Latest news with #InterCert
RTÉ News
6 days ago
- RTÉ News
Disappearance of Fiona Pender cast shadow over home town
On 22 August 1996 Fiona Pender and her mother Josephine headed into Tullamore. Fiona was seven months' pregnant at the time and went to town shopping for baby clothes. 25-year-old Fiona Pender and her mother were very close. Both were excited about the arrival of the baby in October. Fiona was glowing, full of hope and expectation. "I remember seeing her in Dunnes Stores just before she went missing with her mother and I remember saying hello to Fiona, and hello to Mrs Pender," recalled Olive Davis, a local woman who knew the Pender family. Fiona later returned to the flat she was sharing with her partner on Church Street in the town. The following morning her partner left for work on his family farm and that is the last time Fiona Pender was ever seen. Fiona grew up in Connolly Park in Tullamore, not far from the Grand Canal, with her parents and brothers. Her brother Mark died in a motorbike accident in June 1995. She left school after completing her Inter Cert and trained as a hairdresser and had worked in Clarke's unisex salon in Tullamore. She also worked part-time as a model. Fiona had been living with her partner in the UK but had moved home shortly before her disappearance. She was outgoing, friendly and had a real flair for fashion, friends said. "Fiona was beautiful. She really stood out when you saw her coming down the street and she was so outgoing, bubbly, and full of chat," remarked one local woman. In the days after her disappearance gardaí launched a major operation with searches and public appeals for information. Gardaí suspected from early on in this investigation that Fiona Pender had come to serious harm. "It was a shock. She was seven months' pregnant. There was a real sadness over the town and everywhere," said Olive Davis. Disappearing was totally out of character for Fiona Pender. She was very happy to be pregnant and excited about becoming a mother. Yet since around 6am on 23 August 1996, when her partner said he last saw her, there hasn't been a sighting of Fiona Pender. Her disappearance has weighed heavily on the Pender family and the wider community in Tullamore and Offaly. Every week since Fiona's disappearance her name has appeared in the parish bulletin in Tullamore as prayers are offered for her. "I hope they find her for her brother. I know the poor Mum, she died a few years ago and it [Fiona's disappearance] devastated her. The family need closure and for the town, I just think we need it, it's very sad, sad for everybody, everybody involved," said Olive Davis. In 2008, as a reporter with Newstalk, I sat in the sitting room of Josephine Pender's home as a search took place in Monicknew in the Slieve Bloom mountains. It followed the discovery of a cross with the words "Fiona Pender. Buried here, August 22nd, 1996" written on it. The remains of the 25-year-old were not found there. I remember ringing Josephine that morning and asking her to do an interview. She had just finished speaking to my now colleague Fran McNulty and invited me inside. She never refused an interview. Her belief being that the more she talked about Fiona, the greater chance she might have in finding her. She couldn't hide the pain; it was etched on her face. In the space of 14 months she had lost two children, Mark in a motorbike accident and Fiona, missing presumed murdered. Her husband Sean died by suicide in 2000, the pain of losing his children was too much to bear, Josephine said. Sitting with Josephine for half an hour that day gave me a glimpse into the heavy heartbreak she was carrying. She wasn't in great health at the time, yet she vowed never to give up the fight for Fiona. And she didn't. Even in the weeks before her death, she made a final appeal for information, saying that she wasn't into punishment and just wanted to give Fiona and her unborn child back a bit of dignity and lay them to rest. Mrs Pender said she thought of her daughter's unborn baby a lot saying that it was terrible to think that someone could harm them and she said she would beg for anyone with information to come forward. In September 2017, Josephine Pender died having never discovered the fate of her only daughter and her unborn grandchild. In the almost 29 years since Fiona Pender went missing, gardaí have carried out several searches at locations in Laois and Offaly. Most notably in 1997, five arrests were made including the chief suspect. More than 300 statements have been taken, and thousands of documents have been gathered however without enough evidence, gardaí have never been able to charge anyone in connection with Fiona Pender's disappearance and murder. The main suspect is understood to have emigrated, and the Director of Public Prosecutions will need a strong case if there is to be an extradition and a person cannot be extradited solely for the purposes of questioning them. While these searches have ended, there appears to be a renewed intensity around the investigation this week. Gardaí have always said their primary objective is recovering Fiona. While they have not indicated what has led them to this week's searches near Clonaslee in Co Laois and near Killeigh in Co Offaly, it is understood that they have information that is being assessed and looked at. It is understood the searches were focused on finding evidence and not the remains of Fiona Pender. Gardaí are still appealing for information. They believe there is information in the local community in Tullamore and in the surrounding areas and are asking people who have information, but who didn't feel they were able to give that information in the past, to come forward. Almost 29 years on and Fiona Pender hasn't been forgotten. There is a memorial on the Grand Canal, not far from where she grew up, which was designed by her brother John. The inscription reads: "A mother holds her child's hand for only a few moments in time, but she holds them in her heart forever." Fiona Pender's disappearance and murder has cast a shadow on the town of Tullamore and surrounding areas. Until her remains are found and she can be finally laid to rest, the pain and heartbreak for those who knew and loved her, lives on.
