Latest news with #Aisling
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Holiday at home? Feel the heat at Cork's Farnanes/Ovens where home has a sauna and BBQ + pizza oven
YOU don't have to go to the seaside, beaches or holiday hideaways for mobile saunas, mobile food trucks and a good time in the sun – you have the option here, to hand, on the doorstep, of this Currahaly, Farnanes family home. Get cookin' Set in Cork's Lee Valley, out along the N22 heading to Macroom and Kerry, 20 minutes from Cork's western suburbs and 10 or 15 mins from Ballincollig and EMC, this fresh-to-market offer is a detached family home on a south-facing, half acre site. It's one in a row of one-offs (all pretty substantial in size too) parallelling the N22, and comes with a detached garage/self contained studio apartment, outdoor barbecue area with pergola and wood-fired pizza oven. Indoors the main family bathroom has an infra-red sauna, so it's quite the self contained lifestyle property in its own right. Oh, and it even has a current layout with one of its front bedrooms being used as a home cinema, but the sale right now does not include the projector, or the wide screen, so new owners will have to make their own 'Coming Soon' plans for it. The spacious family home is listed with a €550,000 AMV via agent Michaella Buckley of O'Mahony Walsh in Ballincollig, who says it's immaculately maintained, on an attractively landscaped mature site with lots of trees and long, slightly elevated views over the Bride valley. One of its four/five bedrooms is en suite; at ground there are two reception rooms, home office and guest WC, utility/laundry and pine fitted kitchen with island and side access to the outdoor entertainment area, with decked base and Perspex roof/pergola sheltering the cooking equipment, gas grill, sink and integrated pizza oven. The Price Register shows over 20 sales in the past 15 years with a Currahaly address, with just three over €500,000, with two in the past two years, in 2023, Aisling at €580,000 and Rosemount House at €665,000, plus a further €100,000 for its lodge, in Farnanes' Lower Currahaly. VERDICT: Lots to enjoy in a setting just off the N22 and west of the city, 'burbs and Ballincollig, with the amenities of Farran, the wood and Inniscarra lake a few miles to the north, and Killarney now an easier reach to the west since the opening of the €200m Macroom bypass.
Sunday World
5 days ago
- Sunday World
Evil killer Josef Puska going to prison school ‘courtesy of the Irish taxpayer'
'It is ironic that Puska's victim, Aisling, a teacher by trade can't go to school because he took her life, but yet he can' Evil killer Josef Puska is going to school every day behind bars, we can reveal. The brute who stabbed primary school teacher Aisling Murphy to death in a frenzied attack while she was out jogging, is learning how to read, write and speak English. The 35 year old Slovakian is serving a life sentence for a crime that shocked the nation in the Midlands Prison. Prison sources say he has yet to admit his guilt or give any explanation why he did it. Yet he is now getting an education while in jail courtesy of the Irish taxpayer and it is costing thousands of euros every year. Teacher Ashling Murphy was stabbed to death A prison source said; "It is ironic that Puska's victim, Aisling, a teacher by trade can't go to school because he took her life, but yet he can. "Every day now he goes to school in the Midlands Prison and is learning to speak English, and to read and write in English, among other things. "Most lifers take a prison job - but he didn't. "However that is no surprise since he lived off Irish state handouts for years and hardly ever did a day's work in his life.' The education system in Irish jails is among the best in the world. Inmates can go to school every day and do exams from the Leaving Certificate to a University Degree. Quite often many prisoners who were born into a life of poverty and crime just do basics like learning to read and write. Aisling was killed in Tullamore, Co Offaly while out running on January 12, 2022. Puska had been living with his wife Lucia and their children in a house on the outskirts of the town. He pleaded not guilty even though he had confessed to the murder to the Gardai while recovering in hospital after trying to take his own life. His trial heard he had been cycling around Tullamore stalking other women on the day of the murder before singling out Aisling and stabbing her 11 times in an unprovoked attack. Jozef Puska being led in to Tullamore District Court in January 2022. Photo: PA The jury saw through his denials and convicted him in November, 2023. He has been detained in the Midlands Prison, Portlaoise not far from his home for most of the time since. He has launched an appeal against his conviction and no date has been set for it yet, but the speculation is it will be this Autumn. He claims his "confession" should never have been revealed at his trial in the first place because he was on medication, the painkiller Oxycodone and was recovering from surgery. Puska has been telling fellow inmates that he is confident of winning it and that he will be back on the streets free soon enough. Jozef Puska (centre) when he was charged with the murder of Ashling Murphy The killer is visited by his wife at the jail most weeks and she is firmly standing by him. He is being detained in a landing along with a number of other murderers who are serving life sentences. It is believed he decided to start going to school several months ago and is enjoying it. The prison source said; " He had no interest in doing a prison job like cooking and cleaning so going to school gives him something to do every day instead of dossing around the place. "He had to have a translator after his arrest and during the trial because he said he didn't understand English so maybe he will now understand the English language for his appeal." It currently costs 100,000 euros a year to keep a prisoner locked up in an Irish Jail. The prison source said Puska is likely to serve 30 years because no Independent Parole Board or Justice Minister will want to see him get released early. He added; "This fella is going to cost Irish taxpayers around 3 million euros for what he did, and then we are educating him as well." The Judge at the trial, Mr Justice Hunt, bemoaned the fact that he didn't have the power to impose a minimum jail time Puska must serve for what he did.
