PART 1 BY JOHN FITZGERALD A visit to Desart Court When she was 77 years old in about 1958, Nell Dooley-Monaghan wrote to Callan’s local correspondent Peter Roughan to share some memories with him and his readers. Nell was a daughter of Jim Dooley who worked with Ben Thompson, a gamekeeper in Desart. In the letter she wrote: “Dear Peter, You will …

THE LAST WORD By Pat Coughlan Television in Ireland is in the middle a revolution! Gone are the fixed TV schedules, making way for the reign of streaming services and smart TVs, our modern thrones. We’re entering a new era where TV suggests shows quicker than a barman pours a pint unless it’s Guinness of …

Over the past few weeks; I’ve recounted the stories of County Kilkenny heroes of the War of Independence. Since last week’s article, I accompanied the Kilkenny Heritage Walkers to Nowlan Park to mark the hundredth anniversary of the death of a great sportsman and patriot, James Nowlan, after whom the mighty venue is named. He was born in Monasterevin in 1862.  His father was a …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS I could say that most of the contentious issues the public have been enraged about in the run-up to the local elections don’t particularly affect me, given I am in the autumn of my years. But I would be wrong to take such a stance. Let’s do …