Articles in the Castleblayney Category

Monaghan Sports Partnership and the Irish Sports Council have linked up with RTE’s ‘Operation Transformation’ Programme to transform the masses – by holding an ‘Operation Transformation National Walk Day’ in Castleblayney on Saturday 19th January at 11am! ‘Operation Transformation’, in partnership with the Irish Heart Foundation, the Irish Sports Council and Local Sports Partnerships, will host a number of walks throughout Ireland on this date. The aim of the walks is to raise awareness of Healthy & Active living while encouraging more people to get more active more often. Last year, an ...

A 27-YEAR-OLD Castleblayney man who admitted possessing a car bomb that was left outside the police station in Crossmaglen in April 2010 was given three-year’s imprisonment at Dublin’s Special Criminal Court. Paul Maguire, of Drumleek South, Castleblayney, pleaded guilty to the unlawful possession of an improvised explosive device at Culloville, Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, with intent to endanger life or cause serious injury on April 3rd, 2010. The device, which failed to detonate, had been left outside the Crossmaglen PSNI station in a stolen Peugeot 406 car, the ...

Co Monaghan is often perceived as impoverished in relation to other parts of the country when it comes to its attractions as a tourist destination. It is an obstacle of perception that those whose livelihoods are to a significant degree dependent on attracting visitors to the county have to labour hard to overcome – and it is one that is founded on a rather narrow interpretation of what appeals to the tourist market. In one respect, however, we have riches around us that few other areas of the ...

By PATSY McARDLE THE expenditure of close on €500,000 on the improvement of tourist-angling facilities at Lough Muckno near Castleblayney, as part of a shared cross-border allocation of €1.3 million under the EU Interreg Programme for the upgrade of amenities on both sides of the Monaghan-Armagh Border was warmly praised by the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources, Mr. Fergus O’Dowd T.D., when he officially launched the development at a civic ceremony at Concra Wood Golf Club, Castleblayney, on Monday last. The ...

A 26-YEAR-OLD Castleblayney man has pleaded guilty at the Special Criminal Court to being in possession of an explosive device in Co Armagh over two years ago. Paul Maguire of Drumleek South, Castleblayney, admitted to Mr Justice Paul Butler, sitting with Judge Margaret Heneghan and Judge William Hamill, that he had an improvised explosive device with intent to endanger life at Culloville in August 2010. He was before the non-jury court last week under a law that provides for suspects to be charged in either the Republic or ...

By Patsy McArdle DETECTIVES in Mid-Monaghan are investigating a third arson attack within three years on Monday evening last at Hope Castle, Castleblayney, a property hit previously by two separate fires, including one at the nearby castle Annex Building. The overall damage caused by the various fires at the property has been estimated at well beyond €3.5 million. The 18th century castle and hotel, beside scenic Lough Muckno which was formerly the residence of Lord Francis Hope, the owner of the famous Hope Diamond, one of ...

By PATSY McARDLE SHOPKEEPERS in Castleblayney have set a huge headline this Christmas to boost business in the Mid-Monaghan town in the countdown to the Festive Season by embarking on a number of avenues to attract hundreds of extra shoppers from the North, as well from all the surrounding areas. THE latest drive was initiated following a largely attended and enthusiastic public meeting of Blayney town traders on Wednesday night last at the Scout Hall in York Street, which was convened to explore current trade trends ...

BY KEVIN CARNEY Back in the early seventies, the late Eddie Murphy was the fulcrum round which camogie enthusiasts in Castleblayney worked their passion for the small ball game with patience and persistance. Eddie founded the camogie club in his native town in 1972 and, along with the sadly also deceased Terry Connolly, also energised gaels in ‘blayney to start up the game of hurling there too. So, it was right and fitting that the Castleblayney girls should visit the Murphy household last weekend shortly after their historic Ulster Junior Championship final ...

CASTLEBLAYNEY 3-07 MULLAGHBAWN 0-07 BY MARETTA SHERRY CASTLEBLAYNEY scaled new heights for a Monaghan camogie club team when they won the coveted Bridie McMenamin Junior Ulster Club Championship Shield in Aughnamullen last Sunday. A year on from Clontibret losing at this stage of the competition, Blayney won an absorbing final against a more physical Mullaghbawn from Armagh. The sides were evenly matched throughout, until Blayney scored three goals in the last quarter – two from Niamh Brennan and one by substitute Elaine McKernan – to win the game. Mullaghbawn were first off the mark ...

John Keenan, 69, of Annalitten, Castleblayney, has just become both the All Ireland Champion Master Archer at Target archery, and the Irish National Master Champion at Field archery. Target archery consists of shooting 36 arrows at each of four targets set at 30, 50, 70 and 90 metre distances. Field archery involves walking through a forest to find the targets, estimating the size and distance, and then shooting three arrows in each of the 24 targets. The size of the targets range between 8 inches to 32 inches, and the ...