Articles in the General News Category

Cathaoirleach of the Monaghan Municipal District Seamus Treanor is pictured by Northern Standard photographer Rory Geary backgrounded by the Monaghan festive lighting array which Councillor Treanor said would “bring a bit of Christmas cheer to the town” after perhaps the most challenging year in living memory for business and community life. The shadow of the Covid-19 pandemic which has blighted all aspects of life globally for much of 2020 ruled out the traditional switch-on event for the Monaghan Christmas illuminations in Church Square this year – but the Monaghan Town ...

Vaccine programme could begin in North next week; early January distribution in Republic signalled The commencement of the easing of restrictions on retail trade for the month of December and news that the distribution of a vaccine to combat the virus could begin in Northern Ireland as early as next week and be implemented in the Republic in early January lent more positivity to the Covid-19 situation this week than has been witnessed since the early stages of the pandemic’s onset. But the public were advised to “proceed with caution” and ...

No guarantee of deal says EU negotiator The post-Brexit trade talks between the EU and Britain were entering “crucial days” with no guarantee that a deal could be reached, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said yesterday (Wednesday). Mr Barnier’s comments, in a video briefing delivered to Member State diplomats, came as businesses in Co Monaghan were encouraged to take steps to ensure they were fully conversant with the new Customs rules that would come into force once the Brexit transition period came to an end on December 31. ...

INCREASE IN ILLEGAL DRINKING DENS ANTICIPATED AS “WET PUB” CLOSURES CONTINUE A private premises in Castleblayney was raided by Gardaí on Saturday as part of an operation designed to shut down “shebeens” or illegal drinking dens. Covid-19 restrictions which have imposed closure on “wet pubs” in Ireland for much of this year have given rise to an increase in the operation of establishments where alcohol is illegally served, the Gardaí said this week, and the trend is expected to increase over the Christmas and New Year holiday period as legitimate licensed ...

The Department of Agriculture has announced the introduction of enhanced biosecurity regulations under the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 requiring keepers of poultry flocks to apply particular measures for poultry and other captive birds as a precaution against avian Influenza. The Department has also implemented a ban on the assembly of birds. The enhanced measures come following the detection of the highly pathogenic avian influenza subtype H5N8 in a wild mute swan in the Ballybay area of Co Monaghan, and in other wild birds in Cork, Limerick and Mayo. ...

€1,768,716 in arrears under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment was paid out this week to 3,773 people living in Co Monaghan. The payments were confirmed this week by Cavan/Monaghan Fine Gael TD and Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys. “Many of the people who received arrears may have not been expecting it, so this is a welcome boost, especially ahead of Christmas,” Minister Humphreys stated. “The Pandemic Unemployment Payment has proven to be an essential lifeline for so many workers. Over €3.4 billion has been paid out, demonstrating the Government’s determination ...

…the mantra as resilient Monaghan Town businesses gear up for crucial Christmas trading period The annual refrain for the Monaghan shopping public to stay loyal to local business during the crucial trading weeks of the Christmas and New Year holiday period has taken many verbal forms over the years, but the 2020 mantra of STAY LOCAL, SHOP LOCAL probably carries more significant meaning than any of its previous variants. The year past has probably been the most challenging ever faced by the retail and service sector in the county’s capital town. ...

HAPPY DAYS: Clodagh Kelly from Smithborough, who won the world I.J.K.A Karate championships in Cork, is back training after lockdown. PICTURE © PHILIP FITZPATRICK

COLM SHALVEY Peter Donnelly (PICTURED) has returned to the Tyrone senior football set-up just over a year after joining Séamus McEnaney’s back-room team in Monaghan. The addition of the Coalisland man, who joined Ulster Rugby as Academy Athletic Development Coach in 2019, was seen as a coup for Monaghan, but Donnelly is now back in the fold in Tyrone after answering a call from Feargal Logan, who has joined Brian Dooher in taking the reins from Mickey Harte. Donnelly spoke to Tyrone’s Teamtalkmag on Monday night, when he said: “I’m thrilled ...

By Veronica Corr The newly-renovated Patrick Kavanagh Centre in Inniskeen Village this week found itself in the European spotlight for all the right reasons, having won a Heritage in Motion award for the centrepiece of the exhibition ‘The Pincer Jaws of Heaven’. The centre re-opened in July this year, following a €1 million restoration, and tells the story of one of the best-loved poets of the 20th century, though an immersive, multimedia experience. ‘The Pincer Jaws of Heaven’, was designed to “envelop visitors with a cinematic flying journey”, and connect ...