Christmas calls us to bring our own gifts and talents as treasure to others
The Kilkenny Observer Newspaper is delighted to present our ‘2025 Christmas short story series’. We invited five Kilkenny based writers to submit a short story or poems each week, which we hope you will enjoy. This is the Observers fifth year promoting creative writing in the community. For week two we welcome Castlecomer native Niamh …
Christmas commercials and Molly Malone
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Christmas is coming. Coming! Christmas has been coming since the last of the ‘Trick or Treat’ kids skipped down our driveway with monkey nuts, sweets and some loose change. In fact, Christmas was coming even sooner. I saw Christmas cards in a certain supermarket in mid-October. Ridiculous! The first time I …
Black Friday: now, we’re boxing clever …
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR This year’s Black Friday (November 28) will be quieter, according to PwC. A recent survey of 2,000 Irish consumers shows planned spending falling 14% to €283 from €329 in 2024. Almost three-quarters of those surveyed (73%) intend to spend the same or less than last year. And only 14% expect …
Crunch time for creches over funding
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON If I were a working parent with crèche-going children, I would be praying for an available granny. Or maybe I would think of migrating to France where ecoles maternelles for three-t0-six-year-olds are State funded and free and crèches for under 3s are generously subsidised. Headlines about threatened crèche …
Huffing and puffing: another house plan
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS It would be laughable if it were not serious. I think of The Three Little Pigs, the story I tell my granddaughters, and how the Big, Bad Wolf “huffs and puffs and blows their house down”. There was a lot of political huffing and puffing when the …
Kilkenny Libraries Celebrate December with Family Time at Your Library
Kilkenny County Council Library Service is inviting families to join in a month of festive fun and creativity this December as part of the national Family Time at Your Library initiative. This programme, under the Right to Read campaign, encourages families to enjoy reading and learning together through engaging, interactive events. Throughout December, libraries across Kilkenny will host a …
Carmel Kealy Remembers…
By John Fitzgerald (Part three) (Carmel Kealy’s recollections of life in early 20th century Callan provide a fascinating insight for people of present and future generations. Part one and two can be read on the Observer website.) Trades and crafts flourished in Callan. Carmel admired even as a youngster the skilled woodcarving evident in the …
Natural Health Store Festive Gifts
BY CLAIR WHITTY The festive season is upon us and you might be trying to find an interesting and different gift for a loved one, a friend, your neighbour, or your Secret Santa. Don’t despair, we have lots of ideas to share with you. Let’s start with a Gift Voucher. These can be purchased from …
Secrets and suffering behind closed doors….
CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton The festive season is nigh and it’s a sad fact that violence against women is a serious feature of Irish society. For many women, home is not safe. During lockdown, countless women and children were stuck in houses with bullies and domestic violence soared. The statistics for Women’s …
Next-Generation Entrepreneurs Set to Shine at MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre Christmas Market
The Local Enterprise Office in Kilkenny County Council is excited to announce that students from schools all over the county will be showcasing their mini companies at special Christmas Markets on Tuesdays and Thursdays (2nd, 4th, 9th, & 11th December) from 12 noon in MacDonagh Junction Shopping Centre. These markets are a fantastic opportunity for …
