Opinion
James Stephens The Kilkenny man who founded the Fenians
BY JOHN FITZGERALD PART ONE One of those wounded in the infamous Ballingarry skirmish was a young Kilkenny man, James Stephens. Born and educated in the Marble City, Stephens was a railways civil engineer when he joined the ill-fated Young Ireland movement. After the abortive uprising, he fled to France with another activist, John O’Mahony, …
‘What is the stars, Gerry? What is the stars?’
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran “Space, the final frontier, these are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise, its five-year mission to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilisations, to boldly go where no man has gone before.” This introduction began every episode of the original Star Trek series which I …
Budget must look to rising childcare costs
BY JOHN ELLIS, FINANCIAL ADVISOR The Irish economy has overcome a raft of challenges it faced in the past three years. May 2023 saw a reduction in the unemployment rate to 3.8%, surpassing the pre-pandemic level of 4.8% recorded in February 2020. Recent data for May 2023 indicates an impressive surge in tax receipts, reaching …
CAMHS utterly failing children and young people across Carlow and Kilkenny
KATHLEEN FUNCHION Sinn Fein TD for Kilkenny Carlow Sinn Féin spokesperson for children and TD for Carlow Kilkenny, Kathleen Funchion, has called for better supports for young people and children trying to access CAMHS in Carlow and Kilkenny. Deputy Funchion was speaking on the astronomical rise in referral refusals across the region, with a staggering …
Are you talking about the menopause?
BY CLAIR WHITTY October is menopause awareness month and at Natural Health Store we have been talking to women about the menopause for years. It is a natural conversation for us to have every day so I was surprised to realise how many women are not talking to each other about it. When I look …
When sometimes we don’t get the label right
AS I SEE IT MARIANNE HERON Labels are handy things. You can stick them on folders or containers and store the contents away out of sight. Job done. Labelling can be a convenient way of dealing with issues you don’t want to think about too deeply or question. The labels came out for last fortnight’s …
Will Budget save us from a Winter of Discontent?
THE FACT OF THE MATTER BY PAUL HOPKINS Are we heading into another Winter Of Discontent with continuing high energy costs and continued hikes in basic food stuff, not to mention yet another increase in mortgage rates? Minister for Finance Michael McGrath says this Tuesday the 10th’s Budget will be focused on “helping households with …
Gowran Park return of the jumps
BY MICHAEL O’LEARY One of the most exciting weekends of the racing year takes place this weekend as the jumps action return to Gowran Park with a two-day meeting taking place today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday). Along with the action in Gowran, Sunday is a huge day with a superb mixed card of Flat and …
Introducing Gerard, Peter, Patrick, Martin Moran!
FURTHERMORE By Gerry Moran My name is Gerry – with a G, not Jerry with a J – and, as many of you Gerrys with a G know we are called after Saint Gerard Majella, the patron saint of safe births. I perfectly understand why I, the youngest of a family of five, was christened …
Novel recalls heroes of a forgotten war…
BY JOHN FITZGERALD Invaders will be launched at Keogh’s pub at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 6th. Kilkenny City and County feature prominently in the novel, which is set in the turbulent mid 17th century, though Waterford, Dublin, Wexford and other parts of our strife-torn island also figure in this historical drama. It tells the …
