News

Heart of darkness throws light on our well-being
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Diarist Anne Frank wrote: “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.” And she knew about darkness in her short tragic life. We are amidst the darkness in these short, dank days and never-ending nights where many a candle is lit and …

Midnight Bells and Moonlight Blessings
THE KILKENNY OBSERVER CHRISTMAS SHORT STORY SERIES Celebrating writers in our community ’23 The Kilkenny Observer Newspaper is delighted to present our ‘2023 Christmas short story series’. We have invited four writers from Kilkenny to submit a short story over the coming weeks, which we hope you will enjoy. This week we welcome Joseph Kearney …

Sing Your Way to €1000 with Audiology Medical Services’ Christmas Carol Contest
Audiology Medical Services is delighted to launch their annual Christmas Carol Contest for 2023. Breaking new ground this year, Audiology Medical Services are excited to open the competition to choirs nationwide offering a unique opportunity for choirs from every corner of the country and of all ages, to join in spreading the joy of the …

Gaels seek Leinster crown at Croker!
Na Fianna stands in way of Loughs provincial dreams BY NIALL SHERRY, SPORTS EDITOR PREVIEW Leinster GAA AIB Senior Club Hurling Championship Final O’Loughlin Gaels Vs Na Fianna 4:05pm Tomorrow, Páirc an Chrócaigh Referee: Caymon Flynn O’Loughlin Gaels will run out at Croke Park tomorrow knowing that they are possibly only 60 minutes away from …

Mayor honours “creative genius”
A man hailed as “a creative genius” was honoured last week, with the Mayor and a host of the county’s literati and glitterati lining up to pay homage to his stranger-than-fiction life and dazzling achievements WRITTEN BY: JOHN FITZGERALD PHOTOS: JACK MOORE Ned Egan recently celebrated his 87th birthday but shows no sign of abating …

Callan Friary handed over to Kilkenny County Council
The Augustinian Order formally handed over ownership of the Callan Friary Complex to Kilkenny County Council at an event held on November 22nd. A monastery was originally constructed on this site in 1471, and the site has been an integral part of the history of both Callan and Ireland from that day to this demonstrating …

Time to deal with the menace of right wing extremists
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON The rhetoric about right-wingers here is dismissive. They don’t represent us, we are told, they are motivated by hate, unlike other countries they will never have enough support to have political clout. They seem to merit no more attention that an annoying cloud of gnats. But the riots in …

A brief history of theatre in Kilkenny
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran Outside of Dublin, Kilkenny possesses the greatest collection of medieval documents and records in Ireland. One of those documents refers to a dramatic presentation at The Market Cross in Kilkenny’s High St in 1553 when a play entitled ‘God’s Promises’ was performed. The play, written by John Bale, the Church of …

Keeping your festive spending in check
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR We all love a present, especially at Christmas, but New Year debt and financial worries we can do without. Sometime we lose the run of ourselves at Christmas and end up with unwanted bills to accompany the chills of January. It can take some households seven months to repay Christmas …

James Kenny RIP
“Driven determined devoted” “James possessed an unwavering commitment to excellence and high performance in everything he undertook.” “A dedicated disciplined and hard working player, a gentleman loved by his coaches and team mates.” “Hard work, leadership, dedication, passion for doing what he loved, football and helping others achieve their goals.” “A proud Kilkenny man, a …