THE future of St Luke’s, Mullinure and Longstone Hospitals in Armagh remains uncertain with many staff and patients concerned about the imminent closures that they believe will take place.

Cllr Cathal Boylan MLA has been contacted by a number of concerned members of staff who have told him that speculation is rife on the future of local hospitals.

“I have been approached by individuals who have serious concerns regarding the future of these hospital sites, their employment and the welfare of the patients involved,”

said the Newry and Armagh representative.

“Rumours are spreading like wildfire and staff have been told unofficially that they will be out of a job in 18 months time. Many are not working there very long to begin with and hate the thought of job hunting again. Others are devastated that they will be confronted with huge debts for mortgages and bank loans and no recourse to pay if they are made unemployed,”

Cllr Boylan continued.

However, the Health Board has refused to either confirm or deny these the speculation as a formal decision has not yet been made.

“I asked the Minister to outline his plans for these hospital sites and he tried to brush me off with a non-commital standard answer, so I have asked further questions of Mr McGimpsey of a more precise nature in which he will have to fully outline his Departments plans for all three hospital sites,”

Cllr Boylan continued.

“This uncertainty over the hospitals future is affecting the morale of nurses, porters and auxillary staff. There is also a very real concern for the welfare of the patients. Many have been in these hospitals for a great number of years and transferring them to new surroundings could have a very detrimental effect, while others would find it extremely difficult to adapt to life back in the community,”

Cllr Boylan concluded.

WATER privitisation may still be a likely option for Northern Ireland as resident looks set to pay for their water usage.

Dominic Bradley said:

“Everyone claims to be against water charges but we are seeing clear signs of wobble and climbdown on the part of Sinn Fein and the DUP, and the retreat could begin within days.”

“Unlike them, the SDLP opposed separate water charges first and foremost because it was clearly a device to aid privatisation. Let no one be in any doubt that the Treasury still wants to sell off our Water Service and I can find no evidence that either Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy or Finance Minister Peter Robinson intends to stop them.”

“The Independent Review Panel on Water clearly identified the privatisation plans that we first disclosed several years ago, and the first test for Conor Murphy will be whether he accepts the report of the Panel he himself set up. The right question for the minister is not ‘how much?’ but ‘why?’ What is the real purpose of a separate water charge at any level?”

“We all know that water has to be paid for, but the Panel pointed out that we are already paying to the tune of £160 per household per year through the rates. We think this may be a significant under-estimate, because it does not take account of recent regional rate hikes - most notably 19 per cent under Peter Hain - which were specifically justified in terms of paying for water and sewerage infrastructure.”

“The fact is that the Water Service is already part privatised. All customer contact has been put in the hands of a private contractor. Even though no decision has yet been taken, Crystal Alliance has a contract worth more than £90 million for service and billing. The Review Panel quite properly questioned the value of this contract and pointed out the great savings to be made by implementing an escape clause in the contract. Conor Murphy should examine this option without delay.”

POSITIVE AGE came to Ballybay on Wednesday last, 21 May to celebrate the Bealtaine Festival in the Wetlands Centre. The event was officially opened by Cllr Margaret Conlon TD.

The Bealtaine Festival celebrates the 20th anniversary of the Positive Age group. Positive Age is a group which strives for social gain for older people. It runs the Bealtaine Festival is a national event that is held annually to celebrate the creativity of older people in Ireland. The festival in Ballybay included a display of art and craft work that showcases the skills of older people from County Monaghan.

The day started with an introduction from Frances O’Callaghan of Positive Age, before Margaret Conlon officially launched the day. The group enjoyed music and refreshments.

The event included exhibitions from Ballybay Social Services, Doohamlet Day Care Centre, Castleblayney Social Services, Drumkill Day Care, Monaghan Tuesday Club, Clones Day Care Centre, Camphill Community, Cavan/ Monaghan Carers Centre and Mullyash Day Care Centre.

Pictured presenting the Green Flag to Kathleen Ryan, Principal of Bunscoil Lughaidh Naofa, Carrickmacross, are Teresa Fox, Green Schools Co-ordinator, and John Gormley, leader of the Green Party.