The Irish Sun
27-05-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
Beloved former RTE star bags totally different role 12 months after shock station departure after 37 years
FORMER RTE star Bryan Dobson is set to chair the new State Commemorations Advisory Committee. The group has been set up to "guide future commemorative efforts", according to Culture Minister Patrick O'Donovan, following recent work on the Decade of Centenaries programme that concluded in 2023. 1 Bryan Dobson is set to chair the new State Commemorations Advisory Committee Credit: Fran Veale The committee will include Professor Marie Coleman, former ministers Heather Humphreys and Eamon O Cuiv, Orlaith McBride, Professor Paul Rouse and Dr Audrey Whitty. Ex- RTE reports that the committee is tasked with maintaining an inclusive, respectful, and consensus-based approach to all commemorative matters. Minister O'Donovan said today: "The Decade of Centenaries was a period of deep historical and national significance. Read more in News "As Minister, I am proud of how we, as a nation, commemorated that complex and formative chapter always with respect, sensitivity, and scholarly integrity. "Today, we build on that legacy by establishing a new Commemorations Advisory Committee to guide future commemorative efforts." Minister O'Donovan and some of the committee members met today at the new HQ of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to view a historical document recently acquired by the State, a signed agreement between Eamon de Valera, Austin Stack, Arthur Griffith and Michael Collins relating to the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. They were also shown a memorial card of Michael Collins. Most read in Celebrity Mr Dobson, 65, He said at the time: "I will miss working with some wonderfully talented and hardworking colleagues. RTE's Bryan Dobson 'looking forward to retirement' as TV veteran issues emotional final message after retirement " "I am grateful too to the listeners and viewers who have given me their time and attention over the years. "I hope to Recently, the former RTE presenter told how he reckons his career in journalism started way back in Transition Year in Newpark Comprehensive school in Dublin, where he made his first radio programme. 'I WASN'T ACADEMIC' Speaking to the Roasted with Mark Moriarty podcast, he said: "I wasn't academic, didn't do a very good Inter Cert or Leaving Cert… I just knew journalism was for me. "And the broadcasting came about because I was never a very good speller, so maybe written journalism wasn't for me." He then ventured into pirate radio, joining Radio Nova, before heading to the BBC. Then, he joined the RTE newsroom in 1987, where he was appointed as anchor of the Six One News in 1996. STANDOUT MEMORIES One of the standout memories of his career was covering 9/11. He was due to do an interview in Government buildings that morning and instead ended up on a marathon session on the news from 3pm that afternoon. Mr Dobson also covered the Good Friday Agreement being announced, the historic visit of Queen Elizabeth II and many more moments. He moved to RTE Radio One's Morning Ireland in 2017 before presenting the News At One throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. DAD WISH Speaking to the Roasted with Mark Moriarty podcast, Mr Dobson also told how he believes that reporters are becoming increasingly subjected to hostility, often as a result of fake news and protests around asylum seekers, and how some reporters are now going for 'Hostile Environment' training. Asked about who his four dream dinner guests would be, he chose "If I could shoot the breeze and maybe go for a pint… I would like that chance."
