Ardee to become Ireland’s third fibre town

Ardee

Ardee is to become Ireland’s third “fibre town” with a fibre connection directly into every business in the town’s centre.

The move is being facilitate by Enet, the company that holds the concession to manage, maintain and operate two phases of the Irish State’s Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) programme.

A spokesman for Enet said that the fibre broadband activation can deliver speeds of 250Mbs.

The MAN infrastructure is in place in 94 towns and cities across the country, with fibre optic cables delivered directly into premises.

The move comes as Eir and Siro promise new fibre broadband services into Irish towns across the country.

Eir says that 23,000 homes and businesses around the country are already able to receive its 1,000Mbs fibre broadband service and that it will roll this service out to 1.9m premises around the country.

Number of Gardaí in Dundalk falls by 12% in last five years

Dundalk Garda Station

The number of Gardaí in Dundalk has fallen by one eighth in the last five years.

That’s according to new figures from the Garda Commissioner, which were provided to local TD Fergus O’Dowd by Minister for Justice Francis Fitzgerald.

The figures show there were 117 Gardaí stationed in Dundalk Garda Station this month, compared with 133 in September 2010 – a drop of 12%.

The number of Gardaí in the Dundalk Garda Division – taking in Blackrock, Carlingford, Dromad, Hackballscross and Omeath – has also fallen by 13.4% during that period.

Blackrock now has four Gardaí compared with five in 2010, while Carlingford has also dropped from six to five, with neighbouring Omeath going from five to four.

The biggest fall has been in Hackballscross, which now has five Gardaí stationed there compared with eight five years ago.

Dromad, meanwhile, remains unchanged with seven Gardaí.

In Mid-Louth, the number of Gardaí in Ardee has fallen from 30 to 26, while in Castlebellingham there is now half the number there was five years ago with two Gardaí as opposed to four in September 2010. Louth continues to have one Garda present.

Dunleer, which is in the Drogheda Garda Division, was the only areas to gain in the last five years with six Gardaí stationed there now compared with five in 2010.

Across the board in Co Louth, the number of Gardaí stationed in the Louth Garda Division has fallen from 318 in September 2010 to 280 this September – a drop of just under 12%.

Local companies nominated for National Q Mark award

Aura in Dundalk

A number of local companies have been nominated for a National Q Mark award.

Aura Dundalk has been shortlisted for Ireland’s Best Quality Management system in a Leisure Centre.

St Peter’s Nursing Home in Castlebellingham has been nominated for Ireland’s Best Nursing Home while Bryan Lynch Finest Salads in Ardee are up for the title of Ireland’s Best Food Manufacturer for Hygiene and Safety.

The awards will be presented at an event in Dublin on Friday September 25^th.

Number claiming dole payments in Dundalk falls for first time in four months in August

The Live Register figures for Dundalk fell for the first time since March last month.

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that there were 6,255 people signed on in Dundalk last month, a fall of 1.4% from the 6,341 who were caliming dole payments in July.

This is the first fall after four consecutive months of increases but the numbers on the Live Register in the town are still 6.4% higher than they were in March when just 5,881 were on the register.

On a county level there were 14,611 people signing on last month, also the first fall since March and down by 1.2%.

There was also falls recorded in Ardee (-1.7%) and Drogheda (-0.8%).

Ferdia Chocolates host end of summer sale

Ferdia Chocolates in Ardee are hosting an end of summer sale today and tomorrow.

The event got underway at their factory at Unit 8 & 9 of the Currabeg Business Park this morning and will run until 6pm.

It will also be open tomorrow from 10am to 6pm so be sure to pop in to grab yourself a tasty bargain.

1916 Commemoration Lecture Series is launched in Dundalk

The 1916 Commemoration Lecture Series was launched in Jocelyn Street in Dundalk this afternoon.

Organised by Dundalk and District Old IRA Commemoration Committee, the lecture series will be held on a regional basis to commemorate the led in to 2016 and the centenary of the Easter Rising.

The first venue is in Ardee on September 21st where Mary Gallagher, a descendant of Eamonn Ceannt, will give a lecture on his life and links to Ardee. Rosemary King will also give a lecture on Joseph Dolan, a significant business person in the Ardee area and who also assisted those in the Volunteer movement the same evening.

The second venue is Dunleer where Ailbhe Rogers will give a lecture on Cumann na mBan and volunteer activity in Mid-Louth on October 5^th.

The series then moves to the Old Gaol in Dundalk on October 22^nd where Conor Keelan and Donal Hall will give lectures on Seán MacEntee and the Hughes brothers, respectively, all of whom had links to the former Dundalk Urban District Council either as employees or as Councillors.

The series then moves to Newry on November 6th where there will be a lecture on Patrick Rankin, the only participant from that area to partake in the Rising. Four days later in The Shirley Arms in Carrickmacross, Terence Dooley will give a lecture concerning the 100^th anniversary of Pearse’s visit to the town.

The series then moves to Drogheda before Christmas where Tom Reilly, author of a biography of Joseph Stanley, will give a lecture on his life.

In the New Year two additional lectures conclude the series. Mary Gallagher returns to Drogheda to discuss the Ceannt connections with the area and Liam Reilly will give a lecture on Volunteer activity in South Louth that same evening.

Finally Ruth Sweetman, a descendant of the O’Rahilly family, will give a lecture on the family in Carlingford.

More than 2,000 people from Louth registered on Ashley Madison website

More than 2,000 local people are registered members of the Ashley Madison adultery website.

The controversial site encourages people to meet up and have an affair and has caused huge controversy after it was hacked earlier this year with information on its members posted online.

