The Academy by Karen Daly to hold open evening this Tuesday night

Catriona Hughes before and after joining The Academy

The Academy by Karen Daly has proved to be a huge success since opening at 3 Jocelyn Mall in June.

Located opposite The Home Bakery, the Academy will hold an open night this Tuesday at 7pm so people can see what it’s all about. There will also be special offers and prizes on the night.

Catriona Hughes has recently joined the Academy’s health and wellness team.

Catriona is a proud wife and mum to four beautiful girls living in Jenkinstown. She began her career as a registered nurse and midwife and then spent a number of years studying and practising holistic therapies. She is qualified in reflexology, Reiki, Hopi Ear Candling, therapeutic use of oils and many more.

Having lost over 2 stone with Karen Daly in the Academy, Catriona became passionate about healthy eating and the impact food has on the body. With lots of motivation, learning and encouragement along the way she found the journey to health and happiness easier than ever and looks forward to helping others achieve their weight loss dreams. She is currently studying a Diploma in Holistic Nutrition and having completed her Academy training Catriona is excited about opening her own weekly classes.

She said: “I cannot wait to welcome people to The Academy, where they will learn so much about, food and nutrition as well as what works for their body and how to set goals and achieve them.

“I will run a half hour session at 10am every Tuesday and every second week I do a live cookery demo. This gives people an opportunity to learn new skills that will satisfy their body’s needs and help them enjoy delicious, nutritious foods forever.”

Her expertise in mindfulness of the body and soul from her holistic training fits well within the Academy teachings. Catriona will focus on helping you release the body’s natural narcotics and elevate your mind to reach your goals. Having lived with fibromyalgia for 15 years Catriona found that holistic practices helped her to alleviate symptoms overtime.

The Academy was opened in 2013 by Karen Daly founder of Slender Choice. Karen has worked for over six years in Weight Management and is completing her Masters in Weight Management this academic year. The Academy is built on a foundation of learning and fun and each week you will pick up nuggets of information that will change how you eat and live forever. The Academy teachings are all evidence based, no foods are banned and all is enjoyed in their fun, retro Academy on Jocelyn Mall!

The results speak for themselves, local lady Elaine Bates has lost almost six stone in six months with many others achieving their goals weekly. Food is the order of the day with fab recipes including chicken pie, chicken curry, Big Mac in a bowl and chicken in black bean sauce incredibly popular with members.

Catriona is so excited to begin this new journey with The Academy and you can contact her on 0868512466.

With Karen, Kathleen and Linda by her side she is ready to introduce and enlighten you on how to be the best version of you possible.

The Academy is open Tuesdays at 3 Jocelyn Mall at 10am or 7.30pm and you will receive a warm welcome and the kettle is always on.

McCrystal sets new national record for Ironman event in Barcelona

Bryan McCrystal

Local triathlete Bryan McCrystal set a new national record for the Ironman event in Barcelona on Sunday.

The Jenkinstown native, who runs Mint by Baldwins in Earl Street, came home in a time of 8 hours 41 minutes and 29 seconds in the Barcelona IronMan event.

That was enough for a very impressive 22^nd place in the international field despite coming straight off the back of the road racing season when his swimming and running training would have been minimal.

McCrystal put in a time of 1hr 2mins 47 secs for the 3.8km swim in Barcelona yesterday afternoon.

He followed that up with a time of 4hrs 17mins 11secs for the 180km bike leg; rounding out his effort with a time of 3hrs 18mins 30seconds for the 42.2km concluding run leg.

His bike leg was raced at an average of 41.99kph and was faster than any of the competitors who finished ahead of him.

Indeed, only former international bike rider Démétrio Fernandez from France was quicker than McCrystal on the bike.

The new Ironman national record holder, subject to ratification, competes in the colours of Team ASEA in the Irish peloton and won the new National Road Series this year.

His time in Barcelona was almost four minutes faster than the national record set by fellow local man Liam Dolan in Copenhagen two years ago.

Dolan, who has also since turned to cycling with local club Cuchulainn, set a time of 08:45:26.

McCrystal is a former pro football who played for Leeds United until injury cut short his career in England after four years.

He then played League of Ireland football with Dundalk FC before being hit by further cruciate knee ligament injuries.

Having then gone on to triathlon he quickly became an international before moving to cycling.

Local residents set to go to An Bord Pleanála once again to stop Ravensdale quarry from reopening

Inside Ravensdale quarry

Local residents are expected to lodge a planning appeal after permission was granted recently for the reopening of the stone quarry at Ballymakellett in Ravensdale, which has been idle for around half a century.

Louth County Council yesterday gave Burncorp Group Limited conditional planning permission to reopen the quarry for the production of road making and aggregate materials. Under the terms of the application, the quarry would reopen for a period of five years.

