The Lonesome West comes to Thomastown
The Fionn Mac Cumhaill Players are currently on tour with the Martin Mac Donagh classic play ‘The Lonesome West’ . Following two successful performances to date, they are coming to The Concert Hall in Thomastown this weekend The Lonesome West features the persistently arguing brothers Coleman and Valene, whose father has just died in a …
In Jail with John Lacey
BY NED EGAN Part 2 “What am I in for, Ned?” he exclaimed, almost in shock – “I’m in here ‘cause I’m a bloody thief, that’s why, just like all these other chancers!” So Shelton was not, after all, a hot spot on the Amnesty books; nor need we fear recruiting teams from Maynooth making …
Learning to grow with BTEI Kilkenny
Kilkenny’s Back to Education Initiative (BTEI) programme based at Danville Business Park continues to expand with new classrooms and courses added for the New Year. Since the early 2000s, BTEI Kilkenny has been offering a second chance to study for local people who left school with few or no formal qualifications. Its programme of free, …
When asked by Billy Connolly for help changing a tyre, Eoin apologised, saying he was a huge fan but he was rushing to a gig
By John Cleere The death of Eoin Mac Donald, lover of the arts, shocked the city, as people agreed that Kilkenny had lost a legend. Former classmate and friend John Cleere pays tribute to Eoin “A pint of fizzy orange please.” It’s an hour before doors open, but Eoin has arrived and has taken up …
Crocks and Beauties
By John Fitzgerald The sideline activities at the Beer Festival are worth a mention too. The Queen of the Land competition attracted hundreds of women, each of them put forward by committees of adoring townspeople, villagers, or the occupants of obscure country lanes, woodlands, and hillsides around the county. With their sixties hairstyles and dresses, …
Back to the future with Madame Helena
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran I am walking down the Castle Road towards the Parade when I see a little camper van parked up, outside Rinuccinis restaurant. The notice on the window caught my eye: ‘Madame Helena. Palm Reading. Crystal Ball. Tarot Cards. Step in.’ And in I stepped. Madame Helena is low-sized, blondish, sallow complexion …
Pensions, company profits… and private wealth
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR After all the recent upheaval in the pensions market with the embargo being put-on one-man pension schemes by the pensions authority, insurance providers have at last put in place executive pension arrangements under what is called a Master Trust. Executive pensions continue to be perhaps the most tax efficient method …
Practical Christmas gifts
BY CLAIR WHITTY Do you, like me, prefer to get practical gifts that are bought from local shops or from an Irish company online? For example, Tisserand’s Gift of Sleep, is a limited-edition gift set that’s perfect for someone who can’t sleep. It contains Sleep Better Massage & Body Oil, Sleep Better Pillow Mist, and …
Did colleges turn a kind eye to abuse?
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON One thing is certain about clerical child sex abuse, like the latest allegations of historical abuse by the Spiritans at Blackrock College and other schools in their charge: a reaction of public revulsion. Much less certain are the questions surrounding the crime, for the sexual abuse of minors is …
When every day seems like a bad news day
THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS Back in the late Nineties a new paper began publishing in, I think, Sacramento in California. Its stated mission was to report “only good news”. Happy stories, stories that would bring a smile to your face. Make you laugh. The weekly paper never reached its mandated sales nor …
