Articles in the Headline Category

Michael Fisher The Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has said the case for undergrounding the North South interconnector is very strong. He also said his party’s Oireachtas representatives would pursue vigorously the refusal by Minister Denis Naughten to meet them to discuss the issue. This follows the passing by the Dáil and Seanad of motions calling for a new independent analysis of the costs and technical feasibility of undergrounding the proposed electricity link across Monaghan, Cavan and Meath. Meanwhile representatives of the County Monaghan Anti-Pylon Committee have met officials from Minister ...

The launch of this year’s edition of Co Monaghan’s premier rally sports event, and in terms of spectator interest one of the most significant dates in the overall sporting calendar in these parts, took place at Monaghan Town’s Four Seasons Hotel on Friday last, March 31. The Four Seasons are the proud sponsors of this year’s Stages Rally organised by Monaghan Motor Club. Clerk of the Course Thomas Treanor gave the large crowd of motor sport enthusiasts a sort of “teaser trailer” of the nature of the stages ...

By Veronica Corr It’s said that “gin makes you sin” and if you think that’s not entirely a bad thing(!), then the good news is that a local craftsman has taken up distilling the spirit. Steven Murphy, from Killabrick, Carrickmacross, has set up Old Carrick Mill Distillery in the townland of Derrylavin, just a stone’s throw away from the actual old mill building itself. The young self-employed, artisan distiller has big plans for his mill, including branching out into manufacturing other drinks and turning the old mill building into a tourist ...

• Arva branch also included in restructuring plans Ulster Bank announced on Thursday last that it plans to close its branches in Carrickmacross and Cootehill by the end of September. The Ulster Bank in Arva, Co Cavan is also one of 22 branches listed for closure in a major restructuring of business that is expected to result in 220 redundancies. The news has prompted calls from a number of political representatives in the Cavan/Monaghan area for a rethink of the closure plans (see below). The redundancy plan will be voluntary-led, staff were informed, and ...

Michael Fisher Bus Éireann drivers in Monaghan are entering the seventh day of an indefinite strike that continues to affect all of the semi-state company’s Expressway and other services, with the exception of school transport. Pickets were placed at the bus station at North Road last Friday by members of the National Bus and Rail Union and SIPTU. Translink is continuing to provide an express service on the Derry to Dublin route but its buses do not call at the Monaghan depot.   As the financial situation at Bus Éireann deteriorates, the Minister ...

By Cianna McNally Appearing on RTE TV’s Don’t Tell the Bride was a surreal experience, according to Monaghan couple Liza and Dean Watkin who spoke to The Northern Standard following the broadcast of their episode to the nation on Monday night. “The whole experience of being involved in Don’t Tell The Bride was so surreal. To be chosen out of thousands of people, you never expect these things to happen to normal people! It was like a rollercoaster of emotions: excited, nervous, stressed, frustrated, worried, happy ..

By Cianna McNally To say that Ceejay McArdle’s trip to New York was one to remember is putting it mildly! As previously reported in The Northern Standard, four-year-old Ceejay from Castleblayney who has been affectionately dubbed Ireland’s youngest garda is currently in his last year of treatment for leukaemia, having been diagnosed when he was just two.  Last month he was invited to New York by the NYPD Emerald Society to march with gardaí in the St Patrick’s Day parade on Friday last. Ceejay’s trip to the Big Apple, ...

Funeral of former deputy NI First Minister in Derry Michael Fisher “My heart lies in the Bogside and with the people of Derry”. The words of Martin McGuinness during one of his last public appearances in January after announcing he would not be contesting the NI Assembly election. He was suffering from a rare heart condition. Early on Tuesday the former deputy First Minister passed away at Altnagelvin hospital, aged 66.   There have been many tributes from political representatives on both sides of the border and further afield. But relatives of some ...

Michael Fisher A well-known home decoration and paint shop in Monaghan town was badly damaged in an intense fire early on Friday morning that caused traffic disruption. It was a major setback for the McAdam family, who started up Albany home décor nearly fifty years ago and have served thousands of customers in that time.   The outbreak was one of the largest ever that the fire service in Monaghan has had to cope with. It began in the three-storey building close to the Market House shortly after 2.30am. The area around Market ...

By PATSY McARDLE THE saga which has continued over the necessity for a full investigation into all the circumstances of the tragic death of a young South Monaghan law student in a hit-and-run—while he was cycling, near Carrickmacross more than five years ago—-has led to a further call by Fianna Fáil leader Micheal Martin T.D., to An Taoiseach, Enda Kenny T.D., for a Commission of Inquiry to be set up to probe the fatality. It was confirmed that the Fianna Fáil leader has written directly to ...