Articles in the General News Category

Peter Hughes The Northern Standard and its reporter Michael Fisher were praised at Monday’s meeting of Monaghan Co Council for their ongoing publication of “The EirGrid Files” containing material obtained through the Freedom of Information Act that is pertinent to the north-south electricity interconnector project. But what the files contained alarmed and perturbed some Council members, who voiced concern at what they described as the “close monitoring” by EirGrid of the statements and activities of national and local public representatives in Co Monaghan in relation to the interconnector issue. Analogies ...

Patrick Smyth The hugely popular Concra Wood Golf Club (pictured) will add to its haughty reputation as a course par excellence next month when it plays host to professional golfers from all over Ireland and Europe for the ‘Monaghan Irish Challenge’ which will take place from October 4th-7th. Ever since three PGA Europro tour events were hosted by the Castleblayney place of sporting excellence in 2012, 2013 and 2014 Concra Wood’s profile has soared, gaining global recognition and exposure on Sky Sports TV. However the upcoming Challenge Tour promises to steer ...

Colm Shalvey reports Carrickmacross 2-18 Monaghan Harps 0-14 Carrickmacross got back to winning ways when they saw off Monaghan Harps in this Greenfield Foods Senior Football Championship qualifier in Clontibret last Saturday. A week after falling to their first defeat of the year at the hands of holders Scotstown, the Senior Football League leaders got their SFC campaign back on track, ending their long wait for a championship win at the top level. Carrick had stand-out performances from Aaron Lynch and Peter O’Hanlon, who hit a combined 1-9 from play. Stephen O’Hanlon also ...

Michael Fisher During a two-day visit to Ireland Pope Francis addressed the issue of sexual abuse and other abuses by members of the Catholic Church. In unscripted remarks at the start of Mass in the Phoenix Park on Sunday, he said: “We ask forgiveness for the abuse in Ireland. Abuses of power, conscience and sexual abuse perpetrated by members with roles of responsibility in the Church. We ask forgiveness for the times that as a Church we did not show survivors of whatever kind of abuse compassion and the seeking of ...

Michael Fisher The Chief Executive of Monaghan-based LacPatrick Dairies Gabriel D’Arcy has left the company by mutual agreement. The terms of his departure are not being disclosed. The Co-op remains involved in amalgamation talks with Lakeland Dairies. Gabriel D’Arcy said: “It has been an honour to serve LacPatrick and its shareholders. I would like to thank the chairman, the board, management, staff and shareholders for their support and assistance in transforming LacPatrick over the past four years.” In a statement, LacPatrick Dairies chairman Andrew McConkey said: “I would like to wish Gabriel, ...

Whether to endorse the nomination of Seán Gallagher to contest the Irish presidency will be a matter of consideration for the members of Monaghan Co Council next Monday after the Monaghan-born entrepreneur yesterday confirmed that he would again seek to contest the race for Áras an Uachtaráin. The subject of nominations for the 2018 Presidential Election is an item on the agenda of Monday’s monthly meeting of the local authority and it is understood that Mr Gallagher, as well as a number of other presidential hopefuls, will seek to elicit ...

The up to 18 employees facing redundancy at a Kingspan site in Carrickmacross will be offered the opportunity to redeploy to other aspects of the business’s operations, a spokesperson for the company stated this week. The 18 redundancies will be sought at Kingspan’s environmental facility in Carrickmacross, which produces diesel and oil storage tanks. A decline in the market for the products and increased competition from overseas production facilities are understood to be determining factors in the decision, which is due to come into effect from the end of October. But, according ...

The Water Conservation Order imposed for the North West region of the country, including Co Monaghan, during the recent dry spell has now been lifted, Irish Water announced this week. However, the Order has been extended in other parts of the country until Sunday, September 30, with Irish Water stating that it was continuing to safeguard water supplies. “We are appealing to all customers to continue to conserve water as raw water supplies in rivers, lakes and ground water sources remain lower than normal,” the utility said in a media statement. “Water conservation ...

Fianna Fáil TD for Cavan/Monaghan Brendan Smith this week renewed the appeal to anyone with information relating to the three remaining “disappeared” to come forward and make contact with the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, the Gardaí or the PSNI. He pointed out that the remains of three victims of the North violence – Joseph Lynskey, Columba McVeigh and Robert Nairac – had yet to be found. “Sixteen people “disappeared” over the course of the three decades of the Troubles in the North,” Deputy Smith commented to the Northern ...

The Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland said this week that they believed that a strategy introduced for fighting fraud was having a positive impact on the claims market. The Bureau said they had recorded a 12% drop in claims involving uninsured or untraced vehicles in Co Monaghan during the first seven months of 2018. “Over the January-July period, the Motor Insurers Bureau of Ireland received a total of 22 claims from Co Monaghan, a drop of three from the 25 Monaghan claims they had received by the end of July 2017,” a ...