Latest news with #MartinCahill
Irish Independent
11-07-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Free battery recycling boxes launched to grow Wicklow's green credentials
With Wicklow County Council recently reporting that, in 2024, Garden County residents recycled an average of 7.5kg of e-waste per person versus a national average of 9.5kg, the small battery boxes will offer a simple way for residents to collect used batteries, while making it easier to safely dispose of them through WEEE Ireland electrical recycling. To collect your battery recycling box, simply call into Blessington Tourist Office. Once your battery recycling box is full, you can drop your used batteries to a free WEEE Ireland Electrical Recycling Day at McGreals Primary Care Centre in Blessington on Saturday, August 23, from 10 am to 4 pm. Alternatively, drop your used batteries into the large battery recycling boxes which are located in many major retailers (e.g. Aldi or SuperValu in Blessington). Highlighting how every electrical item that is recycled means a new life for the materials contained within that device or battery, Blessington Allotments Campaign chair Dónal McCormack said that the initiative and their campaign continues to work on and support community projects which have a positive impact on the local environment. 'We are delighted to link this project with our free WEEE Ireland Electrical Recycling Day and to help build and expand on the success of last year's event,' he added. 'A huge thanks to the Blessington Tourist Office and WEEE Ireland for collaborating with us and supporting this project by making these boxes available for the local community!' Expressing delight at being part of another project that helps promote sustainability in west Wicklow, Blessington Tourist Office manager Martin Cahill said: 'The free battery recycling boxes are a positive solution to battery waste and continue our focus and work on projects which help make it easier for members of our community to make more sustainable and environmentally friendly choices, 'Previous sustainability projects that we have hosted include our popular Halloween costume and Christmas jumper swap shops, which we look forward to running again in the coming months. It's up to all of us to play our part in creating a better, more sustainable place to live!'
Irish Independent
05-05-2025
- Irish Independent
The Indo Daily: 'Ireland's Alcatraz' — The colourful history of Spike Island
Spike Island's rich history extends as far back as 635 AD when Saint Mochuda set up a monastery on the island, which lasted for 500 years. It was a time when Ireland was famous for its manuscripts and known as a world centre for crafts. The island went on to play a key role as a fortress for the British, who invested heavily in Cork Harbour as a line of defence against the French. This investment into the island was one of the most expensive construction projects in Irish history. Spike Island is still Britain and Ireland's largest-ever prison and was used as a prison facility up until 2004. A popular tourist attraction since 2016, Spike Island now is a far cry from its dark past, which included the1985 prison riots and the housing of Ireland's most well-known criminals such as Martin Cahill and James Grey, also known as 'Jack in the Box'. Today on the Indo Daily Ellen Coyne is joined by John Crotty, former general Manager of Spike Island and author of Spike Island: The Rebels, Residents and Crafty Criminals of Ireland's Historic Island, to discuss the island's colourful past and the potential histories yet to be unfurled.