As part of the application, Burncorp – who are based in Stapleton Place in Dundalk – have also been given permission to set up a temporary office, welfare facilities, weighbridge and wheel wash.

They had initially applied for planning permission for the development in August 2014 with multiple objections from local residents being lodged in the last year.

They expressed concerns over air and land pollution from quarry dust and the possible health hazard this would create for residents. They also outlined their concerns in relation to traffic and the damage that could be caused to residences by the movement of rocks in 20 to 40 tonne trucks.

They further feel that the value of their houses would fall due to its proximity to an in-use quarry and expressed concerns over pollution to the local water supply and its impact on local wildlife.

As well as objections from the residents, Inland Fisheries Ireland also objected vehemently to the move.

Residents previously objected to the reopening of the quarry in 2006 and they claim their case is now “more compelling”, given the scenic aspect of the area and its increase in popularity in recent years. They pointed out that the quarry is in full view of the “much used” Táin trail.

Nine years ago the council granted planning permission to Eco Quarrie to open the quarry with residents appealing the decision to An Bord Pleanála, a process the residents are now like to take once more. They will be hoping for better luck though as it was allowed to open for 16 months after approval was granted from the planning authority. Residents who took a case at the time included Rosaleen Mullan, Kenneth Rice, Gerry Scannell, Jerry Jackson, Maura and Walter Rainey and Gerry Malone.

A previous application was also given the go ahead to reopen the quarry in 1992 but once again An Bord Pleanála overturned the council’s decision.

As well as Ballymakellett, areas which would be affected by the move include Dawestown, Jenkinstown, Rockmarshall and along the main Carlingford to Dundalk Road.

Residents are due to meet in the Ravensdale Community Centre tonight at 8pm to discuss the matter.

Gardaí investigating burglaries in north Louth

Gardaí are investigating two separate aggravated burglaries which occurred in the north Louth area last Monday week, July 13^th.

According to LMFM, an elderly man disturbed two males who were in his house in the Hackballscross area around 4pm, while between 5pm or 6pm two men arrived at a house in Jenkinstown and offered to pave a driveway.

They left but returned a short time later and one man held the family at knifepoint, while the other stole jewellery from the house.

In both cases the culprits fled the scene in a three door silver or white Renault Clio.

One of the men is described as being in his early 40s, about 5ft 6in, of medium build with fair hair and the second man was about 6ft tall, thin and wore a long sleeved black shirt.

Anyone who may have seen anything in the area at the time is asked to contact Dundalk Garda Station on 042 9335577.

New craft beer company on the way to Carlingford

A new craft beer company is being established in Carlingford.

Carlingford Brewing Company recently established its Facebook page, with a website on the way.

Its aim is to extol “the beauty, history and mythology of Carlingford town and the Cooley Peninsula through its delicious craft beer.”

When its products go on sale it will become the first major craft beer company in north Louth. The business, which was set up in March last year, is run by Sharon Boyle and Desmond Goldrick and is based at Rampark Shore in Jenkinstown.

Nearby companies such as Dan Kelly’s Cider in Drogheda and the Brehon Brewhouse in Killanny have had good success of late and here’s hoping that Carlingford Brewing Company will follow suit in that regard.

Almost 400 riders sign on for Tour of Louth

Members of Cuchulainn CC at the Wicklow 200

Cuchulainn Cycling Club recently held its annual Tour of Louth and with glorious weather almost 400 riders signed on for the 2015 tour.

A new headquarters for the event saw the riders gather at Dowdallshill GAA Club, where nervous cyclists pumped tyres, oiled chains and discussed the route, with the big talking point of course being the climb of Jenkinstown. Coming at the 60km stage of the 105km route, it is always the part of the route that breaks up the big packs.

The riders rolled out of Dowdallshill for a neutralised start through the town and up to the Fane Bridge. Once past the official start point, the speed did pick up and the riders settled into a number of different groups. These groups typically stayed intact until the aforementioned Jenkinstown Hill, which saw the riders coming home in much smaller groups. Back in the clubhouse riders enjoyed a fresh brew and some food. All in all the event was a huge success with excellent signposting and marshalling throughout.

Many of the club’s leisure cyclists, were not content with just 105km from the Tour of Louth and the following weekend headed off to Wicklow to tackle a leg crippling 200km, with hills that made Jenkinstown look like a speed bump.

Alan Bingham was in racing action on Saturday last on the motor racing circuit at Bishopstown in Co. Antrim. From the line Alan attached with North Down’s James Ambrose. The pair worked together to hold off the field and in the sprint Alan claimed the runner up spot.

Alan also picked up second position in the most recent round of the league, which was won by Stamullen’s Gary Gorman. Val Gargan continued his good run of form in the Bike Station Summer Cycling League, taking third position. In the section a race it was like father like son with Emmett Gorman winning ahead of Lynda Stokes in second and Cyril Sherry in third.