THE Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Mr. John Gormley, TD officially launched the joint Monaghan County Council and National Roads Authority exhibition on ‘Life and Death in Monaghan’ at the restored Carrickmacross Workhouse on Friday last, May 23.

The exhibition is based on the results of the advance archaeological excavations undertaken by the NRA on the N2 Carrickmacross to Aclint Realignment in Co. Monaghan in 2003. The relevant archaeological investigations were completed before road construction began, allowing adequate time and resources to be given to thoroughly recording and understanding the discoveries now on display in the Workhouse.

At the exhibition launch, Minister Gormley said,

“It is fascinating to think that, at the heart of the exhibition, there is evidence of a much earlier building, a Stone Age dwelling house that was in use over 3,500 years ago.”

The Minister added that

“while it is sometimes challenging to transform what some regard as dusty history into vibrant life I think that challenge has been well met in Carrickmacross. This exhibition allows people of all ages to gain a sense of what it was like to live in the far distant past, what people did, how they felt, what they ate and how they were buried.”

The NRA has worked closely with Monaghan Co. Museum since 2003 to put together the exhibition which combines reconstructions, colourful images and exciting texts and scale models. The bypass excavations uncovered three sites of great significance to Irish archaeology. A site at Monanny shows the arrival in Carrickmacross of the ‘first farmers’ nearly 6,000 years ago.

The exhibition also details the arrival of Christianity with a small family cemetery at Cloghvalley Upper, dating from circa 650 A.D. It tells a series of human stories through diseases, burial rites and stone lined graves.

Minister Gormley said that the Carrickmacross exhibition formed an impressive mosaic of the lifecycle of the Carrickmacross area across the ages. He added that the exhibition captures the shifting threads of everyday life and death in the county over six millennia. Complimenting the exhibition organisers he concluded by saying that the Carrickmacross exhibition is a fine example of how rich in local history and archaeology we are in this country.

THE future of Carrickmacross and indeed of Counties Monaghan and Cavan looks bright, according to local Green Party representatives who attended a special evening in the Carrick Court Hotel on Thursday last, organised by the Cavan/Monaghan Green Party.

“County Monaghan’s glorious entrepreneurial track record will mean the county’s future looks bright and green for the local economy and employment levels. It is good news for the planet and local people’s pockets,”

Carrickmacross Councillor Vincent P Martin told the Post.

The Green party believe it is this local entrepreneurial spirit which will ensure Monaghan emerges as a leading county in the development of Greener industries locally in the coming years.

Cllr Martin said he and his party colleagues were ‘overwhelmed’ at the turnout to the event by party members, friends of the party and local business representatives. Local issues from Carrickmacross Swimming Pool to the Carrick Rovers were discussed at the event which featured encouraging speeches from guest speakers Minister John Gormley and local entrepreneur Gerry McCaughey and a question and answer session.

Minister Gormley is said to have thoroughly enjoyed his visit to the county.

A NEW tourist trail focusing on Monaghan Town was officially launched at The Market House on Monday last, May 19.

The trail comprises of ten points of heritage interest, which are the Rossmore Monument in the Diamond, St. Patrick’s Church of Ireland in Church Square, Monaghan Courthouse, Aviemore House on Hill St, Monaghan Co. Museum, the Market House, the Canal Walk, Old Cross Square, Peter’s Lake and the Old Railway Station on the North Road.

An informative brochure detailing the trail was distributed at the launch and will be widely available in the area. County Manager Declan Nelson described the trail as a “very important contribution” that Monaghan Town Council in collaboration with Monaghan Co. Council had made to local tourism and heritage. He added that the trail outlined took 40 minutes to complete but people following it could extend it if they wished. Mr. Nelson thanked everybody involved in the Town Trail, expressing particular appreciation to Town Clerk, Marie Deighan, Town Engineer, Gareth McMahon and said that the exercise was already being repeated in Clones and was effectively in place in Carrickmacross. Ballybay and Castleblayney are next on the list.

Co. Mayor Gary Carville also commended everybody involved and said, “It will enable everybody to share and experience the heritage that is Monaghan.” Cathaoirleach of Monaghan Town Council, Padraigín Uí Mhurachadha also spoke at the launch and said that she hoped that from an educational aspect that the trail would be beneficial.

