent for Anthony
Having already completed a tandem parachute jump two years ago, Anthony O'Malley-Daley from Ballyshannon has once again overcome his fear of heights and has made another jump, this time breaking a record. The seventy-two-year-old who suffers from Parkinson's disease, is the oldest person to have made a supervised solo jump at the Irish Parachute Club headquarters in Co. Offaly. He jumped from three thousand two hundred feet and made a perfect landing, though it was a few hundred yards away from the marked landing spot. Anthony is undertaking a series of stunts to raise funds for the Parkinson's Association.
Down: Injured hurler joins friends on Slieve Donard
A group of friends led by climber Banjo Bannon climbed Slieve Donard at the weekend to raise funds for Philip O'Hare, paralysed from the neck down in an accident. Philip, who played with Newry Shamrocks, was able to join them at the summit thanks to the generosity of an Armagh man who responded to a radio programme. Benny McKay mentioned on radio that they were looking for a helicopter to take Philip to the summit and the Co. Armagh benefactor agreed to transport him to coincide with the climbers' lunch break. The GAA club ran buses to Newcastle for those who wanted to take part in the climb, and also provided soup and sandwiches afterwards.
Dublin: Lusk man is Ireland's new Elvis
Ciarán Houlihan from Lusk won the Irish finals of the Images of the King competition, beating the six other Elvis impersonators at the Elvis tribute weekend held in Bundoran last weekend. Ciarán, who works as a credit controller for an oil company, will now travel to Memphis, Tennessee next August to represent Ireland in the World Championships of Elvis Tribute Artists. The twenty-nine-year-old donned a blue jumpsuit for his winning performance, and among the line-up of judges was Charles Stone who was Elvis' tour manager in the 1960s.
Fermanagh: Top rating for Enniskillen hotel
The Lough Erne Golf Resort near Enniskillen has become the first hotel in the North to be awarded five-star rating by the Automobile Association. There are three other five-star hotels in the North, the Merchant Hotel and the Hilton Hotel in Belfast and Cultra's Culloden Hotel, but they have been so designated by the Northern Ireland Tourism Board. According to Jonathan Stapleton, general manager of the golf resort, he and his staff have been training to reach AA five-star standards since they opened on the six-hundred acre site between Lower Lough Erne and Castle Hume Lough.
Galway: New harbour for Inis Meain
This week Minister for the Gaeltacht Eamon Ó Cuív formally opened the new harbour on Inis Meain, the middle of the three Aran Islands. The harbour is unusual in being environmentally sustainable, with the pier constructed from thousands of x-shaped concrete blocks which were cast from moulds by the islanders themselves. The €14m Cé and Chalaidh Mhóir is expected to improve economic opportunities for the two hundred islanders, who are primarily involved in tourism, agriculture and fishing. The construction of the new facility also necessitated dredging, the building of a new pier and breakwater, and the provision of parking facilities.
Kerry: Two surprise parties in Killarney
Three Killarney people were greeted by surprise parties recently, two in the Whitegates Hotel and one in the Drumhall Hotel. Paudie and Eileen Moynihan from Tiernaboul set out for what they thought was a quiet drink with their daughter Mary to celebrate their ruby wedding anniversary. However the couple, who were the first to have their reception at the Aghadoe Heights Hotel in 1968, were surprised by a family gathering. In a similar fashion. Vera O'Leary from Knockeenduve thought she was going out for dinner with her friend Breda Neeson, and instead found fifty friends and family waiting for her at the hotel to celebrate her birthday, including her son Michael who had travelled from London for the occasion.
Kildare: Henry is the envy of the golfing fraternity
Although he's hardly old enough to be on his feet yet, Henry Colton from Athy has become the first person to be awarded a lifetime membership of Delgany Golf Club. The son of Karl and Rhona, Henry's grandfather Richard Hill is a member of the club which has recently celebrated its centenary. As part of the celebrations the club decided to offer lifetime membership to the first baby born to a member or the son or daughter of a member. The ten-month-old, whose other grandparents are Alan and Ruth Colton and who also has a great-grandmother, Lilly Colton from Ardreigh, was presented with his prize at a ceili held in his honour at the club early this year.
Kilkenny: Hanover Harps awarded lease of The Plots
A five-acre site at Rathnapish known as The Plots has been leased to Hanover Harps football club for two years while the local council will consider the best way to develop the adjacent land. The site has been cleared since the Gaelscoil was relocated but it is now proposed to provide a public park and amenity area. When this is complete the football club will be offered a longer-term lease so that they can apply for lottery funding. The council has already been negotiating with the owners of the land adjacent to the pitch with a view to doing an exchange of land.
