Car, heating, the mortgage… all driven up
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Diesel has gone above €2 a litre at many petrol stations. The AA puts the extra cost for a typical driver at around €235 a year. Home heating oil is up 44% on the year. A 1,000-litre fill is about €550 dearer than last winter. Food, for once, is relatively …
We must lift children out of poverty
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Child poverty sounds like a phrase which should belong back in Victorian times in tales like Charles Dickens’s ‘Oliver Twist’ or involve Tom the dirty chimney sweep in Charles Kingsley’s ‘Water Babies’. Hungry orphan Oliver has to live by his wits as a thief, while the luckless Tom …
Freedom and the price that comes with being wired up
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It was the French philosopher Descartes who declared, “I think, therefore I am.” Today, it would be more apt to declare, “I am wired, therefore I am.” Today if you are not wired, you do not exist for those who are. Like radio and television in the …
Windgap survive Cloneen challenge after thrilling Jenkinstown encounter
By Jimmy Walsh. Photographs by Catherine Power and ANO. Windgap eventually emerged with a comfortable-looking 3-27 to 3-11 victory over Cloneen in this first-round JJ Kavanagh and Sons Premier Junior Hurling Championship knockout clash at Jenkinstown on Saturday. However, the final margin did not tell the full story of an entertaining and at times highly …
Graiguenamanagh overcome Galmoy challenge in Palmerstown thriller
Jim Whelan report and photographs. Palmerstown, the home of Dicksboro GAA and Camogie Club, provided the setting for an entertaining and at times dramatic first-round encounter in the JJ Kavanagh and Sons Premier Junior Hurling Championship on Sunday last, where Graiguenamanagh eventually edged past Galmoy on a scoreline of 0-28 to 4-11. There was plenty …
10,000 handwritten messages of peace unveiled at Kilkenny Cathedral
Peace Doves, an acclaimed community artwork by sculptor Peter Walker, makes its Irish debut at St Canice’s Cathedral, Kilkenny. 10,000 handwritten messages of peace are now suspended high above the medieval interior at St Canice’s Cathedral in an art installation created in collaboration with the community. Making its Irish debut today, Peace Doves, by acclaimed …
ICMSA say factories will miss opportunity given by ban on Brazilian beef ban if farmers lack confidence in buying Autumn forward cattle
As the we head into the Autumn-buying period for forward cattle, the Chairperson of ICMSA’s Livestock Committee has called for processors to outline proposals for winter and spring finishers against the background of what he called the “farmer margin massacre” that had been inflicted by the factories in the latter half of Spring 2026. The …
Final four out to claim league prizes
BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League Saturday sees the first silverware at senior level on Noreside up for grabs as the 2026 St Canice’s Credit Union Senior Hurling League Final and Shield deciders take place at Kilkenny GAA headquarters. First up at 2pm is the meeting of O’Loughlin …
Barrow Rangers produce commanding display to see off Mooncoin
Barrow Rangers 2-21; Mooncoin 0-19. John Power at Danesfort GAA Grounds. A controlled and highly impressive performance from start to finish enabled Intermediate grade newcomers Barrow Rangers to record a comprehensive victory over fancied Mooncoin at the Danesfort GAA Grounds on Sunday evening last. The Paulstown-based side produced arguably their best display of the season …
The “Busiest Street in Town”
By John Fitzgerald (Part four) Concluding the story of Callan (with a special focus on Upper Bridge Street) in Seamus O’ Brien’ s youth. Parts one, two and three can be read elsewhere on the Observer website In number twenty-six Upper Bridge Street lived a Mrs. Shelly and her son, Jack. Mrs. Shelly’s maiden name …