THIS Sunday June 1 will see a Corpus Christi Procession at St Macartan’s Cathedral in Monaghan Town.

The celebration will commence at 5pm with a talk on the Eucharist followed by a Eucharistic Procession and Rosary in the grounds of the Cathedral, (outdoors -weather permitting) and conclude with Benediction at 6:00 p.m.

Catholics worldwide celebrate the Feast day of Corpus Christi on Thursday 22 May or Sunday 25 May and outdoor processions or other celebrations will be taking place in many local parishes over the coming days. This Feast Day is the solemn celebration of the Body and Blood of Christ truly present in the Holy Eucharist. The celebration in Monaghan gives people from all parts of the Diocese the opportunity to come together to celebrate this Special Feast Day.

One of the themes of this year’s celebration will be ‘The Year of the Vocation’ when we are asked to contemplate our own vocation in life and to pray for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. In any Eucharistic Celebration, Holy Mass or Holy hour before the Blessed Sacrament we can fulfill Jesus’ request to his apostles to “ask the Lord of the Harvest to send workers into the Harvest.” This will be one of the special intentions this year.

This celebration is being organised by the Clogher Diocesan Committee of the ‘Lay Apostolate of Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration’ an International Lay Association of the Catholic Church founded by a lay man Owen Treanor in Los Angelus in 1985. The Apostolate was formally established in the Clogher Diocese in 2005 - The Year of the Eucharist. Since then the lay members of the Diocesan Committee have been visiting parishes promoting Eucharistic Adoration.

The members cordially welcome all people from throughout the Diocese to the Corpus Christi Procession, particularly all young people who have received the Sacraments of First Holy Communion and Confirmation in 2008.

For further information on the Apostolate or on the Corpus Christi Celebration contact Francis on (047) 85394 or Rosaleen on 048 67723302.

LAUNCHING its 2008 Anti Litter League, Irish Business Against Litter (IBAL) has urged Monaghan Town Council not to let up in its good work in ridding Monaghan of litter. IBAL commended the excellent state of approach roads to the town, which is the responsibility of Monaghan County Council.

The town, which finished in sixth place in last year’s league, was deemed ‘clean to European norms’. Commenting on Monaghan’s achievement last year, Dr Tom Cavanagh, Chairman of IBAL said that the county

“stands as a model for many other towns to follow.”

Only the storage facility on Glaslough Street was deemed a ‘serious litter problem’.

“As in any town, there are specific areas which warrant special attention from cleaners and wardens,”

claimed Dr Cavanagh.

“These are clearly starting points in tackling a litter problem.”

Dr Cavanagh also commented on the approach roads into Monaghan calling them “excellent” and “a tribute to the work of Monaghan County Council.” Nationwide, litter levels have improved by over 30% in the past 5 years. Last year, Dundalk in Co. Louth was declared Ireland’s cleanest town.

The first results of the 2008 IBAL Anti-litter League, comprising 55 towns and cities, will be made public next month.

Pictured presenting Maeve Hackett, from Monaghan Hospice with a cheque for €4,200 are Paul McGeown, and Sean McEntee, Pheonix Athletics. The money was raised as a result of the recent Blackwater 10k Walk and Run which was held in Rossmore Park on May 18. Maeve commented that she was “gobsmacked at the level of funding received.” She also added that the event has helped “raise significant awareness of the Hospice” and that it totally depends on people to get its message across. €8,400 was the total amount raised from the charity event and the other €4,200 was donated to the Monaghan branch of Marie Curie Cancer Care. © Darren McCarra.

THE implementation of pay parking for Castleblayney could be a very real possibility before the end of 2008.

At Tuesday’s meeting of Castleblayney Town Council, Town Manager Dave Fallon said

“we want to move forward with the issue of pay parking.”

However no decision will be made on this matter without the prior agreement of councillors and a full public consultation.

Councillors are awaiting a copy of the report into pay parking before they open debate on the issue. Cllr Brendan Hughes said he would be “very reluctant to agree to it” before the issue of the present traffic warden is addressed.

Cllr Hughes continued:

“I do not agree with pay parking as a means of generating income.”

