Articles in the General News Category

Reduced indoor Gym capacity ‘new normal’ COLM SHAVLEY Gyms have begun to reopen their doors this week after being closed for well over three months. Gyms were permitted to reopen from Monday as part of the Government’s fast-tracking of the national lockdown exit plan, with some already welcoming their members back while other owners chose to wait a little longer. Many gyms have been offering outdoor classes recently and are now allowed to restart indoor activities, under restrictions and with initial indoor capacity limits of 50 people. Leisure, Health & Fitness Association ...

COLM SHALVEY REPORTS The restructured Monaghan GAA championship draws were made at Monday night’s county committee meeting. With the original 2020 club schedule having been ripped up by the lengthy stoppage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Monaghan GAA recently introduced a round-robin system which will see each of the three divisions split into two groups of five, with the accelerated return of Gaelic games also seeing the start date brought forward by a week to the last weekend in July. Promoted sides Donaghmoyne and Magheracloone are among three south-Monaghan clubs, along ...

COLM SHALVEY Monaghan GAA Golf Classic tees off July 24th-25th The Monaghan GAA Perpetual Golf Classic, sponsored by McAree Engineering, tees off this year at Rossmore Golf Club on July 24 and 25. This event is running for the seventh year in a row, with Monaghan County Board Chairman Michael Owen McMahon (CIRCLED) saying: “while a lot of things this year have been delayed, our committee and McAree Engineering have been working away in the background to ensure this year’s Golf Classic would go ahead”. “This is going to be ...

“A strong statement of commitment” – Minister Humphreys Funding announced on Monday that will benefit the development of a digital innovation hub in Monaghan Town and establish a new network for the wood and furniture industry based in Scotstown was described as “a strong statement of commitment” to the Border region by Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys TD. €609,584 is being allocated from the Border Enterprise Development Fund – a stimulus package for the Border region – for the National Data Platform, a digital innovation hub for the ...

LOCAL GREEN PARTY REPRESENTATIVE ALSO URGES NO VOTE Michael Fisher The new Cathaoirleach of Ballybay Clones Municipal District, Cllr Seamus Coyle of Fianna Fáil, has reaffirmed his opposition to EirGrid’s plans for the North South interconnector. He says the semi-state company must be directed by the incoming government to halt its controversial plan for the multi million Euro project. He has supported landowners in their long-standing demand that the line should be put underground. Speaking to The Northern Standard on Tuesday, Cllr Coyle confirmed he had decided to vote against the ...

Michael Fisher There have been no new cases of Covid-19 in Co. Monaghan for seven days in a row, up until midnight on Sunday. This gradual decline throughout June is heartening news and is the best statistic to emerge from the Department of Health briefings since the first coronavirus case was notified on March 20th. There was also a decline in the number of cases nationally, paving the way for the Cabinet to approve an accelerated reopening of businesses and society starting on Monday. But the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar warned ...

The High Court yesterday approved an interim settlement of €4.6 million, to be paid over five years, in relation to the circumstances of the birth in Cavan General Hospital in 2017 of a two-year-old Emyvale boy with cerebral palsy. Tadhg James McKenna, Sruth an Mhuillan, Emyvale, sued the HSE through his mother Emma Louise McKenna for alleged negligence and breach of duty of care during the course of his birth on August 31 2017. In a statement read to the court, Cavan General Hospital and the HSE apologised unreservedly for ...

The BCAB or Border Communities Against Brexit campaign group made a renewed call this week for efforts to protect the peace process and build an Irish all-island economy as the UK’s departure from the European Union progressed. The group issued a statement to make the anniversary of June 23 2016, the day “Brexit was born” and a day which they said “changed Europe, Britain and Ireland forever.” BCAB said: “None of us ever expected on June 23 2016 that our lives for years and years would be consumed by the ...

Michael Fisher Tributes were paid in Co. Monaghan on Sunday to coincide with the State funeral in Co. Mayo of Detective Garda Colm Horkan. Mourners at the Requiem Mass in Charlestown heard that he was deeply loved and one of nature’s gentlemen. The 49-year-old sustained fatal injuries, following a shooting in Castlerea, Co. Roscommon, a week ago. Detective Garda Horkan’s remains were carried through his home town to St James’s Church. Hundreds of Gardaí from local divisions gathered to form a guard of honour for their colleague. Ahead of the ...

The well-established Canada Day in Monaghan festival will not take place this year because of the Covid-19 effect – but the link will be celebrated in the virtual realm with a video presentation prepared by the event’s local organising committee. With the country slowly returning by measured and cautious degrees to ‘pre-Covid’ times, the popular summertime experience of outdoor festivals and large gatherings appears to be, for the foreseeable future, consigned only to remembering such joyous occasions of times past. The annual Canada Day in Monaghan event has been held ...