Articles in the General News Category

Monaghan Co Council together with An Garda Síochána are highlighting the dangers of driving under the influence of drugs ahead of the Easter Bank Holiday weekend. Drug driving remains a problem in Ireland with estimations that it’s a factor in approximately one in ten fatal crashes. Drug driving not only puts the driver at risk but also passengers and others who share the road. The age profile of drivers providing blood and urine specimens nationally in the 25 to 44 yearold brackets continues to contribute to the greatest percentage of ...

The severe impact on the Co Monaghan fuel retail sector of an excise duty increase due to take effect next month was highlighted at local and national political level this week. Cavan/Monaghan Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher raised the issue in the Seanad (see below), while the members of the Monaghan Municipal District on Monday gave unanimous support to a motion of urgent business placed before them by Independent local public representative Paudge Connolly. Councillor Connolly’s motion highlighted the fact that the UK Government had postponed a proposed increase in ...

By Veronica Corr Friday was a proud day for Councillor PJ O’Hanlon, who, in his capacity as Chairperson of Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board (CMETB), officiated the opening of Carrickmacross Youthreach Centre on Main Street, in the former Ulster Bank premises in Carrickmacross. The protected building had new life breathed into it, as a sympathetic renovation converted it into a vocational education and training facility for early school leavers. The three-storey building has been futureproofed and Carrickmacross Youthreach has been able to realise a long-held ambition to expand ...

COLM SHALVEY TALKING POINTS No strangers to a relegation battle in their ten-year stint in Division One of the Allianz NFL, Monaghan find themselves in familiar territory with just over half of the current campaign gone. The openingnight fireworks at Croke Park feel like quite a while ago now, given the downturn in results and form since then, with Monaghan’s score difference taking a bit of a battering over the course of three straight defeats. While some teams have managed to step up their performance levels in recent weeks – exhibit ...

Close to 700 vehicles took part in a tractor run staged last weekend in memory of a young Clontibret man. Such was the scale of the sight that, as our photograph by Rory Geary illustrates, only the heightened vantage point of a tractor itself could afford onlookers an adequate view of the spectacle. The event marked what would have been the 18th birthday of Jake Brennan of Clontibret, who lost his life in a road traffic accident last year. It has already generated in excess of €16,000 for the Irish ...

Preaching in different congregations, pastoral calls with ministers, a meeting with elders, visits to schools, local businesses, a local hospital, an agricultural college, along with one of the region’s newest community infrastructure projects, are all on the agenda for Right Reverend Dr Sam Mawhinney, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, when he makes a weeklong tour of the Presbytery of Monaghan starting this Sunday March 3. One of PCI’s 19 regional bodies, the Presbytery doesn’t just include congregations in the county. The Presbytery stretches from coast to coast, from ...

The case of a two-year-old Scotstown girl awaiting spinal surgery was cited in the Dáil this week during a debate on a Sinn Féin motion which sought to address what local TDs from the party branded “the scandal of growing waiting lists for children with scoliosis and spina bifida”. Aoibh Rooney was born with Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita (AMC) and has been under the care of Orthopaedics since she was born. Her parents Eavan and Philly have been campaigning to have issues relating to her consultant orthopaedic surgeon resolved by the ...

PETER HUGHES Rumours fuelled by social media disinformation that two prominent former business premises in the town of Ballybay are being prepared for the housing of migrants are completely without foundation, the Cathaoirleach of the Ballybay- Clones Municipal District Councillor Sean Gilliland has established. Alarmed at the tenor of some of the commentary on the matter that surfaced on social media at the weekend, the Fine Gael local public representative contacted the owners of the premises in question and presented their reassurances and the factual situation with regard to the ...

Back in the late 1950’s the young Murphy and Morrough boys could never have imagined that what they were doing on Christmas Day would become an annual event attracting hundreds to the Emy Lake shore. On Christmas Day the boys headed for Emy and to dive into the water was their challenge and they all showed their courage. Hail, rain or frost they fulfilled the challenge though there was a report that on one occasion the ice was too thick and they were unable to break through it and so ...

By Colm Shalvey Inver College in Carrickmacross was a hive of activity on Monday as they gave a big welcome to former Republic of Ireland striker John Aldridge. Inver College Principal Ms. Sinéad McColgan hailed a nearperfect attendance record after the mid-term break as the students and staff offered céad mile fáilte to Aldridge, who won 69 caps for the Boys in Green under Jack Charlton, scoring 19 goals, which still sees him share fourth place on the list of alltime top scorers for the national team. Junior-cycle students applauded ...