Monaghan 2-12 Louth 2-08 By JOHN GRAHAM Monaghan maintained their unbeaten run in Division 3A of the Allianz Hurling league when they held out for a 3 points victory over a tenacious Louth who pushed them all the way in a game that built to a nervy finish in Inniskeen on Sunday afternoon last. Injuries still forced manager Trevor Hilliard to make changes but his options where increased with the return of the Meegan siblings, Colm and Donal, both of whom had a big impact on the outcome. Despite being at less than ...

KEVIN CARNEY Years ago when short pants were de rigeur and on a wet day the weight of the match ball was multiplied 10-fold by the time the dust had settled on the game, the catchphrase of your commoner-garden trainer (there were no coaches back then) was to make sure “your last lap was your fastest”. Monaghan did just that in Omagh last weekend but it wasn’t enough to pip quick-out-of-the traps Tyrone. Of course, Monaghan made the race doubly hard to win by tying a sock around their ankles with the dismissal ...

Michael Fisher The government has again failed to water down a Fianna Fáil motion on the need to review and cost the underground option for the North South electricity interconnector. Following a defeat in the Dáil a fortnight ago, this time it was the Seanad that rejected a proposal from the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Denis Naughten TD.   Monaghan Fianna Fáil Senator Robbie Gallagher yesterday evening brought forward a motion on behalf of the party that had the backing of Sinn Féin and some independent Senators. The wording ...

By Cianna McNally A well-known Monaghan Town man who received an award in recognition of his work to promote the town has described himself as being “totally honoured.” Leslie Crawford was named runner up for Ireland’s Heritage Hero award at a ceremony last Wednesday for his tireless work on his Facebook page, which he set up less than a year ago, that features a daily mini history lesson on characters and buildings that have made the town so special. The photos and writing that Leslie uploads on his ...

By Cianna McNally and Michael Fisher A Monaghan mother has vowed to keep up the fight to ensure that her daughter, who suffers from an ultra-rare condition, gets the drug she needs. Nine-year-old Grace Cogan, from Laragh, Castleblayney, is one of approximately eight people in Ireland with the condition Morquio. There is only one enzyme-replacement medication on the market that has been proven to help reduce its effects but it has not been approved for use in the Republic of Ireland. However, two other children living here who have ...

Michael Fisher With the prospect of an all-out strike on Monday by Bus Éireann workers over cost-cutting measures announced by the semi-state company, Sinn Féin’s Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin T.D. has pressed the Transport Minister Shane Ross T.D. to ensure the continuation of services on the Bus Éireann Dublin to Derry Expressway route. Bus Éireann no. 33 to and from Derry stops and picks up at Monaghan town on a twice daily basis, offering 28 services a week. Last Monday Bus Éireann’s acting Chief Executive Officer Ray Hernan announced the company would ...

Monaghan Institute’s Engineering Traineeship programme being run in collaboration with Combilift was a point of interest in an RTE news feature this week about how Brexit is affecting Irish businesses trading with the UK. Combilift was highlighted as one of Monaghan’s best success stories and the company expressed confidence for the future due to its current rapid expansion and its close ties with the UK market, which accounts for 25% of exports. Indeed, Combilift’s business has continued to grow in the UK since the referendum. In a statement this week, Monaghan ...

Taoiseach says officials not looking at potential customs sites for lorries Michael Fisher The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dáil the government has not directed its officials to go looking at sites at various locations along the border for the reintroduction of customs posts in preparation for the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. He was responding to a question from the Cavan/Monaghan Sinn Féin Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.   Deputy Ó Caoláin said the recent Civic Dialogue at Dublin Castle heard that there was significant concern within communities, ...

For almost eight years Kate and Gerry Reilly from Smithboro have been fund-raising to support Father Matthias Nsamba, a Catholic priest who works at the Sacred Heart Mission in Qoqodala, Queenstown, South Africa. The parish is particularly poor, even by South African standards and every cent raised is used to feed and educate the poor and orphans of the parish, The actual reality of the poverty being endured by the people there has further increased Kate and Gerry’s determination to continue and expand their fund-raising efforts. Their main cash flow comes from ...

Michael Fisher More acclaim for Tydavnet’s Caitriona Balfe. This time the Monaghan actress was honoured with an Oscar Wilde award at a pre-Oscars ceremony in California. She stars as nurse Claire Randall in the acclaimed hit Starz series Outlander. Filming has begun in South Africa for three months on a new series that will be shown in September.   The Oscar Wilde Awards took place last Thursday at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot production company in Santa Monica. He directed Balfe in Super 8 in 2011.   The awards are the creation of the US-Ireland ...