Latest news with #O'Gorman
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
‘All-time best runners': Castelli closes decorated career
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The O'Gorman Track and Field team has produced plenty of talent over the years and that includes senior standout, Libby Castelli. The distance runner closed her decorated career last weekend, as one of the top runners in state history. Libby Castelli had a busy few days at the State Track and Field Meet, running the 800, 1600, 3200 and 1600 Meter Sprint Medley for O'Gorman. 'I just take it one race at a time. I had four races this weekend and just taking it one race at a time, then focusing on recovering and getting to the next race,' Castelli said. Castelli not only won each event, but she set two state records and received the All-Class Gold Medal in four of the races. 'What a great weekend for her to cap her career,' coach Aaron Strand said. 'Winning four gold medals, running some state record times. She just puts in all that hard work and it's fun to see it pay off for her.' The victories mark back-to-back years of winning the three distance races. That success has helped her earn a spot with North Carolina Track and Field Team next year. 'So excited for her. So excited to watch her as she goes on into college and stuff,' Strand said. 'She's definitely one of the state's all-time best runners.' And as she takes her talents to next level, Castelli leaves behind a legacy that she hopes will inspire more girls to hit the track running. 'She's one of the best in the history of South Dakota, so it's great for our younger girls to see that,' Strand said. 'It gives them something to strive for. They got to see all of her hard work pay off.' 'South Dakota isn't a big state, we don't have as many people, but we have some of the best talent, like some really good young girls,' Castelli said. 'I think the future here is really bright, so I hope to just inspire the other girls. They can do great things too.' Castelli set two state records at the state meet, including the 800 meter and the 1600 meter sprint medley. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Irish Independent
25-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Opening of Irish Distillers' new €250m facility in Midleton, pushed back to 2027 at the earliest
The comments from Kevin O'Gorman are the first indication of how long the much-anticipated project in Midleton, Co Cork, has been delayed. The Jameson, Red Breast, and Powers producer shared that construction had slowed at the new distillery in March but did not reveal by how long. During an interview with WhiskyCast, an industry podcast, O'Gorman was asked if the latest Midleton distillery project for the whiskey giant was on track to open next year. 'We don't have an exact date yet,' he replied. 'But it won't be next year. As I said, we are just on the brewhouse and the grains intake at the moment, and that in itself will take six, seven, eight months to get right. "And then we have the rest of the building structure to do as well. We are looking at longer than next year,' O'Gorman added. 'Over the next few months, we will see how we get on, but overall, it is progressing very well.' Irish Distillers, part of French alcohol giant Pernod Ricard, first announced the new Midleton distillery in 2022. At the time, the company said it was being built in the Co Cork town 'to meet demand and ensure the necessary future production capacity for its portfolio of Irish whiskeys globally'. The announcement said the new distillery – on a site adjacent and connected to its current one – would be expected to generate up to 100 highly skilled jobs for the region once it was operational in 2025. Irish Distillers also announced plans to invest €50m to fund projects aimed at transforming Midleton Distillery into a carbon-neutral operation by the end of 2026. Irish whiskey, like other spirits, is currently battling an oversupply problem. The sector has also been hit with uncertainty amid US tariffs on imports, one of its most important markets. Earlier this month, the Sunday Independent reported that the vast majority of distilling in Ireland had been paused. Irish Distillers is among those to have paused production at its Midleton facility. The business said the pause would be from April until summer as it was 'adjusting its production schedule for a routine, periodic review'. In response to questions, it said it had previously confirmed the timeline for the new distillery had 'evolved, as is the case with many projects of this scale'. 'Construction is still progressing on-site and Irish Distillers remains absolutely committed to the delivery of the new distillery and to the production of Irish whiskey at Midleton Distillery into the future.'
