Opinion

THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS One of the ‘drastic’ proposals that many business, faced with the energy shortage and escalating prices, have put forward is to close on Sundays or at least limit the opening hours. Businesses such as local shops, the pubs, some petrol stations and the perennial Pennys! I am up …

BY NED EGAN Part 1 Sunday Mass was a great time for me, back in the 40s, when I was about ten. No, I didn’t go – but lots of other people did. Including well-off farmers in our area. I had a gambling clown of a father. Aren’t all gamblers clowns? The only solution for …

By John Fitzgerald The band’s debut appearance at Croke Park coincided with a match there involving the Kilkenny Camogie team. The girls, who scooped an All-Ireland victory, received a great morale booster from the presence of the band in Dublin. When the team returned to Kilkenny, the Camogie players formed a guard of honour with …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR It’s that time of year again when people are considering how much they can afford to put in their pension. For so many people the only benchmark is how much needs to be invested to get the maximum relief for the tax year. Unfortunately for many the view is if …

BY CLAIR WHITTY At Natural Health Store, on the main street in Wexford we have opened a new department. It’s downstairs. We opened it in June but lots of people don’t know it’s there so I thought I would let you know more about it. Especially seeing as you might be looking for gift ideas. …

AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Clouds can put a damper on life can’t they? Remember the deluge they dumped on the Electric Picnic this summer? And just think of the number of times in this rainy country of ours we pray for clouds to stay away from a special event. But there is another …

THE FACT OF THE MATTER PAUL HOPKINS New York, New York. So good, they named it twice; the city that never sleeps; the Big Apple, Capital City of the World, the Centre of the Universe. We’ve heard it all before, of course, but to paraphrase Samuel Johnson, he who tires of New York, tires of …

This week The Kilkenny Observer, in association with Cois Céim and The Kilkenny Saturday Walkers group, take a look at the history of Saint John’s Priory . The Priory’s history is an interesting one. By 1200 the Augustinians had a hospital at St Mauls dedicated to John the Evangelist. In1202 Bishop Felix O’Dullany granted one …

BY NED EGAN Part 3 So I took the decision to go and ask her, straight out, if there was ‘any chance.’ You think my antics were bizarre? We had a man in our village who thought he was a steam engine; another who had a bike for forty years and couldn’t ride it, a …

BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR Maybe the mention of Christmas this early causes you to groan but unless you start now you could miss out on extra funds from what you think is clutter with the help of eBay. eBay, if you recall, was the first online marketplace but today is a household name. It …