Latest news with #Galway-based
RTÉ News
14 hours ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Ireland miss out on promotion at European Athletics Team Championships
Ireland finished fifth in Division 2 of the European Athletics Team Championships in Slovenia on Sunday, narrowly missing out on promotion to the top tier of the continental competition. Strong performances from the likes of Sarah Lavin (Emerald AC), Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC), Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) and the mixed 4x400m relay team kept the 43-strong team in contention right up to the last few events. Lavin took Ireland's only win of the weekend, earning maximum points in the women's 100m hurdles. The Limerick sprinter clocked a time of 12.82 seconds to claim victory. Team captain Marcus Lawler (Clonliffe Harriers AC) was sixth in the men's 200m, while in the women's event Lauren Roy (City of Lisburn AC) finished just outside her personal best, clocking 23.32 seconds to finish fifth. The mixed 4x400m relay team of Jack Raftery (Donore Harriers), Cliodhna Manning (Kilkenny City Harriers), Callum Baird (Ballymena and Antrim AC) and Sharlene Mawdsley combined to clock a time of 3:14.81, finishing second in their heat and fourth overall. Cian McPhillips (UCD AC) made a strong return from injury to finish third in the men's 800m. The Longford native closed strongly in the final 100m to cross the line in a time of 1:46.37. In the women's 1500m, Laura Nicholson (Bandon AC) finished fourth on her Irish senior international debut, the 25-year-old clocking 4:20.48. Finley Daly (Sligo AC) ran bravely to also place fourth in the men's 3000m steeplechase. The Galway-based athlete clocked a time of 8:51.89. In the field, Nicola Tuthill (UCD AC) fouled her opening two throws but composed herself well to finish the competition in third position, her best throw coming in the fourth round at 70.50m. Team captain Niamh Fogarty (Raheny Shamrock AC) produced a lifetime best of 14.29 metres in the women's shot put to finish seventh, while Conor Callinan (Leevale AC) also recorded the best result of his career, clearing 4.90 metres in the pole vault. In the men's javelin, Conor Cusack (Lake District AC) impressed to claim a eighth-place finish, throwing a best of 72.43 metres.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Irish Independent
Limerick rally makes triumphant return to county after nearly 40 years
After a 37-year absence, the GRP4 Fabrications Thomond Mini Stages Rally is set to make a thrilling return on August 23 and 24, drawing rally fans and competitors from across the country to Rathkeale. Organised by Limerick Motor Club, the event will feature two challenging stages run three times, offering what organisers describe as a 'tricky yet enjoyable test.' With minimal road mileage and all logistics, and scrutiny, sign-on, and service based in the heart of Rathkeale, the rally promises a compact and highly competitive format. 'I am delighted that the Thomond rally is back on the motorsport calendar for 2025,' said Clerk of the Course Aidan Walsh, who is taking on the role for the first time. 'I'm sure some of the older statesmen have fond memories of the event from the 1980s and it's great we can all do that again. I look forward to welcoming you all to Limerick and to Rathkeale for what is sure to be an unmissable end of summer event.' The Thomond Mini Stages Rally was last held in 1987, when Alan Johnston and Paul Kiely took victory in their Talbot Sunbeam. This year's revival has been made possible with the support of headline sponsor GRP4 Fabrications, a Galway-based firm known across Europe for its Ford Escort Mark I and II motorsport components. Associate sponsors include Rathkeale House Hotel, Paul Purtill Agri, Morenane Transport, and Daly Tyres, longtime supporters of Limerick Motor Club events. Regulations will be available shortly, and timeline for entries is yet to be announced.
Irish Independent
19-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Mayo architects who designed new €10m Kylemore Abbey monastery win major award
Axo Architects, who designed the €10 million Benedictine Monastery at Kylemore Abbey, came ahead of 47 other designs to win the much sought-after award. Located by Pollacappul Lough, beneath Duchruach Mountain and near the historic Kylemore Abbey in west Connemera, County Galway, the new monastery evolves from a central garth and cloister, unfolding into a series of brick volumes of varying height and scale. 'The result is a serene and timeless structure that quietly complements its landscape through sensitive consideration of context, scale, materiality, and visual harmony,' read a citation from the RIAI. Headed by Westport native Michael Horan, Axo Architects also designed the Kylemore Interpretation project, which was constructed by Galway-based firm, Carey Building Contractors. This saw the interior of the abbey redesigned and landscaping works undertaken outside building to enhance the visitor experience. 'We wanted the building, when we designed it, to be understated, to takes its rightful place in the estate but without dominating and without wanting to be brash,' Mr Horan told the Irish Independent shortly after the monastery was named winner of the RIAI Public Choice Award. A community of 15 Benedictine nuns moved into the new monastery at Kylemore Abbey last year, more than 350 years after their order was founded in the Belgium town of Ypres, where the nuns were known as 'the Irish Dames'. Today, Kylemore Abbey is one of the top visitor attractions in Connemara. Located 15.5 kilometres from Leenane in County Mayo, the abbey draws an estimated 500,000 visitors to the region annually and employs up to 150 people at the peak of the tourist season. Built as a castle in 1871 by English industrialist and MP for County Galway, Mitchell Henry, the Benedictine nuns moved into the building in 1920 after fleeing from