He also expressed a wish that if introduced, the scheme would be implemented with common sense in mind.

“I don’t want people to be penalised for trivial things such as having half the wheel of a car on a while line.”

Cllr Hughes said.

Cllr Gary Carville agreed that if implemented the system should be “about traffic regulation” and “it is supposed to be of benefit to ratepayers.”

“We are talking about a report we haven’t seen yet,”

Cllr Joe Brennan added

“Everyone is entitled to have their say including the public.”

Mayor of Castleblayney, Jackie Crowe said

“We need to have as wide a consultation process as possible, with business people and car owners in the town.”

Town Manager, Dave Fallon cited the example of how pay parking was successful in Monaghan Town.

Regarding the financing of pay parking Mr Fallon said:

“We do not see it as a means of raising finances. That is not its sole purpose.”

He added

“If we do happen to raise some revenue from pay parking, it will ease the burden of ratepayers.”

The next step in the process will be for the Castleblayney Town Councillors to read and consider the report before debating the issue. After this happens a six week public consultation process will take place.

MONAGHAN soccer coaching school BEST Sports and Youth Development is opening a new academy for children aged 4-14yrs.

With the recent Monaghan Academy in Beechill selling out in just two weeks there is sure to be great demand for places in the Castleblayney Academy.

The coaching will be a mixture of fun and games for the players under eight years where as the older players will be focusing on skill development, fitness and ball skills.

The academy will be under the guidance of Director of Coaching Barry Dolan. Barry has a lot of experience coaching both at home and abroad.

“This is a new and exciting development for BEST and the Castleblayney area,”

Barry said.

“Our coaches uniquely focus on the strengths of the players and by utilising fun games and personal skills we guarantee that all players will gain confidence in sport and learn new skills.”

The coaching techniques used by BEST come from top coaching methods applied in America, England and Ireland. ‘Coach Barry’ as the players know him has 1500+ coaching hours and has worked with Major League Soccer, Shamrock Rovers FC and a number of local and Dublin soccer and GAA clubs.

The academies usually run for 5-7weeks. This gives the coaches time to develop the players’ current skills and encourage their confidence in future sporting activities.

Castleblaney Academy will start on Tuesday 27 May on the Astro pitch at the Iontas Theatre. 4-8yrs start at 6pm and 9+yrs start at 7pm.

For more information contact Director of Coaching, Barry Dolan 086-8377001 or go on to the website www.best4coaching.com. Places on a first come first served bases booking not essential but is advised as places to go quickly.

Margaret Conlon TD hosted a second year class from Our Lady’s Secondary School in Castleblayney in the Dáil recently. They met the new Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD. They visited Leinster House as part of their CSPE project with their teachers Mrs Christie and Ms McManus. They viewed a debate in the Dáil before getting a full tour of Leinster House. Deputy Conlon said: “It was a great time for them to be in Leinster House, just shortly after a new Taoiseach was elected. I am sure this was a beneficial trip for this class and I wish them the best of luck in their future.”

IN A gripping and insightful Arts Lives documentary, Patrick McCabe, one of Ireland¹s most original writers, tells his own story.

Author of The Butcher Boy, Breakfast on Pluto and the recent IMPAC literary award nominated, Winterwood, in Patrick McCabe – Blood Relations, Mr McCabe himself, his family and friends describe the influences that shaped him and his extraordinary writing.

Mr McCabe talks about his childhood, his career and for the first time, the tragic circumstances surrounding his parents’ deaths. He tells how they marked him and his fiction, and how they were the inspiration for his best-known work, The Butcher Boy,¬ a book haunted by their memory. McCabe also tells how the love of his children helped to heal the wounds of his childhood and released his potential as a writer.

The local man grew up in Clones, where he lives today, with his wife Margot and his daughters, Ellen and Katie. In this documentary, he recalls the mix of characters that Irish rural life offered up and how this life provided him with unceasing inspiration for his writing. His brother, Eugene, and his sisters, Dympna and Mary add to this commentary about his early family life in Monaghan and discuss how his creative talents emerged at an early age.

The film also includes contributions from writers Colm Tóibín, Eugene McCabe and Dermot Bolger who provide insights into McCabe’s life and writing, as well as clips from Neil Jordan’s film adaptation of The Butcher Boy and excerpts from McCabe’s other works.

