Articles in the Monaghan Category

ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE! – Michael ‘Iron Man’ Burks from Milwaukee is pictured here in full stride at the Marquee on Sunday night, where he brought the strongly attended and supported 2011 Harvest Time Blues festival in Monaghan to a high-decibel close, writes Michael McDonnell. The festival organisers were also on a high note when summing up on how well the whole weekend went again this year, notwithstanding gloomy weather and the ongoing economic turmoil. Co Council Arts Officer Somhairle Mac Congail said the crowds at the ...

As Diarmuid McCleary is pictured by Rory Geary putting the finishing touches to his ‘Graffiti Arts’ project in anticipation of the Harvest Time Blues Festival this weekend, it’s worth looking at the words by the late Rory Gallagher — which are edged in the piece — who says, “Blues is the most demanding form of music because it goes deeper, it goes beyond technique. Because it’s spiritual , it drains the artist”. These words bring us to the crossroads of the music were the legendary bluesman, Robert Leroy ...

A call was made by nurses’ representatives this week for the extension of the services available at the Minor Injuries Unit located at Monaghan General Hospital. Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation spokesman Tony Fitzpatrick praised the way in which the unit was operating and called on the Health Service Executive to consider ways in which its scope of services could be expanded. Recent fears were expressed that the unit has been earmarked by the HSE for a reduction in its operating hours as a cost-saving measure. The ...

Some great acoustic blues acts will be entertaining the discerning crowds at the Acoustic Stage, Market House, Monaghan over the weekend of the Harvest Time Festival on Friday 2nd, Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th September. The artists will be appearing in varying orders in slots from 7pm–10pm on the Friday and from 2–5pm and 7pm–9pm on the Saturday and Sunday (see www.harvestblues.com/Acoustic-Stage for full details). Ticket prices for the Market House Acoustic Stage are €12 Friday night and €15 for Saturday and Sunday. The performers will finish up ...

The story of the blues and the history of its people unfolds in the line-up at this year’s Harvest Time Rhythm & Blues festival in Monaghan. Boo Boo Davis from Drew, Mississippi in the heart of the Delta, one of few remaining blues musicians who sang the blues based in cotton fields in the Mississippi Delta, was one of the sharecroppers who sang loudly to help pass the gruelling hours of work. Boo Boo, who is one of the main acts performing at the Marquee in Monaghan this year, ...

The Monaghan General Hospital Community Alliance have reiterated their concerns over the adequacy of the provision available in the county to deal with medical and maternity emergencies. A statement on the Alliance’s website – saveourhospitalcom – entitled “What Next?” refers to recent fatal traffic accidents in the county and the latest roadside birth when a Scotstown mother went into labour on her way to Cavan General Hospital. The Alliance met last night with Fine Gael TDs and local authority representatives from the county to discuss the plans to ...

The glint of late evening sunshine on fast-moving chrome heralded the arrival in Monaghan Town on Tuesday of a party of young cyclists drawn from communities on both sides of the Border coming to the conclusion of the latest leg of a progressive “Peace Through Exercise” project. The youngsters and their supporting party were arriving at the Monaghan Leisure Centre on the Clones Road where they were honoured guests at a joint civic reception hosted by Monaghan Town and Monaghan Co Councils. The Peace Cycle was the latest manifestation of the ...

By PATSY McARDLE THE formal signing of a contract on Monday afternoon by Co. Monaghan Vocational Education Committee with John Sisk and Sons, to mark the go-ahead with the building of the new €37 million education complex at the twenty-acre site of the former army base along the Armagh Road outside Monaghan town is seen as a milestone for education and art in the region. With the inclusion of a new €3.3 million state-of-the-art theatre, replacing the existing Garage Theatre, the development will be the largest school building project to ...

By Patsy McArdle SHELTERS are to be erected for cyclists in every town and village in Co. Monaghan. Monaghan county council has announced it has secured funding to provide the bike shelters under the Department of Environment’s “Smarter Travel Initiative.  The Council is now appealing for guidance from the public, including community groups, to determine the most suitable locations for the covered cycle-parking bays. “The overall objective is to get more people doing their everyday business using bikes, instead of cars,” said Monaghan County Council spokeswoman Carol Lambe yesterday.  She said the ...