Articles in the Headline Category

By Cianna McNally It’s a story to warm the coldest of hearts – a dog, believed to be stolen, reunited with her family after almost two years. This is what happened to Beauty, a five-year-old Japanese Spitz who, thanks to the power of the internet and social media, recently returned home to the Fitzpatrick family who live in Ture, Clones. Speaking to The Northern Standard, a delighted Geraldine Fitzpatrick told how the family never gave up searching for Beauty, whom they believed was stolen one night 19 month…

FOUR male defendants from the Tallaght area who appeared at Monaghan District Court following alleged burglary incidents in the town on Saturday evening last were refused bail and remanded in custody to appear in court again in Dublin tomorrow (Friday). The four were arrested following an ‘Operation Thor’ search that involved local uniform and detective units assisted by the Garda Air Support Unit, after reports were received about suspicious activities in the Rope Walk and Belgium Park areas of Monaghan town. At Monday’s sitting of Monaghan District Court each of the defendants, ...

The numbers of walkers and cyclists using the Ulster Canal Greenway in Monaghan town exceeded 100,000 in 2015, Monaghan Co Council confirmed this week as they outlined plans for an ambitious extension programme for the route. Linking the schools to the north of the town to the town centre and Mullaghmatt and Rossmore Park to the west, the Co Council’s investment in the 4.2km route has proven to be an outstanding success. Last year was the first full year of operation for the facility, which is proving a hit with both ...

By Cianna McNally An event promoting an awareness of positive mental health is set to take place in Clones at the end of the month. The event, which is entitled ‘Speak Your Mind For Your Mind,’ will be led by Clones Youth Council and will take place in The Peace Link, Clones on Saturday, 27th February from 2pm – 5.30pm. It has been organised by Youth Work Ireland Monaghan’s Amber Flag Initiative, in conjunction with Clones Community Forum. Addressing Clones Community Forum’s AGM last Thursday evening, members of Clones Youth Council, Hannah McCaughey ...

By Cianna McNally The Ulster Canal Stores, Clones provided the setting last Friday for an informative and interesting discussion on the Battle of the Somme as part of History Ireland magazine’s Hedge School series. Entitled ‘The Somme – What Really Happened,’ the event, which drew a large crowd, was opened by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys. Contributors to the discussion on the night, which was chaired by History Ireland editor Tommy Graham, included Clones historian George Knight from Clogher Historical Society, curator of Irish Military History at the ...

By PATSY McARDLE WITH all the guessing and date deliberations over, Election 2016 is upon us. Taoiseach Enda Kenny finally made the trip to Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday morning to have the 31st Dáil formally dissolved by President Michael D Higgins. Polling day is Friday, February 26, with voting to take place between 7 am and 10 pm. The 32nd Dáil is scheduled to meet for the first time on Thursday, March 10. To quote PJ Mara, the recently deceased Fianna Fáil master of political intrigue, it’s now “game on”!   What this means to ...

A delighted Josephine Kelly, from Clonkeenlucas, Clones is pictured collecting her new car, a Renault Captur, from Blackstone Motors, Drogheda on Monday past. Josephine won the car, worth €19,500, in a phone-in competition on The Late Late Show last December. She also won a cash prize of €10,000.

Co Monaghan musical talent will be very much to the fore in the forthcoming Cross-Border Orchestra of Ireland Peace Proms tour. 470 Co Monaghan children will take part in the event, drawn from the primary schools of Deravoy National School, Carrickroe, Emyvale; Bunscoil Lughaidh Naofa, Cloughvalley, Carrickmacross; Scoil Bhlaithin Iosa, Ballynagearn National School, Carrickmacross; Scoil Éanna Ballybay, Scoil Mhuire Smithboro; Scoil na gCailini, Castleblayney; St Joseph’s Boys National School, Carrickmacross; St Louis Girls National School, Monaghan and St Mary’s National School, Threemilehouse. The tour will also feature a performance from award-winning singer/songwriter ...

MONAGHAN second-level schools rated very favourably in a seven-year review of student transfers from over 700 Irish secondary schools to university and third level colleges published on Sunday. The 32-page-supplement, which accompanied the Sunday Independent showed impressive results for Monaghan schools in all categories, with St Macartan’s College in Monaghan town rated as the top performing school in Ulster (Monaghan, Cavan and Donegal), St Louis Secondary School Carrickmacross in second place and the county town’s Coláiste Oiriall in third. St Macartan’s was placed in eighth position nationwide in the top performing non ...

A travel blogger from County Monaghan has been nominated as Blogger of the Year at next month’s Digital Media Awards Ireland.  Last year Sarah Holden from Clones left her job as a journalist with a sports website, packed her bags and boarded a plane to Brazil to begin a new life as a ‘Digital Nomad’, working on the road with writing as her only source of income. A year later Sarah is still on the road in South America. Among her adventures are living with Chilean goat farmers in the Andes, visiting remote castles in the forgotten-about Brazilian countryside, dancing the tango until her feet hurt in Argentina ...