Irish Examiner
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Gareth O'Callaghan: Cool in 1976, crushed in 2024 — where did teen joy go?
American fiction writer Harlan Coben once said: 'Make no mistake. Adolescence is a war. No one gets out unscathed.' Truer words were never spoken, I was reminded last week while reading the UN report from Unicef which finds that Irish teenagers are among the least happy in high-income countries despite leading the world in academic skills. Why is one in every three 15-year-olds reporting low-life satisfaction, while our youth suicide rate is now above the international average? In order to answer the question, I spent a couple of hours during the week rowing back the years, trying to recall the 15-year-old I once was half a century ago. What surprised me as I jotted down random memories, despite the hormonal challenges everyone faces at that time in life, was that 1976 felt like the happiest of all my teenage years. It was a scorching hot summer, with temperatures reaching 32 degrees at the end of June. I had just completed my first big exam — the Inter Cert, as it was known then — and I felt not just relief, but also a sense of independence and identity for the first time in my life. Everything about me was changing — a weird sensation I had no control over. It was the summer I smoked my first cigarette, and promptly got violently sick. I kissed a girl for the first time, and instantly fell in love with her — or so I thought. I listened to Radio Luxembourg into the early hours of the morning. I learned the words of every song on the Eagles Their Greatest Hits album, and — to paraphrase one of them — there were moments I felt that peaceful easy feeling. Life was 'cool'. They were different times that bear no comparison to my world today, or, for that matter, the world of a modern 15-year-old Technology back then consisted of a landline telephone, a radio and a television, a portable cassette player, and the kitchen fridge — let's not forget antibiotics; each one a seismic shift that changed life for the better. I had no idea that the world was on the cusp of a technological explosion. If something didn't exist, then you didn't miss it. And perhaps that's what made the life of this 15-year-old so incompatible with how I imagine life would be if I were that age again today. The world's first mobile phone. In 1976, the world's first mobile phone, Motorola's DynaTAC 8000X, was three years old. Elon Musk was five, Mark Zuckerberg wasn't even born. Bruce Jenner, who won gold and broke the decathlon world record in the Montreal Olympics, was a man. Concorde crossed the Atlantic in three hours, while the Space Shuttle was within months of launching. Amazon was an endangered rainforest in South America, and a scientist called David Wong was busy inventing an important drug he would call Prozac 12 years later. Technology had two new visionaries — both 21 years old. Steve Jobs had just invented the world's first personal computer, while Bill Gates co-founded Microsoft. I knew little about these people or their stories 49 years ago. Life for a 15-year-old in 1976 was uncluttered. From the time you left home every morning until you arrived back, you were out of contact. It was all about a newfound sense of freedom, and a realisation that a more satisfying life was in your own making, at your own pace. We read books and newspapers. We wrote using biros or fountain pens. We made do with what we needed, never questioning why we couldn't have what we wanted. Life's luxuries came with a price, namely hard work, as my parents taught me. I got my first job that summer, stacking shelves in a busy grocery shop. It wasn't very exciting, but as a teenager there was nothing to beat being handed your wages in cash on a Friday. Was I suffering from low-life satisfaction when I was 15? Not that I recall. My memories tell me those were mostly good days. So what has changed? Low-life satisfaction focuses on an individual's overall rating of how they value life connections such as relationships, work, and personal achievements. It's a subjective measure of contentment, fulfilment, and happiness that a person experiences. If low-life satisfaction goes unchecked, it leads to depression. Some 12,801 prescriptions for antidepressants were issued for children aged 12 to 15 years old in 2022, according to HSE figures, with the gender divide between boys and girls almost equally split. While the psychological effects of covid played a considerable role in this huge rise in psychiatric medication, it can't have been the only governing factor. Something had to give, and the pandemic became the catalyst. Perhaps the strongest indicator of life satisfaction in those mid-teen years is the relationships we have with family and friends, and how fulfilling they are. When I was 15, I had five great friends, all