Metro
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Aisling Bea struggles with family's 'shameful' past in Who Do You Think You Are
Aisling Bea revealed that she is 'ashamed' of her family history in tonight's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? The comedian and actress took a journey through her great-grandfather's history and discovered stories of female resilience in her family's past. She also found moments of genuine connection in her family tree as she discovered relatives who fought for Irish independence and culture. However, during tonight's instalment of the BBC show that sees celebrity discover their heritage, historian Dr Richard McMahon told Aisling something slightly darker about her family. The historian spoke to the Kildare comedian about her great-grandmother Martha Sheehy, who lived during the Irish famine. Aisling discovered that by the end of the famine, Martha's estate went from being 40 acres to 115. Richard explained: 'The family have a larger farm by the end of the famine then they had pre famine Ireland.' This prompted Aisling to ask: 'So during this devastating period in Irish history, which would have such a long terrible legacy for all of us afterwards, how does someone come to have more land if owned than renting so soon after the famine?' Richard replied: 'During the famine landlords would have evicted 100,000s of people off the land and when they are moved of the land, the land is taken over by farmers like your great great great grandmother Martha.' As Aisling tried to understand this, she said 'while she might not be evicting them, she maybe using it as an opportune moment'. Richard responded by saying how many people 'got larger farms on the back of people getting moved off the land'. Followning this, Aisling could be seen getting upset, before she said: 'That is hard to hear. I'll be honest. 'Having spent all our childhood learning about the Irish famine in our history classes, anyone who, any terrible situation profited. 'It does make me feel a little bit shameful to be honest.' The latest series of Who Do You Think You Are will see the likes of Andrew Garfield, Diane Morgan, Mushal Husian and Ross Kemp explore their family history. Last week, Layton Williams broke down in tears as he learned about his enslaved ancestors. The actor and theatre star, 30, was the latest star to appear on the beloved ancestry show to learn about his family tree, which originated from London and Jamaica. Layton cried at the end of the episode, after learning about his ancestors who were enslaved, with some forcibly moved from Africa to Jamaica. More Trending 'I'm proud to have come from people who went through that, but came through the other side,' he said through tears. 'It's really beautiful and it's important that we don't forget, because it's real and it happened and it was sad, and I'm sure it was awful, but we've made it here. 'I will look back at this experience for sure and be really happy and really proud of the family that came before me.' View More » Who Do You Think You Are? airs on BBC One at 9pm tonight. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'My BBC drama did something rarely seen before on TV' MORE: Huge update as EastEnders character charged with murder in early iPlayer release MORE: TV fans binge 'outstanding' true story drama quietly added to Netflix
Irish Independent
20-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Meet the Mayo family-run business bringing an alternative dairy option to the Bord Bia Bloom Festival
As the Bord Bia Bloom Festival draws near, sheep farmers and business owners Aisling and Michael Flanagan from Claremorris, Co. Mayo spoke to the Irish Independent about their range of handmade sheep's milk yoghurt and cheese.