COUNTY Monaghan’s new Library Headquarters in Clones was officially opened on Thursday last by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley.

The 1, 450 sq m building, located on Jubilee Road, Clones, was constructed at a cost of over €7 million by Monaghan County Council aided by 75 per cent funding from the Department of the Environment, Heritage & Local Government. The library now boasts some 22,000 books, almost a 100 per cent increase on its previous stock, while its previous four computers has increased to fourteen complete with internet access.

Mayor of County Monaghan Gary Carville deemed the official opening ‘one of the highpoints in the history of this county’.

“This is a great day for Monaghan County Council. Today, the people of Clones have a new Library and a new garden. I hope that this fine edifice in the heart of this ancient town will inspire people to develop, to renew and re-generate.”

“I hope the people of Clones will play their part, to renew once again their real commitment to progress, to the built environment and moreover, to the future of Clones. This town does not yet have everything it needs, but working together we can make that a reality,”

Mayor Carville continued.

Minister Gormley said the new library was an ‘inspirational place’.

“I see a bright, modern community space, a place where Clones’ rich history can be researched and enjoyed and a place where the visitors to this library can enrich their lives through meeting others, through studying, learning languages or through borrowing books and music.”

Mayor Carville paid tribute to County Librarian Joe McElvaney’s ‘outstanding skills, his ability to achieve enormous tasks and his tremendous interest in the library service’. Mayor Carville also gave special thanks to County Manager, Declan Nelson for his commitment to the project.

Thanks were also extended to Adge King, Director of Services, Kevin McNally, Project Manager and Catherine Elliott, Senior Executive Librarian, all librarian staff, Keith Williams Architects, London, PKS Davies Langdon, Quantity Surveyors, and to ARUP, Mechanical and Structural Engineers.

SAINSBURY’S in Dungannon opened its doors for the first time on Monday last, May 19 following months of preparation and a complete store refurbishment on the site of the former Curley’s supermarket in the town.

With an initial investment of £5.5 million, the store is Sainsbury’s tenth in Northern Ireland. Having retained all of the former Curley’s staff, shoppers will recognise many familiar faces but Sainsbury’s has also created an additional 60 new jobs bringing the total workforce to over 120.

Gillian Ekin, store manager at the new Sainsbury’s in Dungannon said,

“I am really looking forward to welcoming customers to the new store. We have been working towards this opening for some time and it is fantastic to see the doors finally open.”

Although, at 30,000 sq ft, the store has stayed the same size, it has been given a total makeover making it easier for our customers to navigate through the aisles and there will be a greater choice of products on sale than ever before.
Alongside popular features such as the meat, fish and deli counters Sainsbury’s in Dungannon will have a new in-store bakery making fresh bread and pastries throughout the day. There will also be a selection of TU clothing, electrical goods, household items such as cookware, books, music and DVDs as well as an ATM and a travel money kiosk.
Once customers have finished shopping they can enjoy a cup of coffee in the new ‘Barrista Coffee Pod’, which is a first for Northern Ireland.

David Davidson, Sainsbury’s regional operations manager for Northern Ireland added,

“We are delighted with the support we have received from the local community and we have been working hard with local suppliers. Currently we source almost £250 million of goods from over 100 suppliers based in Northern Ireland. We hope this will continue to increase and will include more suppliers from the Dungannon area.”

LOCAL Sinn Fein part members launched their ‘no to Lisbon’ campaign locally this week.

Addressing the conference, Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin TD said that SF believes that Ireland’s place is within the EU, a membership which has brought social and economic benefits. However, the party believes some EU proposals have negative effects on Ireland.

“We believe that the best approach to the EU is to critically assess each proposal on its merits. When something is in Ireland’s interests, or indeed the interests of the European Union as a whole, we support it. However when something is clearly not in our interests or that of the wider EU, we oppose it and campaign to change it.”

SF has taken the view that the Lisbon Treaty represents a bad deal for Ireland, for the EU and for the developing world. The party believes the Lisbon Treaty undermines democracy, promotes militarization, undermines neutrality, promotes liberalization, undermines workers rights and public Services, undermines rural Ireland and undermines the Irish economy.

