Articles in the General News Category

Public response could mean €5 million boost for local economy says MD Sales of the Monaghan Town Voucher have exceeded €1.1 million for 2021, Monday’s meeting of the Monaghan Municipal District was told, with sales in November alone reaching €732,900. MD members interpreted the remarkable level of support for the scheme in the past 12 months as evidence that the “stay local, shop local” mantra being promulgated by the local authority and business support groups in Monaghan had struck a resonant chord with the local community. Citing statistical analysis that suggested ...

Searchers for the epitome of Christmas joy would surely find it on the face of the child transfixed by the presence of Santa Claus and one of his hard-working reindeer in the centre of Monaghan Town on Saturday last. Santa made an early foray to town to help heighten the atmosphere of the Christmas celebration organised by the local authority and the Monaghan business community to generate some festive cheer and boost the funds of local cancer support organisation Crocus (see story and more pictures inside this week’s edition). Members ...

The passing on Monday, December 20 following a long illness of Fr John Kearns CC SPS of Garrison, Co Fermanagh has evoked deep sorrow, and many tributes to a beloved religious figure described by Roman Catholic Bishop of Clogher Larry Duffy as “a committed priest and larger-than-life character”. A native of Corcaghan in Co Monaghan, Fr Kearns was best known in the diocese and community for the love of motorbikes which inspired him to co-found the Gone But Not Forgotten Bikers Memorial, an annual Mass in the Sacred Heart Church ...

‘Believe that the farther shore is reachable from here. Believe in miracles, cures and healing wells.’ Seamus Heaney’s words have been used often during the last year or so, to give us hope in difficult times. We have to believe that we can get to the farther shore. As another year that has been truly like no other draws to a close, it gives us an opportunity to reflect a little on all that has happened. In truth, we will not miss the past couple of years. They brought more than ...

Michael Fisher The HSE’s Public Health Department in the North East says the current level of Covid-19 is having a significant and sustained impact across all aspects of the health service, including in hospitals, intensive care units (ICUs), public health, as well as the broader primary care services in the North East region. Emerging infection figures for the North East continue to remain high. The risk of the Omicron variant to public health is very high, and therefore likely to cause additional hospitalisations. The HSE says that vaccination remains the ...

An initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) around the country the #LookforLocal campaign aims to promote local businesses and encourages consumers to invest in their local economy by shopping local. Last year LEO Monaghan created an online directory of businesses in the county where you could shop online, showing consumers that they could shop online and still shop local. The directory has grown considerably and now has over 200 businesses listed, some of which have availed of the Trading Online Voucher from the Local Enterprise Office. The voucher offers ...

Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher holding the carcas of striped wire left on the Clonbarton Drumcondrath bog. There is strong evidence that the wire was striped of its valuable copper payload on site were the carcas of the wire was dumped. The thieves striped the cable for its copper content with no regard for the distruption it causes in rural areas with the loss of phone lines and broadband for days, crippling local businesses. Pic. Pat Byrne.

COMMENT SOLSTICE In the traditional rush towards December 25 that becomes the general preoccupation these days, another very significant date in the month’s calendar generally gets side-lined. Four days before Christmas Day, December 21, marks the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. One of the ways we are transiently aware of the date is the annual attention given by the media to those who assemble at the site of the Neolithic passage tomb in Newgrange, Co Meath, where the first rays of the dawn light up ...

Sinn Féin Councillor Cathy Bennett told the December meeting of Monaghan Co Council that there was great disappointment in the Sliabh Beagh area that it was not included in funding recently announced for Co Monaghan under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme. Councillor Bennett said this was the second year that Sliabh Beagh had applied for funding from this source and it was disappointing that Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys TD hadn’t seen fit to include the area in this year’s allocations. Sinn Féin’s Brian McKenna also expressed ...

Monaghan Lions Club President, Michael Fisher (right) and Lion Robert Wilson (left) are pictured making a presentation of €5,000 from the Club to St Vincent de Paul for food vouchers for Christmas. The donation was accepted by Con McCrossan, President of the St Macartan’s Conference in Monaghan town. © Rory Geary