News
Paying Granny for coming to the rescue with childminding
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON The Swedes, always ahead when it comes to social provisions, have just introduced paid grandparental leave for three months of the grandchild’s first year. Not quite the same thing as actually paying grandparents, whether working or not, for minding their grandchildren but still a step in that direction. …
The Battle that Never Was
BY JOHN FITZGERALD Visit any city in Ireland and you’ll find people preaching in the streets, predicting doom and gloom, and, more often than not, the end of the world. But alarmist visions of the future are nothing new. Quite a few ancient prophesies concern our neck of the woods. Fifteen centuries ago, St. Columcille foretold that …
Best foot forward for Kilkenny Athletes
Harriers in a hurry in Slovakia! BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE There was local interest in the European Athletics U18 Championships last weekend when our young stars competed against the best of their peers in Banská Bystrica, Slovakia. Kilkenny City Harriers rising stars, Molly Daly and Pia Langton were representing Ireland in the …
Music has forever been a component of my life
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Twelve years ago, I found myself dancing with a young woman in Durban by the Indian Ocean. It was a typical balmy African night as I endeavoured to keep pace with her beguiling Zulu rhythms, moving to the music of Mafikizolo, when the deejay stopped himself in …
WHITE TWINE AND OLD SUITCASES
THE KILKENNY INVOLVEMENT CENTRE AND RECOVERY COLLEGE SOUTH EAST HAVE PRODUCED A WONDERFUL ANTHOLOGY OF POETRY AND PROSE. ‘WHITE TWINE AND OLD SUITCASES’ COMPRISES OF 128 PAGES AND 60 AUTHORS AND IS COMPLEMENTED BY SOME WONDERFUL PHOTOS AND ARTWORK BY TASK CAMERA CLUB. IT IS PRINTED BY MODERN PRINTERS. IT IS DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED READING FOR …
Tax Inheritance: what the Budget might look like
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Tánaiste Micheál Martin has announced that reform of inheritance tax will be “on the agenda” for Budget 2025. While he ruled out the prospect of abolishing the tax on family homes, the potential changes could have significant financial ramifications for families across Ireland. In a recent statement he highlighted the …
Trials & tribulations of the short-distance runner!
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran The Olympics always remind me of the Waterbarrack where I got my first taste of competitive running and jumping. It was in the Waterbarrack that I got my first serious rush of adrenaline when, as a youngster of nine or 10, I lined up, taut and tense, to run the 100 …
MacKenna explores family relationship as memoir is launched
Photos : Pat Shortall Father, Son and Brother Ghost, a memoir by Royal Oak, County Carlow based writer John MacKenna was launched at Athy library on July 11th. The book is John’s twenty-fourth publication and speaking at the event Dr John Macdougald outlined the story behind the book – an account of the author’s relationship …
Keeping Joints Healthy
What you can do to maintain joint health and reduce the impact of osteoarthritis over a lifetime By Paul Bolger. Chartered Physiotherapist at Nano Physiotherapy, Kilkenny (www.nanophysio.ie). After reading about risk factors for osteoarthritis last week, I hope you have an appreciation for what has an impact on joint health in the long run. Let’s look …
Celebrating the Meadows of Kilkenny City
There are two substantial meadows in Kilkenny City managed by Kilkenny County Council, Dukes Meadows and Bishop Meadows. Forming parts of the City’s linear parks, the two areas offer the city a wide expanse of grassland for everyone’s enjoyment. These meadows are floodplains, allowing the River Nore to overspill when the volumes of water can …