Sunday World
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sunday World
Aisling Bea stunned to find family links to 1916 rebellion on her dad's side
can't bea-lieve it | 'To discover my great grandfather was a leader in the Easter Rising has blown my mind' Aisling (41), who grew up in Co Kildare and is now an award-winning actor, screenwriter and comedian, traces her family's roots for the popular British TV show and zones in on both the paternal and maternal sides of her family. Now living in London with her producer husband Jack Freeman and their nine-month-old daughter, Aisling returned while heavily pregnant to Ireland to get help from her mother and aunt to trace her family tree. She reveals her real name is Aisling O'Sullivan and says she gets her stage name 'Bea' from her father called Brian, who tragically died when she was just three years old. 'For my dad's side of the family. I know a lot of anecdotes and things swirling around the sort of War of Independence and the Irish fight for freedom and self-determination, so I'd love to know more about that time in history and their place in it,' she says. Aisling dug out old photos for her episode of the show Aisling remembers going on family trips to her dad's home area of Ballyferriter in Co Kerry. It was there she learns that her paternal great grandfather Pádraic Ó Briain and his wife Ellen, had three young children, Sean, Maureen and Aisling's grandmother Eileen. Pádraic, who also used the name Paddy O'Brien, was a schoolteacher, but it also emerges he was the Secretary of the Irish Volunteers in Ballyferriter at the time of the outbreak of World War I. At the time of the Easter Rising in Kerry in 1916, 300 men would gather at the Volunteers' headquarters in Tralee to take part in the rebellion, including what has been documented as 'men from Ballyferriter and Dingle, led by Paddy O'Brien, a national school teacher'. Historian Dr Daithí Ó Corráin has more information for Aisling. 'They expected to take part in an armed rebellion against British rule in Ireland and Pádraic is right at the heart of what is the most pivotal moment in 20th century Irish history,' he explains. Aisling was pregnant at the time the show was made News in 90 Seconds - May 18th 'Pádraic and his men march through the night in terrible weather conditions 40 miles over a mountain pass [Conor Pass] to be on time on Easter Sunday, awaiting instructions.' Aisling is flabbergasted. 'I can't even imagine what it must have been like for those men marching all the way to Tralee, 40 miles at night, getting ready to stage a revolution against one of the biggest powers in the world at the time. 'There were probably so many thoughts in my great grandfather's head, but a deep belief in what he was going to be potentially fighting for. 'I'd be someone I suppose that would try and stand by what I believe in and that's very important to me, but this is a lot more life or death. It brings chills without a doubt,' she says. The Kerry Volunteers had been waiting for a German ship, the Aud, to offload 20,000 rifles and one million rounds of ammunition. But miscommunication led to the ship's discovery by the British. The guns and ammunition were meant to arm volunteers from not only Kerry, but also Limerick, Clare and Galway, leading to the abandonment of the Easter Rising in that region, with just Dublin staging the rebellion the following Monday. Aisling discovered that Pádraic's wife, Ellen, her great granny, died of TB at the age of 33 in 1920, leaving her great granddad to bring up three small children. She also finds out that Pádraic was a member of the Gaelic League, which promoted Irish language and culture, and was a passionate Gaelgeoir right until he died at the age of 78 in 1965. It also emerges that Ellen's mother, Aine O'Donoghue, was the first teacher on the Blasket Islands, when at the age of 19 she travelled there in 1864 to teach English. 'When I was at school and I used to study the 1916 Rising, you think of it as a massive part of our Irish history, and that eventually everyone was involved,' she reflects. Read more 'But really a very small amount of people were involved. Most people weren't revolutionary, most people weren't about to give up their lives for the cause, but there were also a small amount of people like my great grandfather, who were absolutely willing to take up arms and fight for what they believed in and lost their lives for what they believed in. He was part of the Easter Rising, even if they didn't make it to that Monday. 'And it does make me really proud that he was part of that small group of people. 'I wish I could go back in time and tell him that your great granddaughter is not only going to love the language but is going to come back to where he is from with a British crew for a British TV show to study his life and his influence while she's pregnant with a little girl, whom I'm calling Saoirse, which is the Irish for freedom, in our language, and the idea of that genetic line has blown my mind a lot.' The comedian also tracks down her maternal side. Her mother Helen's maiden name is Moloney. 'My mother's side of the family are this big gang of very vocal alpha females, and that's probably the bit of my upbringing I've probably brought into every part of my work and life,' she says. 'On my mother's side, everything revolved around my grandmother, in particular. My grandmother was this sort of formidable pillar. "I remember Mammy being like 'oh she was one of the first women in the town to wear trousers', and then my mother was one of the first female professional flat-race jockeys of her era, and those small moments of like shunning the idea of what people think you should do — I'd love to know going back where did that come from.' She travels to Co Limerick, and traces her maternal lineage back to pre-Famine times, where she discovers that her great, great granddad James Sheehy was married to Martha Fitzgerald. Local historian Dr Richard McMahon reveals that in February 1841 the family home was broken into by a gang, who looted the house for guns and seriously injured James, leading to his death from the wounds inflicted on him. Martha was left to bring up five kids on the family farm of 40 acres, which they rented at the time. 'Martha has a fight on her hands now, she has lost her husband, she has five children, most farm holders are male, most farmers are male, so if you're a widow it's a very difficult situation,' stresses Dr McMahon. When the Famine started in 1845 not only did a million people starve and a million emigrate, but tenants were thrown off their farms as they could not pay rent. Aisling is taken aback to learn Martha's farm holding increased to 115 acres. 'That is hard to hear, I'll be honest, because having spent all of our childhood learning about the Irish famine in our history classes, you feel like anyone who, for many terrible situations, profited... It does make me feel a little bit shameful to be honest,' she admits. But Dr McMahon is more reassuring. 'It's a difficult one. There's elements of Martha which I think are very admirable, like her husband has been killed, she herself has gone through traumatic experience, so there's that sense of her as a fighter,' he tells her.