male. That summer, a day never passed without the six of us getting together. Looking back, it was just how life was. My parents' authority was never questioned. Respect was expected in all aspects of life. In turn, it became a two-way street. Life satisfaction's most important indicator is no different today for 15-year-olds to what it was 50 years ago, namely quality and quantity of social connections. So what has changed? Simple — it's how we connect these days, and the monster we connect to Young teenagers are now spending up to nine hours online every day — about the same time it takes to fly from Dublin to San Francisco. It's longer than most people sleep every night. That works out at 137 days every year achieving little or nothing. Personal achievement is also a major indicator of life satisfaction. If you spend nine hours a day boozing in a pub or placing bets on horses, there aren't many people who wouldn't say you have a chronic problem. So why don't parents whose teenagers spend nine hours online feel the same? Two reasons. Adults spend on average seven hours per day on screens connected to the internet, so it's fair to assume they're not even aware their own children are doing the same. Then there's the toxic concept of over-accommodating parenting. If you always give in or accommodate the demands and needs of others, including your children, over your own, then you're what's known as an over-accommodating scapegoat. It comes from a combination of avoiding conflict and a need to feel accepted that enables others to use you as a doormat. Anyone who says 'anything for peace' is over-accommodating. A family that collectively spends the equivalent of days at a time endlessly scrolling on Google, Instagram, Facebook, X — whatever you're having — is dysfunctional; which means there are no equals. It's a power-hierarchy household struggle, a pecking order of winners and losers, the strong versus the weak. Some 12,801 prescriptions for antidepressants were issued for children aged 12 to 15 years old in 2022. While they won't admit it, most parents know their teenage sons are watching porn online; but have they any idea the effects it's having on them? 'Ah, sure it's part of growing up, isn't it?' a father said to me. It's not. Parents who don't make rules shouldn't expect respect from teenagers — who, by the way, are not adults, much as they might like to think they are. Parents who feel they are no longer important in the lives of their teenage children will quickly discover they're right. It's worrying that a third of all 15-year-olds experience low-life satisfaction; but that's just an open-ended statistic if the mental health backdrop of the combined family is not taken into account. If parents can't acknowledge or deal with their own low-life satisfaction, then what hope does their 15-year-old son or daughter have? My tried-and-tested advice to anyone who's experiencing low-life satisfaction right now is to realise that your life doesn't get better by chance, it gets better by change. As Oscar Wilde once said: 'Be yourself; everyone else is already taken'. Read More Colman Noctor: Preteens too young to manage smartphone responsibility
Irish Examiner
23-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Eat your way to the best results — nutritious food to help exam students succeed
The temperatures are soaring, the pollen count is up — it must be getting close to Junior and Leaving Cert exam time. For most teenagers facing into their first or second state exams in early June, this is the culmination of years of work, weekends spent revising instead of relaxing, and Easter holidays focused on flash cards and set texts. For the parents and guardians of those teens, it's when you will be walking a tightrope. It doesn't matter what you do, you're never going to get it right. I speak from experience here, with a daughter in the firing line, I mean, doing her Junior Cert. Yes, I know it's just the Junior Cert, it's not a big deal, but she's in the thick of it and doesn't understand that yet. She has to figure it out for herself, with (at least in theory) minimum parental hovering. After all, what could I possibly know? My first state exam was so long ago that it was called the Inter Cert. But there is something that I do every day that can make a difference, and that's to feed her well. 