Latest news with #Westmeath
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Louth's Darren Geoghegan in the running as Annaverna plays host to All-Ireland Poc Fada Finals
Competitors taking part this year are of the highest calibre, with many holding All-Star Awards, All Ireland Club and County medals. The modern Poc Fada recreates the legendary journey of Cú Chulainn who as the seven-year-old boy Setanta decided he had waited long enough to become a member of the famous Red Branch Knights of Ulster. So he set off from his home in Dundalk for the Macra, the Red Branch Knights school in Armagh, some 60km away. While crossing the Cooley Mountains, Setanta hit his sliotar far ahead and ran forward to catch it on his hurley stick before it hit the ground. Today's contenders compete over the same Cooley mountains as Setanta once passed. The 5km Senior Hurling and 2.5 km Senior Camogie and U16 courses provide ample opportunity to practice pocs, as on average the Senior Hurling takes 46 pocs to win. The modern All-Ireland Poc Fada dates back to 1960 when six boys from Dundalk (Mal Begley, Peter Crilly, Sean Mc Aeney, Jerome Mc Donagh, Peter Myles and the first-ever winner Damien Callan) under the watchful eye of An tAthair Pól Mac Shean, took part in the very first Poc Fada. The first All-Ireland Poc Fada took place the following year in 1961. First sponsored by Martin Donnelly more than 25 years ago, the MD Sports All-Ireland Poc Fada Finals represent one of the longest-running sponsorships within the GAA and Camogie Association. Spectators are very welcome to come along to Annaverna Mountain on Monday for 11am. PLAYING ORDER Senior Hurling 1. Cathal Dillon, Tipperary 2. Pearce Smyth, Down 3. Noel Fallon, Roscommon 4. Sean Og McLaren, Antrim 5. Killian Phelan, Kilkenny 6. Cillian Kiely, Offaly 7. Darren Geoghegan, Louth 8. Brendan Cummins, Tipperary 9. Pat Burke, Westmeath 10. Bobby Douglas, Mayo 11. Colin Ryan, Limerick 12. Fionan Mackessy, Kilkenny Senior Camogie 1. Isobelle McInerney, Clare 2. Ellen Leech, Antrim 3. Patricia Coote, Westmeath 4. Maeve Muldoon, Galway 5. Sara Louise Graffin, Down ADVERTISEMENT Learn more 6. Molly Lynch, Cork U16 Hurling 1. Donnacha Collins, Derry 2. Oran Stratford, Galway 3. Sean Og O'Regan, Waterford 4. Conor Raleigh, Westmeath U16 Camogie 1. Siofra Ginty, Offaly 2. Kayla Garrett, Galway 3. Saoirse Ryan, Tipperary 4. Eimear Ward, Antrim
Irish Examiner
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Déise joy at back-to-back after battle with Westmeath
ZuCar All-Ireland Ladies U18C Final: Waterford 5-20 Westmeath 3-10 Waterford clinched their second ZuCar U-18 C All-Ireland title in a row thanks to a stunning display against battling Westmeath in Baltinglass. The Deise held a relatively narrow four-point lead after a pulsating goal-fest of a first half but powered on in the second period, storming to the crown on a fully deserved scoreline of 5-20 to 3-10. Such was the dominance of Fiona Laffan's side in that second 30 minutes, they outscored their classy opponents by 2-10 to 0-4, lethal forwards Treasa Ní Chrotaigh, Abbie Fitzpatrick and Clodagh Power in flying form and boosted by the arrival of the superbly accurate Emma Fitzgerald off the bench after half-time, while centre-back Rebecca Walsh and full-back Deirdre Roche shone in a uncompromising defence. A decent crowd had gathered in a sun-kissed Baltinglass GAA grounds for what promised to be a thriller, and the opening half certainly delivered in that regard. Six goals, some lovely points and football of a very high standard sent Waterford in with a four-point lead at 3-10 to 3-6 after those hectic opening 30 minutes. It was the Leinster champions who hit the ground running early doors, opening up a 1-1 to 0-0 lead after four minutes, Rachel Murphy with the goal and Kate Stuart Trainor causing havoc on the wing. But Waterford were here to play, and white flags from Eimear Campbell, Clodagh Power and team captain Ava Connolly left the minimum between the sides with eight minutes on the clock. The Deise side started bossing matters and by the end of the first quarter they led by 2-6 to 1-2, the goals from Abbie Fitzpatrick and Clodagh Power. This was a free-flowing encounter with strong running from both sides, and it was all in the mix at the break thanks to fine goals from Shannon Breslin and Katie Kilmurray (penalty) who helped Westmeath battle back into