An 11-year-old motorsport enthusiast has turned his passion for rallying into a growing online platform with the launch of Hugh’s Rallying, a new website dedicated to Irish rally photography and video coverage. Hugh O’Brien, aged 11, has developed a keen interest in rallying and motorsport and is now becoming a familiar face at rally events …

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Young Cats pull clear to secure victory BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE FULFIL LEINSTER GAA U20 HURLING CHAMPIONSHIP TIER 1 GROUP 1 – ROUND 1  Kildare 0-10 Kilkenny 1-16 Henry Shefflin’s reign as Kilkenny U20 manager got off to a winning start with a hard-fought opening round win in the Fulfil Leinster U20 Hurling …

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In a time when communities continue to face uncertainty and rising pressures, St. Canice’s Credit Union remains a constant and reliable presence – supporting members, strengthening local initiatives, and reinvesting directly into the areas it serves. St. Canice’s Credit Union is delighted to launch the 2026 Community Connect Fund, making €150,000 available to community groups …

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By John Fitzgerald Paddy Molloy might well have been Callan’s wisest and wittiest man of the 20th century. He was born in Callan on a sunny day in 1898. At age 16, following intensive schooling at the CBS, during which the Christian Brothers taught him everything they knew, an adventurous Paddy joined the army in …

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Over 300 people turned out for the Annual Good Friday Walk, which is the 22nd year of the walk, and was led by Bishop Ger Nash, Apostolic Administrator of Ossory, and Fr. Willie Purcell. Each walker received a St. Francis of Assisi cross in remembrance of the walk in this year of St. Francis. “It …

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When ‘Fourth Wall’ theatre company take to the stage in Thomastown Concert hall, one thing is certain. The audience will have the time of their lives. Comedy will abound. As a matter of fact there will be little else, because their production of Moll by JB Keane is a laugh from beginning to end. John …

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If you like your coffee black, your femmes fatales ice-cold and your unreliable narrators on the seedy side, then The Tangled Skirt, running in Thomastown Community Hall on Thursday and Friday, April 16th and 17th, might just be the play for you. Playwright Steve Braunstein, a self-professed aficionado of the classic age of Hollywood film …

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FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran There was a right schmozzle about opera, and ballet, recently when actor Timothée Chalamet (he played Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown and lost out to Best Actor in Marty Supreme at this year’s Oscars) said in an interview that no one cares about opera and ballet. There was a swift …

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BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Another 300 people signed on to the live register last month, pushing the seasonally adjusted total to 171,100. The unadjusted March figure reached 168,072, a 5.1% jump on the same month last year. Yet, again, the Government appears slow to respond to these warning signs. The unemployment rate, released by …

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AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Is celebrity protected against online abuse? You might think so, especially when an individual’s success is hard won. But look at the way that nasty comments about his appearance have impacted Peaky Blinders star Barry Keoghan, to the point where he told US radio Sirius XM listeners: “I …

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