Laois: Memorial to be unveiled in Portlaoise
A memorial is to be unveiled later this month to commemorate those members of the United Nations peacekeeping missions who lost their lives while on active service over the past fifty years. The unveiling at Millview Memorial Park has been organised by Post 27 IUNVA, which was established four years ago and takes its members from Portlaoise, Portarlington, Mountmellick, Mountrath, Walsh Island, Birr and Monasterevin. The services association's initiative has been fully supported by both Portlaosie Town Council and Laois County Council.
Leitrim: Newspaper names Person of the Year
The Leitrim Guardian, the forty-first edition of which is due to be launched in Lough Rynn, Mohill at the end of the month, has named its Person of the Year for 2009. This year's choice is crime writer Paul Williams, originally from Ballinamore, who has just launched his latest book, "Crime Wars in Dublin". Paul, a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, started his journalistic career with the Leitrim Observer before moving to Dublin many years ago, but he still pays regular visits back to his native town.
Limerick: Second place in Finland for Elaine
Elaine O'Halloran from Thomondgate represented Ireland at the Karaoke World Championships in Finland last week but, despite being bookies' favourite to win the competition, she was pipped at the post by the French contestant, Julie Connet. Elaine qualified for the international contest by winning the paddypowerbingo.com Irish Karaoke Championships, and she was accompanied to Finland by Anne-Marie Campbell of Karaoke Ireland. Despite not taking the title, Elaine's performance was greeted with great enthusiasm by the Finnish audience.
Longford: Pearman Howards find treasure in Derrycassin
Nora-May, Eliza, Jane and Harry Pearman Howard, who live in Ardagh, were the winners of the first National Trails Day Treasure Hunt which took place at the Derrycassin Woods in Mullinalaghta last weekend. They were presented with book tokens as their prize. The treasure hunt was part of a day of events including walking, mountain biking and hiking, and consisted of clues requiring a knowledge of forest life. Organised by Longford Tourism in association with Coillte, manager Julie Ann Rooney reported that large crowds gathered to take part in the day.
Louth: Cross-border commemoration in Drogheda
As has been the tradition for the past nine years, ex-service groups from both sides of the border gathered in Drogheda at the weekend for a service to commemorate those Irishmen who died in the First World War. Revived by former mayor of Drogheda Sean Collins, the event is the only all-Ireland remembrance and wreaths were laid by the Irish Ex-Service Men's Association and members of Whiteabbey Royal British Legion. Attending the ceremony were mayor of Drogheda Frank Maher and his counterpart from Newtownabbey, Victor Robinson and the event also included an inter-denominational service.
Mayo: Charlestown remembers its champion
At the weekend the town of Charlestown celebrated one of its champions with the inaugural John Healy Memorial Weekend. The journalists is remembered for his book "No One Shouted Stop (Death of an Irish Town" which caused such division initially that the author's brother Gerard was unable to visit the local pub for six months; he still lives in the family home in the town. The Memorial lecture was given by journalist John Waters, while other speakers included archaeologist Seamus Caulfield, historian Sinead McCoole and Bernard O'Hara, who wrote a book on Michael Davitt.
Meath: Paul and Regina take top award
At the Gala annual conference this year the top title of Gala Store of the Year 2008 was presented to a couple from Enfield. Kiernan's Gala store, owned by Paul and Regina Kiernan, came very close to taking the title last year but were just pipped at the post. However this year their efforts and the efforts of all their staff were rewarded when they were deemed to have demonstrated continuously exemplary standards in the three years since they opened the store. Now, of course, Paul and Regina have to ensure that they continue to maintain the standard in order to retain the title next year.
Monaghan: Second fundraiser for Rossmore
The restoration committee for Rossmore Mausoleum, having already raised €1,000 from a public collection, are to hold another public appeal in order to match funding for the project from local and government sources. Phase one is now being carried out under a weatherproof framework, with the focus on preserving the wood timbers of the building. An agreement for a five-year licence has been agreed between the committee, headed by Noel Kearney, and Lord Rossmore, and four further phases of work are planned. The mausoleum was built for the fourth Baron Rossmore, who died after a hunting accident in 1874 at the age of twenty-three.
Offaly: Ollie Hayes' bar has a party
Ollie Hayes' bar in Moneygall was the centre of celebrations on Tuesday night, even before it was confirmed that Barack Obama had been elected president of the United States. According to local Church of Ireland canon Stephen O'Neill, the village has never before shown such an interest in an election, but given that Obama can trace his roots to Moneygall, they have plenty to celebrate. Performing at the bar were Hardy Drew and the Nancy Boys with their song "There's No One as Irish as Barack Obama". Already there are billboards at the entrances to the village reading "Welcome to Obama country", and Moneygall is hoping that the new president will keep his promise to visit the village at some time.
