Monthly Archives: May 2012

EMYVALE GP CYCLING IN TYDAVNET

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First race ready for the off: Under 12

There was plenty of excitement around Tydavnet on Sunday as dozens of cyclists and their back-up supporters arrived for the annual Grand Prix races organised by Emyvale Cycling Club. The Community Centre was used for registration and adminstration. The sun shone brightly and the temperature climbed up to 25C as the junior races got underway over a shorter route. The Under 12s were first off, although a car parked outside the chapel on the start/finish line caused the organisers a few problems initially until the owner was located. The crowd was not as big as for last year’s national championships. Nevertheless there were visitors taking part from several counties including Donegal (Errigal CC), Cork (Kanturk), Tyrone (Coalisland), Derry (Roe Valley) and East Antrim.

On the start line at Tydavnet chapel
Cyclists also came from Dublin and Newry and the local riders from Emyvale were also there battling for the prizes in the various categories. The event was well organised with stewarding to ensure that roads were kept clear for the participants. Following the thrilling finish in the senior race in the senior event last year in Scotstown, it was decided that a village finish would once again be more exciting for the spectators. For the full list of results, go to the Cycling Ulster page. East Antrim’s Glen Kinning won the main event over a 60 miles course in a sprint finish from David Wherity of Stamullen, Co.Meath.
Under 14s getting ready for the start

NEWRY ALERT

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Security alert beside Derrybeg estate

Security alert beside Derrybeg estate

Part of the Camlough Road from the Egyptian arch roundabout to Monaghan Street in Newry was sealed off on Thursday afternoon following a bomb alert. British Army bomb experts were called to examine a suspect device in what is believed to be the old graveyard area close to Daisy Hill hospital. Traffic was diverted but access to the hospital was not affected. A PSNI helicopter also examined the scene. A controlled explosion was carried out on the package and it was declared to be a hoax. One policeman was slightly injured when petrol bombs and bricks were thrown at the PSNI. Sinn Féin and the SDLP condemned the incidents. SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Dominic Bradley said the hoax alert which had disrupted the community yet again was deplorable.He said it was compounded by the disgusting acts of those who attacked police with bricks, stones and petrol bombs, endangering lives and adding to the pressure they were under as they attempted to protect the community. He said it was particularly galling that all this took place close to Daisy Hill Hospital and on a route which would affect the city centre, disrupting commuters and, most worryingly, those trying to get to a place of treatment. Events like these do nothing to further any cause and are to the detriment of everyone, he added. The Mayor of Newry Sinn Féin’s Charlie Casey, told BBC Radio Ulster he believed the violence against the police was “opportunistic” and unconnected to the hoax. He added that the incident was the second or third security alert in the area in recent months. “If some of those rioters, or the people responsible for the hoax, had relatives who necessitated going to Daisy Hill by ambulance in an emergency, what were they to do?” he asked.

Ambulance diverted

Ambulance diverted

WILLIAM CARLETON SUMMER SCHOOL

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Cllr Kenneth Reid & Michael Fisher

It promises to be an interesting four days in the Clogher Valley in August. The William Carleton Society’s summer school programme was launched at a reception kindly hosted by the Mayor of Dungannon & South Tyrone Cllr Kenneth Reid (who opened last year’s school) at the Council offices in Dungannon. Once again we are please to have booked Corick House Hotel in Clogher as the venue for 2012. The school will be officially opened on Monday 6th August and the keynote address by Professor CORMAC Ó GRÁDA is on the subject of “Carleton & others on famine’s darkest secret”. Dr MELISSA FEGAN (Chester) will speak about Carleton & the famine era. In the afternoon I am due to give a lecture on Carleton’s biographer DJ O’Donoghue, based on my researches at the UCD archive. The afternoon is rounded off on a lighter note with a reflection by County Tyrone native BARRY DEVLIN on life after Horslips. Tuesday’s events will start with a talk by the Society’s Vice-Chair FRANK McHUGH on Carleton’s Australian relatives. JOSEPHINE TREANOR from Knockatallon, Co.Monaghan, who joined us on the walk last year, will talk about her distant relation, Anne Duffy, the miller’s daughter (mentioned by Carleton). The Leitrim poet JOHN F. DEANE will give a reading from his works before lunch. The afternoon session begins with a performance by LAURENCE FOSTER (Dublin) of his one man show on Charles Dickens, who was born 200 years ago. For this year’s literary symposium we have invited CARLO GÉBLER from Fermanagh and MARY GUCKIAN a poet originally from Leitrim who attended the Carleton commemoration in Dublin in January. They will be joined by Monaghan native MARY O’DONNELL, a writer and poet, whose work has appeared in a number of collections. On Wednesday 8th August Dr SOPHIA HILLAN will speak on Jane Austen’s Irish nieces. Professor OWEN DUDLEY EDWARDS, the summer school honorary director, will give us his own unique insights into the work of William Carleton. Committee member LIAM FOLEY has once again adapted one of Carleton’s works for a reading: this year it will be “Phil Purcel the Pig Driver” followed by a discussion. The final act of the summer school will see CHRISTOPHER FITZ-SIMON, a former artistic director at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast, reflect on “Carleton on the stage: forgotten popular plays adapted from Traits & Stories”. Thursday 8th will be the day for a tour of the local area led by JACK JOHNSTON, Society President. The theme will be Carleton & his contemporaries, including Archbishop Hughes of New York. There will be a visit to his birthplace beside the border with Co.Monaghan and to Omagh.

UCD Archive COPYRIGHT Photograph of D.J.O’Donoghue (left) and George Sigerson (right) beside the pond in St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, when choosing a site for the Mangan Memorial.

The evening events include: Monday:  Rathmore Bar Clogher Maguire family (traditional music); PJ Kennedy, poet (Belturbet) 9pm. Tuesday: Walk & talk Carleton with the Clogher Valley walking club to Fardross forest  & Music by The Mountain Lark (Tydavnet) & reception at caravan park  8:30pm Wednesday: Concert with Fermanagh Choral Society (conductor Don Swain) at  St Patrick’s church Clogher 8pm. More details at:   http://www.williamcarletonsummerschool.org