More than 37 million people have had their details published, including 110,000 in Ireland.

Of that figure it has emerged that 994 members are registered in Dundalk, with all bar 8.5% of them male, while just over 1,000 are signed up in Drogheda.

A further 154 people are registered in Louth Village, with 10% of them female and 58 are in Ardee, with 93% of them female.

Many names used by account holders are pseudonyms but it is also worth noting that Ashley Madison does not verify email addresses on the site so it is possible to sign up using someone else’s email.

Gorman triumphs in Louth Road Race Championship

Ray Culligan presents Gary Gorman with his prize for winning the Louth Road Race Championships on Sunday

Sunday saw Cuchulainn Cycling Club host the Louth Road Race Championships for both men and women. Despite the atrocious weather a good turn saw the riders start at Oriel Park, head to Carrickmacross, across to Ardee on to the link road, past Dorian’s pub and into the finish at the Fane Bridge some 60km later.

In the men’s event the racing was aggressive from the start with Gerry McCabe the first to put in a meaningful attack and his lead grew to over a minute at one stage. However, reluctant to give a strong rider such an advantage the main bunch began to up the tempo and eventually McCabe was brought back just after Carrick. The racing to Ardee saw attack after attack, with the bunch slowly but surely being whittled down until finally a select group emerged. On the run in from Castllebellingham a fast pace ensured that the race would come down to a sprint and with 500m Karl Dolan was the first to make a bid for glory. However Dromin’s Gary Gorman was the quickest to react and put in a blistering acceleration that saw him pull clear of everyone else and take the win ahead of Richie McMullen or Ardee and Dundalk’s Alan Bingham in third.

Ray Culligan presents Linda Stokes with her prize for winning the Louth Road Race Championships on Sunday

In the women’s event Linda Stokes put in a huge display to simply ride away from her opponents and take the chequered flag in a solo victory. The silver county medal went to Ardee’s Johanna Rogan and Dundalk’s Jan Conlon in third.

Jan’s bronze medal went with her gold medal she won earlier in the week at the Leinster Hill Climb Championships, also promoted by Cuchulainn. Here Linda Stokes was also to the fore taking the silver with Rosemary Gibson taking the bronze. The men’s title went to Meath’s Chris Reilly ahead of Cuchulainn’s Ray O’Shaughnessey and Tomas McCabe in third. The junior title was won by Cuchulainn’s David Finnegan with Lorcan Kilkenny taking the silver.

Paddy Power refusing to give up on plans for Ardee shop

Paddy Power have lodged an appeal with An Bord Pleanála against Louth County Council’s decision to refuse them planning permission to set up a new bookmakers in Ardee.

The company had applied to Louth County Council for planning permission to convert a former bar under Wau Asian Cuisine at the junction of Market Square and Irish Street into a betting office (102sqm) at ground level.

They had hoped to fit four satellite dishes on the flat roof at the rear and have three condenser units in the yard at the rear.

The application included permission for their signage and the internal modification of the building.

The move would have pitted them in direct competition with the nearby Boylesports unit. At least one objection came in, however, saying their site notice was misleading as the premises was not presently a bar and was being used as a hardware shop.

Last month the council refused the betting giant planning, however, on the basis that it contravened with the Ardee Local Area Plan to keep the town centre for retail use. They also said it would affect the town’s Architectural Conservation Area due to the four satellite dishes proposed.

Paddy Power are arguing that they comply with both the County Retail Strategy and the Local Area Plan, adding that the change of use of a vacant unit would not have any impact on the viability or vitality of Ardee town centre. Indeed, they argued a betting office would increase footfall “to the overall benefit of this part of the town.”

They further feel a betting office has a “quasi-retail use” which would complement the shopping offer in the town centre.

They also refuted the council’s decision to refuse permission on the basis it could set an “undesirable precedent for further such development.” Paddy Power argue that precedent is not a material planning consideration.

They further argue that the proposed satellite dishes will not be visible to such an extent that they have an impact on the Architectural Conservation Area. They said they would be happy to accept a condition that they are moved to another location on the site.

It now remains to be seen what way An Bord Pleanála see the case.

McDermott takes the victory in penultimate round of Cycling League

The penultimate round of the Bike Station Cycling League was contested over 35km with the riders going out to Ardee across the link road and back into Dundalk, through Castlebellingham for a finish at the Fane Bridge.

The first group on the road got organised quickly, with the riders forming a swift pace line, sharing the work and ensuring they maintained their gap right to the end. In the sprint for the podium Gavin McDermott took the win with, Paul Howard in second and David Finnegan third. Gary Gorman led home the other four groups which had all come together on the links road across from Ardee.

With both Alan Bingham and Benny Smyth failing to score points, the leaderboard has changed yet again as we head into the final round, which will be held on Thursday August 27th. Only three points separate the first three, with Alan Malone (90 points), leading Alan Bingham (88 points) and Benny Smyth (87 points) in third. Even fourth placed Connor McKeown could mathematically share the league win with Alan Malone if he was to take the win and none of the first three scored any points. Linda Stokes has a firm lead in the ladies competition and cannot be caught by her nearest rival Rosemary Gibson.

The Bike Station League takes a break this Thursday night as Jenkinstown Hill is once again the venue for the Leinster Hill Climb Chapionships. Defending champion James Davenport of DID Electrical will again be favourite, however there is a number of other strong contenders.

Cuchulainn Cycling Club will also be hosting the Louth Men’s & Women’s Road Race Championships on Sunday 23rd, racing starts at 10am on the Carrick Road