Articles in the General News Category

By Veronica Corr Dr. Illona Duffy of Swan Park Surgery in Monaghan Town, was good enough to talk to The Northern Standard on Friday afternoon last, while she was self-isolating in her bedroom, having received confirmation that she had contracted COVID-19 the previous Sunday (12th April), after she was referred and tested on Tuesday (7th April). The testing of medical professionals and their families is being prioritised, (as well as that of high-risk people), in order to get frontline staff back to work as soon as possible. When asked how ...

Dessie Ward’s been stuck at home since the lockdown but Monaghan county footballer Ward (PICTURED) is keeping in shape — on a football pitch he made at his home. The Ballybay ace marked out a pitch in one of the fields and installed goalposts so he can practice. How clever is that!

CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 CRISIS COLM SHALVEY The Monaghan Gaelic football senior ladies are hitting the roads this week as part of a major fundraiser in aid of three very worthy causes. With the tagline “Running together, while staying apart”, the county ladies and their management team set themselves two lofty targets – to run a combined 1,000km over the course of the week (within the 2km radius of their homes) and to raise over €7,000 for charity via a GoFundMe page. With manager Ciarán Murphy leading by example by clocking up the kilometres ...

Monaghan Co Council has announced that the Covid-19 grant is now open for applications.  All applications are to be made online only at the following link: https://documents.monaghancoco.ie/forms/covid19fund   The programme is providing grants to groups that are directly involved in the Community Call response to the Covid-19 pandemic.   It is intended that the majority of the funding allocated to each local authority area will be ring-fenced for grants of €1,000 or less for exceptional, once-off costs incurred by community and voluntary groups associated with the Community Call ...

An updated list of online Masses and Devotions across the Catholic Diocese of Clogher is now available via the website link https://www.clogherdiocese.ie/2020/04/updated-list-of-masses-devotions-online/

Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher said he has written to the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection Regina Doherty to highlight the growing fears of many seasonal workers who face long-term unemployment due to a decrease in tourism.   “I have been contacted by some small business owners who are fearful with a downturn in tourism due to the Coronavirus they will not in a position to rehire their seasonal workers for the summer and autumn months,” Senator Gallagher stated.   “There is a huge number of young ...

The Northern Standard newspaper will be back on the shelves on Thursday next April 23.   We thank all those who have continued to support the newspaper through our website content and our presence on other social media platforms over recent weeks.   For next week’s edition and the editions to follow, we are anxious to hear from readers about their experience of the Covid-19 pandemic and its accompanying restrictions.   We are sure there are many very positive stories throughout our local communities of individuals and groups innovatively and altruistically helping neighbours and those in ...

Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan/Monaghan Niamh Smyth has welcomed the news that homeowners who hold mortgages with their local authority or Rebuilding Ireland home loans can now apply for a three-month payment break. Deputy Smyth said she and party colleagues had raised the matter in recent weeks with Minister for Housing Eoghan Murphy TD. She said she was anxious to ensure fairness for holders of these types of mortgage and home loan in her constituency. “A lot of people have had real concerns as to how they ...

The moves by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TD towards a possible partnership in government have been branded “a stitch-up” by Cavan/Monaghan Sinn Féin TD Matt Carthy. Following negotiations, FF and FG this week published a framework document as a basis for working together in government which was subsequently endorsed by the groupings’ respective parliamentary parties. Both parties have refused to enter into discussions with SF regarding the formation of a government. Deputy Carthy accused FF and FG of attempting to ignore the desire for change among ...

€127,444 in funding has been secured for the local response to Covid-19 in counties Monaghan and Cavan. The money comes from the Emergency Fund established to assist the Government’s Community Call initiative which is being led by local authorities. Co Monaghan has received an allocation of €62,247. Co Cavan will get €65,197. Local Fine Gael TD and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation Heather Humphreys said the funding would prioritise organisations delivering frontline services, such as Meals on Wheels. “Local community and voluntary groups are ...