Articles in the Headline Category

President Hollande on Official Visit to Ireland Michael Fisher As County Monaghan continued to express condolences with the people of France, President François Hollande arrived in Dublin this morning on an official visit to Ireland. It’s just a week since an attack in Nice claimed by “Islamic State” killed 84 people and injured 200 others during Bastille Day celebrations. A lorry driver deliberately ploughed into the large crowd gathered on the promenade and drove for nearly 2km before being shot dead by police.   The incident came eight months after a series of ...

PETER HUGHES Monaghan emphatically stamped a “place of origin” label on the Irish country music festival phenomenon with a four-day celebration of the genre that came to a rousing finale in The Diamond last Sunday night as thousands cheered and sang, and waltzed and jived, to the performance of Portumna cowboy Mike Denver. Tommy K The DJ had his adventures reprised to the delight of the fans as Denver worked his way adroitly through an extremely audience friendly set that provided ample opportunities for singalong. His songlist and the crowd’s reaction to it ...

The long cherished dream of gold being profitably uncovered in the hills of Clontibret has been further field by an announcement this week from Conroy Gold and Natural Resources plc. The gold exploration and development company, which is focused on Ireland and Finland, stated that four new gold zones had been intersected in a drilling programme on its Glenish gold target in Ireland. A statement from the company read: “The drilling results, together with previous channel sampling in the area which had proved 1.3 metres grading 9.4 ...

PETER HUGHES Independent member of Monaghan Co Council Seamus Treanor, who is known for his forthright comments on emigration issues, this week launched a tirade against Muslim people entering Ireland, claiming that 98% of them did not want to work. Colr Treanor made his comments at the conclusion of Monday’s meeting of the Monaghan Municipal District, as the members agreed to a proposal from Independent councillor Paudge Connolly to send a letter of condolence to the French Ambassador to Ireland, Jean-Pierre Thébault, following the death of 84 people in Nice when a ...

Walkers can read some inspirational poetry during their stroll from now on as a new mural commissioned by Monaghan Tidy Towns has just been completed along a section of the Ulster Canal Greenway near St Davnet’s Complex. The mural features lines from poet Patrick Kavanagh’s “Canal Bank Walk” in script along part of the wooden fence with a depiction of the poet himself reclining along the bank. Artist Geraldine Martin, from Inniskeen, has been working on the project for some weeks – between the showers! Pictured are Artist Geraldine Martin ...

By Cianna McNally Pronouncements including “The EU must be destroyed! “A woman will rescue Britain!” and “The future for the UK is golden following Brexit!” were just some that this reporter heard as part of a trip to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France last week. I was part of a group of 15 regional journalists who travelled to Strasbourg at the invitation of the European Parliament for a two-day media seminar. With the debate over the Brexit result dominating the headlines both locally and nationally it was unanimously ...

Standard journalist gets Strasbourg Brexit briefing By Cianna McNally Sinn Fein MEP Matt Carthy has said that some of the inner workings of the European Union are partly responsible for Britain’s recent decision to exit the EU. During a meeting with the MEP for the Midlands North West constituency in the European Parliament in Strasbourg last week, Mr Carthy told The Northern Standard, in response to a question about a disconnect between people and events at EU level, that at times he felt that this was done purposely. ...

Julie Brannigan of the Monaghan Town Country Music Festival organising committee pauses briefly in her current perpetual motion mode alongside local man Danny Aughey for our photographer Rory Geary yesterday afternoon, as final preparations for the fourth annual “run” of the internationally popular event were being made. The Festival kicks off tonight, Thursday with Jimmy Buckley the headlining act. See page seven for more details.

Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Cavan/Monaghan Fine Gael TD Heather Humphreys has signed an agreement with the Monaghan Local Action Group which approves €7.6 million in funding for the county under the LEADER Programme 2020. At the signing of 20 funding agreements with 20 sub-regions at a special event in the Virginia Show Centre last Friday, Minister Humphreys said that the €7.6 million package would support jobs and investment in Co Monaghan over the next four years. A total of €250 million in LEADER ...

PETER HUGHES The Co Monaghan Local Economic and Community Plan 2016-2021 – described as a blueprint for the future development of the county and “one of the most important publications produced by Monaghan Co Council” – was officially launched on Tuesday. The product of a collaborative engagement between the Co Monaghan Local Community Development Committee and the Co Council’s Strategic Policy Committee on Economic Development and Enterprise Support, the document identifies 127 specific economic and 66 community actions which will be targeted for realisation in the coming years by the relevant local ...