'Good nutrition often slides down the priority list when students are busy studying for exams,' says Sandra Wilkinson, CORU-registered dietitian and communications manager with the Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute ( With some exams lasting for up to two-and-a-half hours, not to mention the revision in advance, this season is a mental marathon rather than a sprint, as Ms Wilkinson points out, and 'endurance is critical'. While students may not be focused on their meals, this is where parents can make a difference. Ms Wilkinson explains that nutritious food can 'energise your system, improve your alertness, and sustain you through long exam hours [while]... the wrong dietary choices can make you feel sluggish and jittery'. Sandra Wilkinson: "Consistent meal times are essential but never more so than on exam mornings. The brain can utilise up to 20% of the energy we consume daily, and it needs a steady supply of glucose (from carbohydrate foods).' When teens are stressed, it's good for parents to take a step back and focus on food. Don't fall into the trap of letting teens dictate their own eating hours. 'Don't skip meals, especially breakfast, she advises. 'Consistent meal times are essential but never more so than on exam mornings. The brain can utilise up to 20% of the energy we consume daily, and it needs a steady supply of glucose (from carbohydrate foods).' Breakfast doesn't have to be complicated but this is where you, as the parent, can help out. Ms Wilkinson recommends foods that release carbohydrate energy more slowly, such as porridge and fruit, overnight oats, wheat biscuits with milk and banana, nut butter on wholemeal bread, and poached or scrambled egg on wholemeal toast.' On exam mornings, if you can take a little time to put together something nutritious and delicious for your exam student, you're giving them a peaceful moment to eat and prepare for the day ahead. Teens typically need plenty of fuel between meals to keep them going, even more so in and around exam time. Have healthy options on hand so they won't just grab the easy options, advises Ms Wilkinson. She says: 'Don't be tempted to reach for highly refined sugar, high-fat snacks like biscuits, crisps, chocolate, sweets, cakes. Opt for fresh fruit, natural or probiotic fruit yoghurt — 'bio' or 'live', dried fruit, nuts, popcorn, or nut butter on rice cakes.' Preparation is key, not just for your student but for you as the healthy food facilitator in your house. While there are things going on in the world other than state exams and everyone in the family is busy, that's not your focus at the moment. Sandra Wilkinson: 'Make sure your fridge and cupboards are well stocked with healthy snacks and ingredients for quick and easy meal". 'Make sure your fridge and cupboards are well stocked with healthy snacks and ingredients for quick and easy meals,' urges Ms Wilkinson, who also recommends batch cooking and portioning meals in your fridge or freezer to save time. I've been given a list of my student's favourite dinners for her week of exams. After a long day, I know she'll be looking forward to comforting, familiar dishes such as shepherd's pie, pork dumplings, veggie fried rice and beef burritos, which I can cook ahead of time and stash in the freezer. Finally, encourage your child to stay hydrated. 'Dehydration affects your concentration,' points out Ms Wilkinson, 'which may make it more difficult to study and perform to your best. Keep a glass of fluid — water, herbal teas, diluted fruit juice — within easy reach while studying and take a bottle of water into the exam if you can.' Best of luck to all exam students — and to those making sure they leave the house each morning well-fed and with meals sorted for the day ahead. We've got this. Bring on the brain food While some everyday foods may support concentration, focus, and cognitive health, the best strategy is to eat a balanced diet with plenty of vegetables, fruit, and wholegrains. If you want to add extra brain-focused options into your student's diet, here are a few delicious ideas. Green leafy vegetables Kale, cabbage, spinach, and broccoli contain brain-nourishing nutrients such as vitamin K, which enhances cognitive function, along with lutein, folate, and beta carotene. Chop and add to a stir-fry for a fast, nutritious meal. Oily fish There are two types of fatty acids — essential and non-essential — and we need to get the essential fatty acids directly from food sources to support healthy brain functions. Oily fish such as trout, mackerel, and sardines, all of which are readily available in the tinned fish section of the supermarket, are rich sources of these essential fatty acids. Fresh mackerel — nothing more delicious — are also in season. Nuts Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant important for brain health. Nuts, which also provide good fats and protein, are a valuable source of this vitamin and the ideal snack. Spread nut butter on rice cakes or grab a small handful of vitamin E-rich almonds, Brazil nuts, or peanuts. Berries Brightly coloured berries are full of natural plant pigments called flavonoids, which help memory. Blueberries and blackberries, fresh or frozen, are good sources of these flavonoids, as are strawberries. As we've just hit strawberry season in Ireland, you can choose local and pick the reddest, most aromatic punnet.
