Dickens in Kilkenny
I saw Dickens in Kilkenny. He put on a magical performance of ‘A Christmas Carol’, playing all the parts. He excelled as that miserable, mean-spirited creature we know as Ebenezer Scrooge, who was the unlikely hero in one of the world’s best loved Christmas books. What is even more unbelievable is that the book was …
Hard to keep a good Cat down
Kilkenny native Brendan Dixon receives Freedom of City of London Brendan Dixon formerly of Lower Patrick Street, Kilkenny was recently awarded the Freedom of the City of London at a ceremony at The Guildhall in London’s financial district. Vincent Keaveny the first Irish born Lord Mayor of the City of London nominated Brendan as a …
Mayor Fitzgerald honours Kilkenny Storm members who represented Ireland on the International Stage
Mayor of Kilkenny, Cllr David FitzGerald has hosted ‘Kilkenny Storm’ in the Town Hall to honour their recent success on the international stage. The local young players represented the Irish inline hockey team in Montreal, Germany and Kuwait. Earlier this month, Bryce Cummins ( 17), Cameron Mcfarlane (16), Jamie O’Brien (16), Adam Fomin (17) and …
When hurling was a crime in Kilkenny!
By John Fitzgerald Kilkenny had the dubious honour of serving as the venue for sixteen parliaments between 1293 and 1408. The best known of these was the one that convened in 1366. It enacted the hard-hitting and notorious Statutes of Kilkenny, which aimed to clamp down on the intermingling of English and Norman settlers with …
Snow Goose!
BY NED EGAN Part 2 – his nose pointed towards the cold Northern sky: “Buhrrd!” he growled, warningly. The children stopped their game – and their eyes followed his nose, his hard stare. They finally spotted – long after Doggo – against the dirty washing lines of threatening clouds – a ducking and swerving object. …
Festive favourites, and a Christmas tree fest
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Do you know what I hate? I hate it when people start a conversation with: “I hate to tell you this but you missed…a great match…show…performance…”. Whatever. Be that as it may but I hate to tell you all that, unless you were in St John’s Priory, the Lantern of Ireland …
Burst pipes: is your home insurance good for it?
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Met Eireann at time of writing is advising of plummeting temperatures with snow and sleet forecast for some areas with the danger that homeowners could face bills running into the tens of thousands, or more, if a burst pipe causes damage to their home in the upcoming Big Freeze – …
Why it’s time to reinstate real Christmas
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON A lot of Christmas is about memories and tradition. We were busy making a Christmas cake in a cookery class where I volunteered as a helper last week. “Were you ever told not to slam doors when the cake was in the oven?” I asked “Oh yeah, you’d be …
Irish gifts for Christmas
BY CLAIR WHITTY Christmas is coming and most of you will be looking for gift ideas. I recently wrote about buying practical gifts, shopping local and buying online from Irish websites. But, what about going one step further and buying Irish brands. I think you’d be surprised how much you’ll find. By shopping local, buying …
‘What’s the craic?’ she’d say, with that beautiful smile
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS Back in the Eighties there was hardly a red-blooded Irish male who was not in love with the wonderful Sally O’Brien and “the way she might look at you” from across the crowded local pub come Christmas week and everyone having the craic as only we Irish know …