Deputy Ó Caoláin said the treaty gives the EU ‘too much power’.

“Ireland’s Voting strength on the Council of Europe will be reduced by over 50% and we lose the right to a Commissioner for 5 out of every 15 years,”

he explained.

On the treaty’s threat to neutrality, the local TD said

“[The Lisbon Treaty] creates an EU Foreign Minister and common defence and foreign policies, and allows the EU to act on the international stage in the same way as a state and to speak on our behalf. It erodes neutrality by drawing us into a common defence and obliging us to increase military spending.”

“We have seen a significant level of concern from within our farming community about the current round of World Trade Organisation talks. Irish farmers and development NGOs are rightly concerned at the agenda being pursued by European Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson, an agenda that is bad for Irish farmers and the developing world.”

Deputy Ó Caoláin said

This Saturday, 31 May, Ógra Shinn Féin will host a special event entitled ‘Rock Against the Treaty’. Four local rock bands will play in concert in McKenna’s bar in a call for young people to get out and vote No on June 12 next.

BEECH Hill College students once again took part in Barúil, the Irish public speaking competition organised by Gael Linn. This year Grace Norris and Tessa Fleming represented the school in the senior category of the competition. Tessa Fleming secured a place in the regional final, which recently took place in Donegal. There she captivated her audience’s attention with her speech, delivered through the medium of Irish, on ‘Nuclear Power in Ireland’. Tessa was awarded second place in this section and was presented with the much-coveted Gael Linn trophy. Well done to both participants.

MINISTER John Gormley, Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, visited the Integrated Constructed Wetlands (ICW) project at Castle Leslie Estate.

This is the new environmentally friendly way of providing an effective, robust, economical and low maintenance system for the treatment of sewerage effluent from the village of Glaslough. In fundamental contrast to traditional sewerage treatment works designed to be cut-off from the public and wildlife, this ICW is located on the banks of the Mountain Water River, surrounded by woodland and demanding sensitive development in of landscape fit, biodiversity and habitat enhancement.

“We are honoured that Minister Gormley made time in his busy schedule to see the Integrated Wetlands project at the Estate. It is an important part of our development programme and it is great to see that a sewerage treatment works can be turned into a beautiful amenity that can be enjoyed by guests and visitors to the Estate,” commented Sammy Leslie.

“I would like to pay particular tribute to Dan Doody and his team in Monaghan County Council along with Dr Rory Harrington for their vision and foresight in what is a national flagship environmental project for waste management,” said Sammy Leslie.

THE €2 million grant that was recently allocated to the Garage Theatre from the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism towards the construction of a new theatre in the centre of Monaghan Town was welcomed at a meeting of Monaghan Town Council recently.

Monaghan Town Council has provided a site for the new theatre. Cathaoirleach Pádraigín Uí Mhurachadha said that it was her “longheld ambition” to see a theatre in the centre of the town. She also added that she hoped that the young people of Monaghan would be encouraged to take an interest in drama. Joining in the note of welcome, Sinn Fèin Councillor, Sean Conlon singled out for praise the commitment of all those associated with the Garage Theatre and Monaghan V.E.C., spanning over many years, in their determination to see the long held vision of a new home for the Garage.

Speaking on Local Authority support for a new theatre Cllr. Conlon stated,

“Correspondence from 2001 and more recently highlights the Town Council’s support to the Garage in their efforts to have a new theatre for the town. Nearly two years ago that endorsement was significantly enhanced by unanimous agreement that the Council would make a site available for this worthy project that would have considerable benefit for the town and wider region.”

Chairman of The Garage Theatre Board of Directors, David Maxwell called the €2 million allocation “great” and said that the town centre is an ideal location for the new theatre. However, he also added, “the hard work now begins” in actually securing a new theatre for the town.

The funding, part of an overall allocation of over €10 million to 13 major arts and cultural projects throughout the country, comes under the final round of investments under ACCESS II, the Arts and Culture Capital Enhancement Support Scheme. The primary focus of the scheme is the refurbishment and enhancement of existing arts and culture facilities and support for new building projects in strategic geographic locations.