Roscommon: Not quite a century, but still cause for celebration
The Coffey family of Coffey's Pub have notched up ninety years of serving the people of Lecarrow and they held a celebration recently to mark the occasion. Now into its third generation, the pub was established by Patrick Coffey in 1918, and taken over by his son John Joe eleven years later. John Joe ran it for an astonishing fifty years, when it was taken over by his son John, who has worked on the premises since 1966. The pub has always had a shop attached although both premises have been modernised over the years. Now the extended Coffey family is looking forward to more celebrations in ten years time.
Sligo: Judge has last Tubbercurry sitting
Last week saw the last sitting in Tubbercurry Court by Judge Oliver McGuinness and after the day's work was over he was the recipient of several tributes. However they highlighted one problem in what is otherwise a very modern courtroom - the acoustics. Already the judge had been forced to ask a garda giving her evidence to raise her voice, and he had to do the same while listening to a tribute from solicitor Eamon Gallagher. When Mr Gallagher described the courthouse as "a template for court building throughout the country" Judge McGuinness felt he had to point out that the acoustics were not up to standard.
Tipperary: Musical presentation at Carnahalla
The visitor centre developed by farmer Tom Coffey on the farm he inherited from his uncles at Carnahalla, Cappawhite was the venue for a musical presentation last weekend by singer Noirín Ní Riain and her two sons Michael and Owen. The visitor centre is part of the Carnahalla experience set up by Tom and his wife Johanna after Tom discovered the seventy-three acre farm was rich in archaeological sites and artefacts. It was on this farm that his mother, Nora Kilbride-Coffey, was born and Tom used to help out as a boy. Artifacts he has collected show that the site was inhabited through the Stone Age, Copper Age, Bronze Age and Iron Age.
Tyrone: Community waits for new clubhouse
The Burndennett community had been looking forward to moving into a new clubhouse in three months time, although all sections of the community had been happily using the Cricket Club clubhouse for their meetings. Now, however, it looks as though they will be homeless until the new premises is ready after fire destroyed the old clubhouse last weekend. According to founding members John McDaid and Toby McGettigan, the amenity was missed immediately as it is so popular, but it is hoped that an alternative venue can be found in time for the annual Christmas party.
Waterford: Lifeboatmen jump on the calendar bandwagon
The latest group of people to emulate the Calendar Girls are the members of the RNLI Helvick Lifeboat, whose calendar is due to be launched this week in Tigh Uí Mhuirithe in Helvick. Helvick Uncovered 2009 features twenty-seven members of the lifeboat crew and the fundraising committee who have bared all to raise much needed funds for the Lifeboat Station. The photographs were taken by local photographer Karen Dempsey and a print run of two thousand is scheduled, with the hope of raising €18,000. Helping to launch the calendar will be music group Sampson and comedians Bachelors in Trouble.
Westmeath: Moate man takes national body building title
Although he had just returned from a six-year break from the sport of body building, Paul McCabe from Moate still managed to take the national Lightweight Title in the All-Ireland Body Building Championships held in Limerick recently. In addition he gained first place in the Best Overall Routine category. Paul, who is originally from Monaghan, has lived in Moate for almost twenty years, and has been lifting weights for even longer than that. He is also due to be married soon but is looking forward to future competitions, possibly in the middleweight category.
Wexford: Ambitious voyage comes to naught
A man who attempted to set out from Courtown in a kayak with his teenage son to travel to Liverpool was dissuaded by both the conditions and local coastguards. The English man who lives locally set off with his son, their belongings in an inflatable ring towed by the kayak, early on Sunday morning. After spending two hours trying to negotiate the rocks at Roney Point, the boy swam ashore and his father was eventually located at a beach five miles south of Courtown by the coastguards, who towed him and his craft to Cahore. He subsequently went home and returned that night to collect his kayak and belongings.
Wicklow: Greystones friends set off around the world
Two Greystones men who have been friends since childhood have this week set off on a journey around the world, on bicycles. Fearghal O'Nuallain and Simon Evans plan to cover fifty thousand kilometres through thirty countries, while raising money for the mental health charity Aware. The two twenty-seven-year-olds set off from Blackrock College in Dublin, cycling through Greystones and on to Cork where they caught a ferry to France. From there it is on to Lisbon and to South America, China, Mongolia, Russia, the Middle East, Italy France and Britain, arriving home some time in 2010.
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