News
Cats see-off Dowling’s stubborn Lilywhites to claim Shield victory
Offaly in focus, as league begins on Noreside BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR SPORTSEDITOR@KILKENNYOBSERVER.IE Dioralyte Leinster Walsh Shield Final Kilkenny 1-20 Kildare 2-13 John Locke Park, Callan Referee: Adam Kinahan (Offaly) There was a sizeable crowd in Callan last Sunday as Kildare travelled to Noreside for the 2026 Dioralyte Leinster Walsh Shield Final. The …
The Great War Widows of Walkin Street and Goose Hill, County Kilkenny
The Great War Widows of Walkin Street and Goose Hill, County Kilkenny (working title) is a forthcoming publication that will document the human cost of the First World War on two Kilkenny streets. Research on the lives of the widows and families left behind is underway. Over 150 soldiers who served in the Great War …
Re-Empowering Death Conversations
CHOICES SHAPE YOUR FUTURE By Judith Ashton Talking about sex does not make you pregnant! Talking about death does not kill you! Talking about such things is empowering and need not be taboo… so let’s start such conversations sooner than later. I’m a great believer in talking and learning as much as possible about the …
OcuHealth wins VentureLaunch 2025 as SETU–UCD partnership advances new eye treatment
OcuHealth, an emerging eye therapeutics start-up led by South East Technological University (SETU) in collaboration with University College Dublin (UCD), has been announced as the overall winner of this year’s VentureLaunch Accelerator Programme. The award recognises the significant commercial potential of OcuHealth’s breakthrough approach to treating eye disease and marks an important milestone for the …
“Saved by the Hand of God”
By John Fitzgerald (Part One) Along with the horrors of war, we hear the occasional feel-good stories…of narrow escapes and heart-stopping brushes with death A County Kilkenny woman, the late Kathleen Aylward, told me of how divine intervention saved her from the wrath of the German Air Force during World War 2. In July 2002, …
To see or not to see – that is, Hamnet
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran And so I went to see Hamnet (the movie on everyone’s lips) about the death of Shakespeare’s only son, Hamnet (the name was interchangeable with Hamlet in 1600s’ Stratford-on-Avon, Shakespeare’s birth place). The movie is hugely popular especially here in Ireland as it has not one, not two, but a trilogy …
Go far and wide, but have that travel insurance
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR In a time where the cost-of-living squeeze shows no sign of easing, it is surprising that many people are still planning multiple overseas trips this year. Recent surveys reveal that more than half of us plan three or more holidays in 2026, with Spain topping the list as the favourite. …
Weighing into prejudice against those extra kilos
AS I SEE IT BY MARIANNE HERON Having been fat at one point in life and also having been skinny at another, I honestly think in between the two is better. I ran to ‘puppy fat’ at puberty and became thin when suffering from gall stones in mid-life. Being called fatty as a pre-teen was …
Any given day, and it could be you …
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Fifteen years ago, my heart was broken. And, as I peered at myself closely in the misted mirror, drawing the cold blade once more across the soaped-up skin, I felt like the condemned man having his last shave — to be clean before his Maker — and …
Kilkenny County Council Shortlisted for Multiple Categories at LAMA Awards 2026
Photos: Dylan Vaughan Kilkenny County Council is delighted to announce that it has been shortlisted in six categories for the prestigious Local Authority Members Association (LAMA) Awards 2026. In addition, Kilkenny County Council has earned a nomination for the highly coveted title of Local Authority of the Year. The LAMA Awards celebrate excellence in local …