Dolan goes close to first win of the year in Tour of the Mournes

Liam Dolan competing in the Tour of the Mournes on Sunday

Cuchulainn Cycling Club’s Liam Dolan went very close to taking his first win of the year in the Tour of the Mournes on Sunday last.

The 155km cycle saw the 80 strong field tackle some rolling countryside on a warm but blustery day. After 35km Dolan found himself part of a six man escape group, which by the end of the day was whittled down to just Dolan and Dave Hamilton of North Down CC.

The pair drove to the finish with a minute over the remains of the main bunch, where Hamilton pipped Dolan for the win. Colm Quinn also had a good result with ninth position overall.

Both Colm and Liam will be on the start line this Sunday for the An Post Rás, which starts in Dunboyne. The eight-day international cycle race will see a stage finish in Drogheda on Saturday May 23rd.

The Bike Station Summer Cycling League continued this week with the course being out to Ardee, across the link road and home through Castlebellingham. It was another big turn out with 84 riders signing on across the two races.

The first race off was once again a bunch sprint with the three groups finally coming together before Kilsaran. As the line fast approached on the Fane Bridge, round one winner Val Gargan was again the quickest, outsprinting Alan Bingham for the win with Kenny Sullivan in third.

The second race was a master class in pacing from Johanna Rogan who rode away from the rest of group one and held off the fast moving riders behind to take the win. Gavin McDermott was next home winning the sprint for second place ahead of underage sensation Connor McKeown. Catherine Sands’ good riding meant another lady was in the top five. Group three, meanwhile, never bridged the gap to the leaders so had to settle for the minor placings.

The Mountain Bike League is also in full swing and round four returned to Bellurgan Park. The recent rainfall made for real testing conditions for the riders. Like the Bike Station league, this league also operates two races a night such are the numbers.

In race one Liam Burns was in flying form on his new stead and took a victory from Aaron McCann, who was unlucky to have a mechanical on the last lap while closing in on Burns. Niall O’Flaherty was third.

In race two PJ Hynes was well ahead of the chasing pack cruised in to take first place with a few minutes to spare ahead of John Kane in second and Paul Durnin rounding out third. Round five returns to the wilderness of the open mountain.

The Tour of Louth, Cuchulainn’s annual sportive is to be held Sunday May 31st and again expects to attract a big field to tackle the 110km of scenic Co Louth countryside. The route will follow the usual format of out towards Dunleer, across to Ardee, back to Dundalk before heading around Carlingford via the tough climb at Jenkinstown. There will also be a shorter 50km route on the day. Dowdallshill GAA club is the sign on location.

Finally under the stewartship of Philip Kerley, an underage cycling group has begun to meet every Monday night at 6.45pm at Muirhevnamor Community Centre. Riders aged 11-15 years are welcome, along with their parents to tackle 20km to 25km of cycling with experienced guides.

Wires cut during attempted break-in to Bellurgan filling station leaves peninsula with a communication blackout

Gardaí are investigating an attempted break-in to a filling station in Bellurgan overnight which has led to a communication blackout in the peninsula today.

Phone lines were cut during the incident, which has led to a phone and internet blackout in the area today – something that has affected 4,602 customers.

The attempted break-in is said to have occurred around 1.40am and any witnesses to suspicious activity in the area at the time are asked to contact Gardaí.

Eircom say they are working to repair the problem at present and hope to have service restored this evening.

The issue has affected a number of local businesses, including post offices in Cooley, Riverstown and Jenkinstown, which have been unable to operate today.

Pat Gogarty 5k to take place on St Patrick’s Day morning

The annual Pat Gogarty 5k run and walk in aid of cancer research will once again take place this year on St Patrick’s Day.

The event gets underway from Bellurgan Utd’s pitch at Tom Flynn Park at 9am and takes in the Jenkinstown Forest Trail.

All are invited to attend on the day with further information available by contacting Noel Litchfield on 087 2220877.

Happy ending for McCrystal as he is reunited with prized bike

Bryan McCrystal

There was a happy ending to a frustrating few weeks for local triathlete Bryan McCrystal after he was reunited with his €11,000 bike in his shop, Mint by Baldwin, in Earl Street today.

The Jenkinstown man had taken the bike on a trip to Frankfurt in Germany before Christmas to mark the launch of his new squad Team ASEA.

However, on his return to Ireland it emerged that Aer Lingus had misplaced it and could only offer compensation of €1,200 for the Trek Speed Concept 9 Series TT machine.

However, commenting via social media last night, McCrystal said he was “glad, pleased, thrilled, overjoyed” to say Aer Lingus had found the bike. It was then delivered to him today.

He also thanked all those who had spread news about the bike, saying “I’m convinced the fact I went public with this and received huge support sparked Aer Lingus staff to do their job.”

He added: “It feels like a member of the family is returning!”

A picture of McCrystal’s bike, which was finally returned to him today