Belgium to Connemara during the First World War. Three years later, they founded the renowned Kylemore Abbey all-girls boarding school, which closed in 2010. Their new home, which is one of the only working monasteries left in the country, was designed to keep the nuns at the centre of Kylemore Abbey while affording them privacy and silence. Previous the nuns lived in a farmhouse where the nuns were 'living on top of each other' and unable to have processions. Their new monastery was officially opened and blessed last year by Archbishop Francis Duffy, who described it as 'very rare event in Ireland and perhaps in western Europe'. The monastery was built with the same type of pale-coloured bricks used to construct the mausoleum at Kylemore. It is the final resting place of Mitchell Henry's wife, Margaret, who died on a family holiday to Egypt in 1874. Describing the RIAI Public Choice Award as a 'huge' achievement, Michael Horan thanked all those who voted for the new monastery and all his staff, both past and present, for their work on the project. The Arklow Wastewater Treatment Plant finished in second place in the RIAI Public Choice Awards, which saw approximately 14,000 votes cast by the public. The 12-classroom building at Scoil Naomh Bríd in Culleens, Ballina, designed by Simon J Kelly Architects, secured third place while the Dún Laoghaire Baths finished fourth. RIAI President, Seán Mahon FRIAI, said: 'This year's Public Choice Award winner is a remarkable example of how thoughtful, context-sensitive architecture can enhance both place and purpose. The new monastery at Kylemore Abbey demonstrates a deep understanding of heritage, landscape, and community, creating a space that feels both grounded in tradition and relevant to the present. We are thrilled to see the public recognise and celebrate architecture that enriches lives and contributes meaningfully to a much-loved natural landscape and environment.' This year, the RIAI Irish Architecture Awards received 124 entries, with 48 projects shortlisted for the Public Choice Award — 21 from Dublin, 20 from regional Ireland, and six international projects by Irish architects. The RIAI Irish Architecture Awards will take place tomorrow evening at the Merrion Cricket Pavilion – itself an award-winning building by TAKA Architects – where the full list of winners across all categories will be announced.
Irish Independent
16-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Dromahair couple bitten by the writing bug publish a book each
Dromahair couple publish a book each containing life stories, poems and paintings Sligo Champion Today at 05:51 A husband and wife have just published a book each after getting support from an online writing group. The publications by Mary and John Hodson of Dromahair, Co Leitrim are the culmination of several years of creative development which were supported by Write-on, an online Galway-based writing group which grew during Covid.
Irish Independent
08-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Irish agritech firms get ready to shine at New Zealand Fieldays showcase
In the effort by entrepreneurs to develop solutions to address these challenges, product and technology innovations born in Ireland are finding a receptive market in New Zealand. From June 11-14, six leading Irish agritech and machinery companies will join Enterprise Ireland at New Zealand National Fieldays in the Waikato, New Zealand's largest dairy region. With over 100,000 people expected to attend over four days, Fieldays is the biggest agricultural show in the southern hemisphere and a key opportunity for Irish firms to connect with Kiwi farmers and agribusinesses. Robust agri-machinery designed and manufactured in Ireland supporting pastoral farming processes is well-suited for New Zealand conditions and has built a strong reputation in the market. Among the companies exhibiting on the Ireland stand are Abbey Machinery and AgriSpread. Abbey slurry tankers and diet feeders, and AgriSpread fertiliser and lime spreaders can be seen in fields across New Zealand's north and south islands. With New Zealand's focus on dairy, another strength of Irish firms is in dairy tech. The west of Ireland will be well represented in this area with Kerry's Dairymaster displaying its range of milking equipment and parlour technology, and Galway-based JFC Agri bringing its award-winning Evolution automatic calf feeder to the show after launching the product in New Zealand at the show last year. Also from the West, Clare-headquartered Forcefield will be exhibiting at Fieldays for the first time, bringing its range of electric fencing energisers, testers and accessories. Fieldays also attracts attendees from other industrial sectors, and joining their Tipperary neighbours Abbey Machinery is Revive Environmental International, manufacturers of sustainable sewer- cleaning trucks for the water, wastewater and underground infrastructure sectors. Aside from the Ireland stand, other Irish companies exhibiting at the show include StrongBó Agritech and Glen Dimplex, and a number of brands will be represented by their local distributors, including McHale, Keenan, Hi-Spec, Major Equipment, Malone Farm Machinery, ProDig Attachments, Tanco, Dromone Engineering and Portwest. Enterprise Ireland and the Embassy of Ireland will kick off the week with an Irish Agribusiness Dinner, showcasing the Irish firms attending Fieldays and strengthening links with New Zealand agribusiness and industry leaders, the Irish diaspora working in the primary sector in New Zealand as well as government officials and diplomats. Local market conditions are expected to bring an air of positivity to this year's show, with record farmgate milk prices currently being paid to New Zealand dairy farmers by Fonterra and other processors. If you are an Irish agritech firm interested in attending Fieldays in 2026, or in exporting to Australia or New Zealand, contact EI's in-market team.