contention. However, the introduction of Emma Fitzgerald at the break and her impact from placed balls and the scintillating Deise attack that produced two more goals, the first from Siún Mernin and the second from the outstanding Clodagh Power and a host of points from all over the field left the Waterford side worthy winners after a cracking battle in the Garden County. Scorers – Waterford: C Power 2-6 (4f), A Fitzpatrick 1-2, E Fitzgerald 0-5 (4f), A Connolly 1-1, T Ní Chrotaigh 0-4 (f), S Mernin 1-0, E Campbell 0-1, R Browne 0-1. Westmeath: K Kilmurray 1-6 (1-0pen, 3f), R Murphy 1-0, S Breslin 1-0, K Stuart Trainor 0-2, S O'Sullivan 0-1, E Carey 0-1. WATERFORD: G Corcoran; R Power, D Roche, G Carrigan; S Peters, R Walsh, E Campbell; S Condon, R Browne; C Power, M Kenneally, S Mernin; A Connolly (capt.), T Ní Chrotaigh, A Fitzpatrick. Subs: E Fitzgerald for E Kenneally (h/t), A Butler for Mernin (59), R Fitzgerald for R Power (60), E Curran for Condon (60), M McCusker for Ní Chrotaigh (60+2). WESTMEATH: K Kelly; R Ward, L Brogan, G Shortall; A Barry, M Donohue, Á Bracken; C Butler Clyne, A Keegan (capt.); S O'Sullivan, R Murphy, K Stuart Trainor; O Collins, S Breslin, K Kilmurray. Subs: L Allen for Donohue (29), E Carey for Barry (39), K Hogg for Shorthall (41, inj), N Farrell for Collins (57), A McDonald for Butler Clyne (60+2). Referee: E Cuthbert (Down).
Irish Times
4 days ago
- General
- Irish Times
The tiny ‘eggs' in this field bird's nest fungus are spore-bearing structures
What is this? I found it in my garden in Westmeath at the beginning of July. Karen Williams This a fungus – Cyathus olla – the field bird's nest fungus. It is very small, the 'nest' is only 1.5cm tall and 1cm in diameter. The 'eggs' inside are the spore-bearing structures. When they are struck by large raindrops they are dislodged from the 'nest' and become attached to grass stems where they burst open and spread their spores. They grow on soil, twigs and other organic debris and the fruiting bodies form in the summertime. Harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis var conspicua. Photograph: E Maloney I found this ladybird in my garden last week. Is it a good guy or a bad guy? E Maloney, Dublin There are melanic forms of the benign two-spot lady bird which are black with red spots. Although in its normal form the two-spot (which is a good guy) is red with two black spots, in the melanic form it is black with either four or six red spots. This one that you found is just another iteration of the dastardly harlequin ladybird – Harmonia axyridis var conspicua. So, it is a bad guy. It will eat the larvae of any native ladybird species in the garden. READ MORE Male blackbird with leucism. Photograph: Antoinette Donohue I saw this strange-looking bird at a bus stop in Maynooth. Has this bird stuck its head in a bucket of paint, or is there another explanation? Antoinette Donohue, Maynooth Indeed, on first glance it does look like that, but if you look closely, you will see that it is a male blackbird with the orange bill and characteristic stance. This bird has leucism which is a genetic mutation that causes white patches by preventing melanin being sent to some of the bird's feathers. Generally these birds do not succeed in getting mates and reproducing, so the mutation arises afresh each time rather than being inherited. Caterpillars. Photograph: Alison Kennedy Could you identify these caterpillars who are eating their way through my red currant bush? Alison Kennedy These are the caterpillars of the gooseberry sawfly – so called because it most often feeds on the leaves of gooseberry bushes. But it is not above dining on the leaves of currant bushes too and in fact a heavy invasion can strip the bushes bare. They will recover when the replete caterpillars drop off on to the soil where they pupate, overwinter and become adult sawflies. Adults feed mainly on pollen and are not often noticed. It is the larvae that get all the attention. Violet sea snail. Photograph: Anna Lopez I found this on the coast past Spanish point, Co Clare. Thought it is so beautiful and how it looks like it's knitted. Anna Lopez I spotted this blue shelled sea creature on the shoreline at White Strand Beach, Renvyle, Co Galway. It was 3cm to 4cm in diameter approximately Any idea what it is? Jane Bruton Both of these queries refer to the violet sea snail – Janthina ianthina – which lives