By PATSY McARDLE
BUSINESS firms in Co. Monaghan are the ninth slowest in Ireland at paying their bills, averaging 25.91 days beyond terms in the first quarter of the year.
That is revealed as a result of a recent in-depth survey carried out by a global informations’ services group in Ireland.
The survey revealed that Irish businesses improved their payment performance for the third quarter in a row, according to Experian®, the services company involved in the findings.
It says businesses in the Republic paid creditor invoices on average of 25 days …

FIRE units from three Co. Monaghan towns were called yesterday (Wed) to deal with a major fire which swept through an industrial store on the outskirts of Carrickmacross.
 The premises, which formerly used by Barford Meats Limited, was discovered ablaze shortly after lunch-time.
 A huge pall of smoke engulfed a wide area around the town as the fire raged between 2 and 3 p.m.
Fire units from Carrickmacross, Castleblayney and Ballybay were called to the scene and helped to prevent the hazard of the fire spreading …

By Cianna McNally
Lucky Clones woman Laura Mohan has more than 100,000 reasons to smile after she scooped a whopping €104,000 on the RTÉ TV game show Winning Streak.
Laura who now lives in Newtownbutler, Co Fermanagh and husband James celebrated their first wedding anniversary in April and are expecting their first baby together in October. James also has a daughter called Katie who is 11 years old.
Laura who works as a dental nurse in Ballyconnell in Co Cavan bought her lucky scratch card in McCaughey’s Gala …

The latest reports to emerge from the findings of Census 2011 have shown that Castleblayney is the fastest growing town in Co Monaghan.
‘Blayney experienced a 44.5% population growth between 2006 and 2011, according to the census findings.
The news vindicates the stance taken by Mid-Monaghan members of Monaghan Co Council who successfully lobbied at the February meeting of the authority to have Castleblayney categorized as a Tier Two rather than a Tier Three town in the Core Strategy document which will inform the production …

By Michael McDonnell
michael@northern-standard.ie
Monaghan town will be in festive mode again this bank holiday weekend when recessions, referendums and all such mundane concerns will quite rightly be set aside as Féile Oriel’s full programme of trad music, song and entertainment gets underway.
Over 22 traditional sessions featuring top musicians and singers from a wide area will be enjoyed by the punters in Andy’s, Master Deery’s, McKenna’s, McManus’s, Sherry’s, The Shamrock, The Squealing Pig, Terry’s and the Westenra, while a full array of local performers on the ‘Gig Rig’ at The …

By PATSY McARDLE
THE Mayor of Co. Monaghan, Cllr. Seamus Coyle has made an urgent request this week to Health Minister James Reilly seeking his intervention to resolve a storm which has blown up over a decision by the HSE in the North East to remove kitchen facilities from hospitals in the region.
It emerged last week the HSE has announced plans to close kitchens at St. Mary’s Hospital in Castleblayney and Monaghan General Hospital, leading to staff redundancies.
Mayor Coyle said yesterday: “I have personally …

A Rockcorry truck driver has been jailed for five years for importing €600,000 worth of cannabis into the State.
David Mathews (27) was observed by gardai driving his truck off the ferry at Dublin Port and transporting the drugs to his Monaghan home where two men met him and took the cannabis to Northern Ireland.
They were stopped after they crossed the border by the PSNI and each was later jailed for six years
Mathews, of Drumgola, Rockcorry pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the …

A progressive picture of entrepreneurial and infrastructural development was presented to the Canadian Ambassador to Ireland, Loyola Hearn, when he fulfilled a busy round of engagements in Co Monaghan yesterday.
The former Minister for Fisheries in the Canadian Government took particular interest in activities at the fish farm operation of Mr John Connolly in the Ballybay area, which he inspected around noon, prior to a tour of the McAree Engineering enterprise in Ballinode, stops on his schedule interspersed with lunch in Monaghan Town’s Westenra Hotel.
The Ambassador had …

Despite the pervasive influence of social media and the growth of electronic communications as the preferred choice for news consumption, two new exhibitions unveiled by Co Mayor Seamus Coyle in Monaghan Co Museum yesterday lunchtime bear testimony to the still potent power of the Press in its written and pictorial forms.
The National Library of Ireland’s “The Past from the Press” display, and a gallery of images from the AIB Photojournalism Exhibition Archive, will remain on view at the Museum premises at The Hill in Monaghan Town until the …

By PATSY McARDLE
DESPITE the economic downturn, which had widespread national repercussions for many local authorities, and the civic sector in general, Co. Monaghan can lay claim to a very successful past year, according to the County Mayor, Cllr. Seamus Coyle in his upbeat annual review of the year, presented to Monaghan County Council.
Mayor Coyle said the completion of Monaghan Fire Station, as well as the new Carrickmacross Civic Centre, and the Carrickmacross Sewerage Scheme, are but a few prime examples of …