February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Stephen McKinley
There was a small outbreak of vandalism in Manorhamilton, Co. Leitrim, recently, when three litter bins were set on fire and a car slightly damaged. According to the Leitrim Observer, gardai are appealing for witnesses to the crimes in the normally quiet town.
Sino-Athlone alliance?
Athlone has been building diplomatic realtions that must be the envy of President George W. Bush: the Chinese ambassador to Ireland, Zhang Xiao Kang, has just paid her second visit to Athlone since last August, when she and Mary O’Rourke, minister for public enterprise, were guests of honor at Ken So’s Oriental Restaurant on the occasion of an exchange visit by members of "Disability of China" to the Irish Wheelchair Association.
This time, Ambassador Zhang was visiting the Athlone Institute of Technology, which has been building educational links with Chinese colleges, reports the Offaly Independent newspaper.
The Ambassador spoke on the subject of "Chinese Entry to the World Trade Organization" and also discussed other topics and took questions from the attendance.
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Dr. Ciarán O’Catháin, AIT director, and Ciarán Temple, chairman of the governing body, were present. After the Ambassador spoke, Temple presented her with a memento of her visit on what he described as a "unique occasion."
Students protest strike
The ongoing ASTI dispute — a trade union representing teachers — has brought angry students out in protest all over the country, not least in the Midlands. The students are angry that the unresolved teachers’ strike is costing them valuable study time.
Publicans ban parties
After "excessive drinking" led to some "unsavory incidents," pub owners in Westport have decided to ban stag and hen parties, especially those that involve people from out of town.
According to the Mayo News, the Mayo Branch of the Vintners Federation of Ireland voted to stop "non-local" stag parties taking place in the town, a move that follows similar actions around the country, including the Temple Bar in Dublin.
"The majority of these parties are fine and friendly, but, unfortunately, there have been a number of incidents resulting from this type of party in recent years, and by discouraging them as a whole, we feel this should help alleviate the problem," said Chris Lavelle of the Vintners Federation of Ireland.
McNamaras head for home
The McNamara Clan will meet in a mass reunion in County Clare in May 2002 to celebrate the 600th anniversary of the founding of Quin Abbey by Siodha Mac Conmara, their common ancestor.
"This will be the first meeting of our clan since the oppression and diaspora began in the early 1600s. Over two hundred people are expected to attend from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. Tasmania, Ireland and the UK", said clansman Peadar McNamara.
The clan will meet in the West County Hotel May 14-19, 2002.
They did what?
They planned a movie about Bloody Sunday. They started filming in the famous walled city. Then . . . they went to Dublin, where they built a replica of Free Derry Corner, instead of using the original.
The answer to the mystery, reports the Andersonstown News, lies in the fact that Rossville Flats, scene of many of the brutal Bloody Sunday murders, were demolished some 15 years ago.
The filmmakers needed a block of apartments and the wall to film key scenes in the movie; it was much easier to erect a copy of Free Derry Wall beside a block of flats than it was to build a block of flats beside Free Derry Wall.
New chief in Carrick
The quaint coastal town of Carrickfergus has a new chief of police, says the Carrickfergus Advertiser. Superintendent Julie Lindsay, who succeeds Superintendent Jim Nairn, inherits a reduced policing area, now that Ballycarry and Islandmagee have been ceded to the Larne subdivision.
Policing continues to be a contentious issue in the North — the newly trained police force will hit the streets in spring 2002.