on the surface of warmer oceans, floating on its raft of bubbles and feeding on siphonophores (jellyfish-like creatures) such as Velella , the by-the-wind sailor. It produces mucus which it agitates with its foot to mix it with air, thus filling it with bubbles. This creates a bubble raft which keeps it afloat on the surface of the sea, upside down with its shell hanging downwards. The remains of this is shown here in Anna's picture. Violet sea snails, which get detached from this raft, sink to the bottom and die soon after. The empty shells eventually get washed ashore and this is what Jane has photographed and submitted. They are quite fragile and are rare jetsam on our beaches. Please submit your nature query, observation, or photo, with a location, via or by email to weekend@
BreakingNews.ie
5 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Enoch Burke wins appeal over composition of disciplinary appeals panel
Teacher Enoch Burke has won an appeal over the composition of a disciplinary panel set up to hear his appeal against his dismissal. Mr Burke claimed a member of the three-person appeals panel, Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) general secretary, Kieran Christie, was a 'promoter of transgenderism'. The appeals panel denied his claim. Advertisement Ms Justice Mary Faherty, on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal (CoA) , said with "a great deal of reluctance", she would grant an injunction to Mr Burke restraining the appeals panel, as presently constituted, from hearing the respondents from holding a hearing. Mr Burke spent more than 500 days in prison for repeatedly disobeying High Court orders not to attend at Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath where he had been employed as a history and German teacher. He went through a disciplinary hearing after publicly clashing with school management when the then-principal Niamh McShane requested that teachers call a transgender child 'they' instead of 'he'. He has argued transgenderism is against his Christian religious beliefs and requiring him to do so was unconstitutional and contrary to the ethos of Wilson's of which the Church of Ireland is school patron. Advertisement When he was dismissed in 2023, he sought an appeal through the normal employment process but then brought a High Court challenge claiming that appeals panel member, Mr Christie, was "an activist for transgenderism" within the ASTI and was personally or objectively biased. In December 2023, the High Court rejected his challenge, saying Mr Burke had not discharged the burden on him of establishing that there was a fair question to be tried of a reasonable apprehension of bias. He appealed to the CoA and the panel opposed his appeal. On Friday, Ms Justice Faherty, for the CoA, said that while accepting Mr Christie does not sit on the appeals panel in his capacity as General Secretary of the ASTI, it must nevertheless be the case that Mr Christie's role in the ASTI, which has advised schools to use a transitioning student's preferred choice of pronoun, would be influential to the reasonable independent observer. Advertisement In those circumstances, she could not agree with the High Court judge that there was not a fair question to be tried in relation to any issue on which it was claimed the ASTI had taken a position. She rejected Mr Burke's suggestion that if his objection to Mr Christie was well-founded, the objection must similarly be well-founded in relation to any other person nominated by the ASTI. The judge said there remained the question as to whether Mr Burke, with his history of contempt of court "gets to pick and choose how and when he gets to invoke the court's protection and jurisdiction'. Mr Burke, apart from spending more than 500 days in prison over several periods, was also the subject of daily €700 and later €1,400 fines for every time he turned up at the school. Advertisement Ireland 'Golden couple': Profits soar at Brian O'Driscoll... Read More Recently, the High Court made orders permitting the seizure of money to pay the fines from the bank account into which his school salary continued to be paid pending the CoA decision. Ms Justice Faherty said she considered his contempt no less egregious now than when he was before the High Court challenging the appeals panel. However, the distinguishing feature of the present case was the spectre of unfairness that will hover over the disciplinary appeal process if he has to face that body as presently constituted, given that he has made out a case of a reasonable apprehension of objective bias, she said. While it was normal for the loser in a case to pay the winner's costs, the court was "not in normal territory" here. The judge said there would be no costs order in Mr Burke's favour save an order setting aside the costs order made against him in the High Court.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Enoch Burke wins injunction to halt disciplinary panel hearing his appeal over dismissal