The Journal
22-05-2025
- Politics
- The Journal
Tánaiste says TDs should avoid party politics when talking about Israel's 'genocidal actions'
TÁNAISTE SIMON HARRIS has said members of the Dáil should not be divided along political lines when it comes to the 'genocidal actions' of Israel against the Paelestinian people in Gaza. Speaking to RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, Harris was asked about recent comments by Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman regarding the government's approach to progressing the Occupied Territories Bill. The government has faced consistent criticism for the length of time it has taken to bring the bill forward for legislative scrutiny. The original form of the bill would have banned trade in goods and services with illegally occupied territories, most notably from Israeli settlements in Palestine, which are illegal under international law. The government has blamed the delay on issues related to the constitutionality of the bill and the inclusion of services in the original version. Earlier this month, O'Gorman said that when he was in government, legal advice submitted by the attorney general made no mention of services being an issue . O'Gorman accused the current government of introducing issues related to services as an excuse for delaying passing the bill. 'It's a delaying tactic,' he said. Today, Harris said: 'I don't understand why we have to divide along political lines on genocidal actions that are happening right now in Gaza.' Harris' reference to Israels actions in Gaza being 'genocidal' marks a departure from the language used by government officials since the war in Gaza began. The government has, so far, avoided using that language. 'Nobody has a monopoly of concern,' he said. Advertisement 'Nobody isn't disgusted, appalled and outraged. And I think it's about time everybody in Dáil Éireann puts their party jersey aside and pulls together here, and tries to take practical action. That's what the people of Ireland want.' Harris is to bring a memo about the bill to cabinet today, after meeting with the author of the original bill, Senator Frances Black. He said he hopes the bill will reach committee stage before the Dáil's summer recess in July. 'Warning shots' Harris also addressed in incident in the West Bank in Palestine that occurred yesterday, when Israeli occupation forces fired in the direction of a delegation of EU diplomats, which included two Irish diplomats. 'There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this is the latest in a trend of intimidatory behaviour by the Israeli Defence Forces,' Harris said. When Harris visited Irish troops in Lebanon in March, an Israeli drone hovered conspicuously overhead throughout . Last week, Irish troops in Lebanon were targeted by a laser coming from the Israeli military, which led the UN to lodge a formal complaint . The Israeli military apologised for yesterday's shooting and said its soldiers had fired 'warning shots'. Harris dismissed that explanation, saying: 'Whether these are called warning shots or whatever nice words that the Israeli Defence Forces wish to try and put on it, they were still shots, and you do not fire shots at diplomats.' Harris said the Israeli military (IDF) would have been aware that a diplomatic mission was visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the northern part of the occupied West Bank. 'It's a clear breach of law. It's a clear breach of the obligation that Israel has to protect diplomats,' he said. He added that the Israeli response 'doesn't really show the IDF understanding the scale and the gravity of what they did towards diplomats from a number of countries yesterday, including from Ireland'. Harris said he had been in touch with the EU's chief diplomat Kaja Kallas regarding the incident and that they have both called for an investigation. 'There must be accountability,' he said. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
The Journal
21-05-2025
- Business
- The Journal
'Worrying': There's no deadline for Leap Card replacement as NTA starts paying out to firms
GREEN PARTY LEADER Roderic O'Gorman has said that it is 'worrying' that there is no deadline in place for the plans to introduce contactless payments on public transport over a year into the project. The Spanish technology and defence firm Indra Sistemas SA won a single vendor contract in April of 2024 for the development and installation of contactless payments from the National Transport Authority worth €243m, to be paid out over ten years. O'Gorman told The Journal that Indra is being paid a 'very significant amount of public money' and that it is 'very worrying that neither the Minister for Transport or the NTA can give us a clear date for this project to be finished'. 'Commuters deserve to know when they will be able to benefit from the contactless system,' O'Gorman added. In the last quarter of 2024 the NTA paid €1,396,249 to Indra in purchase orders. These were the first purchase orders paid out to the company. Separate from its contract with Indra, the NTA is also paying for services from the Irish outsourcing firm Abtran for work on the 'next generation ticketing' project. Abtran works with several state agencies. The firm says that it primarily provides project management, ICT and operations services to the NTA. Advertisement It says that its personnel are involved in the implementation of next generation ticketing. 'Assignments are deployed in agreement with the NTA to ensure each resource has the most appropriate skills and experience for the specific needs of the project,' Abtran further states on its site. The NTA paid €2,511,203 to Abtran for 'Ticketing Technologies, Operations, Project and Programme Management' in the same period, but the NTA has not said how much of this was spent on work for the Leap Card replacement project, and how much was spent for other work the firm provides to the agency. The NTA told The Journal that not all of that money will be for work on the next generation ticketing project, though it could not clarify the amount that was. In response to a parliamentary question the NTA said that the initial phase will involve installing over 3,000 new validators across 69 Luas stops, 67 Irish Rail stations, 10 bus depots and more than 1,300 buses in Dublin alone. It said that several teams will be working on installation, but buses can only be worked on when they are not in use, 'i.e primarily at night or on the weekends', which the NTA said will impact the timeline of the first phase of the project. 'A major effort is being put in by the NTA to ensure that this project is delivered as effectively and expeditiously as possible,' it said, adding that however, it will take 'a number of years to successfully deliver the full solution'. The NTA said that it will soon be in a better position to provide an 'exact implementation date', when 'certain project planning activities have been completed'. The NTA did not provide any further comment. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Yahoo
Flashback Friday: A graduation celebration
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Chances are someone you know is graduating from high school or college this spring and we know that parents want their kids to be safe while celebrating the special occasion. In this week's Flashback Friday, KELOLAND's Beth Hughes takes us back to 1985 for a look at how high school seniors were safely celebrating their graduation. Like a Molotov cocktail drinking and driving at graduation time can be an explosive mix, last year in South Dakota 13 teenagers died in alcohol related accidents, 7 of those happened in the three months of May through July. With that in mind a group of Lincoln high parents is planning something different, an all night graduation party at the school. 'We decided four years ago that it would be fun to be able to do something really neat for our kids we wanted to take the time and energy that it takes to do something fun and give them a safe party.' But this is no ordinary party when all this is set up there will be a room with $7,000 worth of prizes ranging from stereos to microwaves, there will be a French style restaurant, and a game room where students can climb and throw instead of drink and drive if you think this is all hard to resist, you're right. 'Everybody's fascinated because there's such a big turnout and it all the parents are just proud of all the kids that are showing up after graduation.' 'Well it is a record number this year and probably from the seniors last year came back and told us about it.' The word has spread to other schools, O'Gorman had an all night party Sunday after its commencement and some Washington High parents are looking into doing something similar for their seniors next year. Beth Hughes, KELOLAND News. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
