Articles in the Headline Category

The simple hand-crafted poster summed up the intent: “We stand 2m apart united against racism.” The strict adherence to social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols embraced by Saturday’s anti-racism rally in McNally’s car-park in the centre of Monaghan Town did not detract from the determination of the roughly 250 people present to add their voices to the global clamour for racial justice sparked by the death of George Floyd in Minnesota on May 25. Organisers defended their decision to proceed with the event – one of a number held throughout ...

Michael Fisher Eirgrid and ESB Networks along with their counterparts in the North sought procurement approval and funding from the utility regulators on both sides of the border prior to submitting a planning application to An Bord Pleanála for the North South Interconnector. This has emerged following a freedom of information request made by the anti-pylon group, the North East Pylon Pressure Campaign. NEPPC spokesperson Padraig O’Reilly claimed that EirGrid had failed to inform the Bord Pleanála inspectors during the eleven weeks public hearing in Carrickmacross in 2016 about the ...

– UNION AND POLITICIANS CALL FOR GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION The realignment of maternity services at Cavan General Hospital has prompted downgrading fears to be voiced by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and national political representatives in Cavan /Monaghan. Plans to merge the consultancy- operated maternity services at the hospital with the MLU or Midwifery Led Unit are understood to have commenced this week on foot of a recommendation from the governing RCSI Hospital Group. Fears have been expressed by the INMO that the midwifeled unit, one of only two in Ireland, ...

Lockdown has been hard for everyone and the women from Ballinode ICA have been busy on their sewing machines sewing scrubs. We have now completed 10 sets and soon they will be on their way to some of our frontline staff. Hoping everyone is keeping safe and well.

Michael Fisher As the country prepares for coronavirus restrictions to be further relaxed on Monday, a Monaghan doctor has urged caution as clusters of Covid-19 are still being detected in the county. The GP practice of Dr Illona Duffy in The Diamond detected six positive cases on Tuesday and two more yesterday morning. Interviewed on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Dr Duffy said her surgery in Co. Monaghan and some in Co. Cavan are seeing definite clusters of the virus. She explained that cases are now emerging from workplaces such as factories, ...

A report has claimed that both the political stability and economic prosperity of Northern Ireland are under threat from the uncertain outcome of the negotiations between the UK and EU over the form that the British Brexit departure from Europe will take. As what was described as “a crucial week” of renewed post- Brexit trade agreement talks between London and Brussels got underway, the House of Lords EU Committee issued a report which claimed that British businesses could decide that it was “economically unviable to continue operations across the Irish ...

The family of a Castleblayney native who went missing while believed en route from London to Spain in the early 1990s have appealed to people within the circulation area of the Northern Standard to assist in their quest for information. Bernadette Cooper, née Susan Bernadette Hughes and a native of Tavnaskea, Castleblayney, was last heard of in January 1993 when she contacted a Spanish friend from London to indicate that she was returning to the Benalmadena area where she had previously operated a bar business. British police are currently conducting ...

Students from Ballybay Community College and the Patrician High School in Carrickmacross have received national recognition for their entrepreneurial abilities. They were winners at the Student Enterprise Programme National Finals in Croke Park last week. Ballybay Community College students Ferne Duffy, Tess Mc- Fadden and Mary-Kate Black, working under the guidance of teacher Eimear Harvey, won in the Junior category for Sofatop, which its conceivers describe as “a flexible and stylish tray, enabling you to curl up on the sofa and enjoy your cup of tea, safe in the knowledge ...

PROGRAMME FOR GOVERNMENT MUST COMMIT TO UNDERGROUNDING THE PROJECT:COUNCIL CHAIR Michael Fisher The controversial North South interconnector is firmly back on the agenda on both sides of the border. Using the opportunity presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, senior EirGrid executives have been quietly progressing their plans for the high voltage overhead electricity line across five counties, supported by a string of over 400 pylons. In Belfast yesterday Jo Aston, the Managing Director of SONI, a subsidiary of EirGrid, told (by conference call) the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Economy Committee chaired by a ...

The journey from Malin to Mizen Head is significant for any adventurer, but it’s just the challenge energetic Glaslough boy Dylan Dickson (9) and his mother Alison are taking on to help raise vital funds for ISPCC Childline. The Third Class pupil at St. Mary’s Primary School is making a difference for children and young people throughout the country by cycling the 640km length of Ireland with his mammy – all within a two kilometre radius of their home. The daring pair accepted the mission after spotting the idea on ...