Teacher Enoch Burke has won an appeal over the composition of a disciplinary panel set up to hear his appeal against his dismissal. Mr Burke claimed a member of the three-person appeals panel, Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) general secretary, Kieran Christie, was a 'promoter of transgenderism'. The appeals panel denied his claim. Ms Justice Mary Faherty, on behalf of the three-judge Court of Appeal, said with 'a great deal of reluctance', she would grant an injunction to Mr Burke restraining the appeals panel, as presently constituted, from hearing the respondents from holding a hearing. Mr Burke spent more than 500 days in prison for repeatedly disobeying High Court orders not to attend at Wilson's Hospital School in Co Westmeath where he had been employed as a history and German teacher. READ MORE He went through a disciplinary hearing after publicly clashing with school management when the then-principal Niamh McShane requested that teachers call a child 'they' instead of 'he'. He has argued transgenderism is against his Christian religious beliefs and requiring him to do so was unconstitutional and contrary to the ethos of Wilson's of which the Church of Ireland is school patron. When he was dismissed in 2023, he sought an appeal through the normal employment process but then brought a High Court challenge claiming that appeals panel member, Mr Christie, was an 'activist for transgenderism' within the ASTI and was personally or objectively biased. In December 2023, the High Court rejected his challenge saying Mr Burke had not discharged the burden on him of establishing that there was a fair question to be tried of a reasonable apprehension of bias. He appealed to the Court of Appeal and the panel opposed his appeal. On Friday, Ms Justice Faherty, for the Court of Appeal, said that while accepting Mr Christie does not sit on the appeals panel in his capacity as General Secretary of the ASTI, it must nevertheless be the case that Mr. Christie's role in the ASTI, which has advised schools to use a transitioning student's preferred choice of pronoun, would be influential to the reasonable independent observer. In those circumstances, she could not agree with the High Court judge that there was not a fair question to be tried in relation to any issue of which it was claimed the ASTI had taken a position. She rejected Mr Burke's suggestion that if his objection to Mr. Christie was well founded, the objection must similarly be well-founded in relation to any other person nominated by the ASTI. The judge said there remained the question as to whether Mr Burke, with his history of contempt of court 'gets to pick and choose how and when he gets to invoke the court's protection and jurisdiction'. Mr Burke, apart from spending more than 500 days in prison over a number of periods, was also the subject of daily €700 and later €1,400 fines for every time he turned up at the school. Recently the High Court made orders permitting the seizure of money to pay the fines from the bank account into which his school salary continued to be paid pending the Court of Appeal decision. Ms Justice Faherty said she considered his contempt no less egregious now than when he was before the High Court challenging the appeals panel. However, the distinguishing feature of the present case was the spectre of unfairness that will hover over the disciplinary appeal process if he has to face that body as presently constituted given that he has made out a case of a reasonable apprehension of objective bias, she said. While it was normal for the loser in a case to pay the winner's costs, the court was 'not in normal territory' here. The judge said there would be no costs order in Mr Burke favour save an order setting aside the costs order made against him in the High Court.
