Latest news with #McDaid
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
Glenswilly manager McDaid says return of 'fountain of knowledge' Murphy has been vital for Donegal success
It was mid-October last when the bush telegraph in Donegal began to ring about Michael Murphy's inter-county return. Confirmation came in the first week of November but there had been rumblings in the county. Donegal's 1992 All-Ireland winning manager Brian McEniff wrote of the rumours in his 'Donegal Live' column, argued he had more to give and the new rules would suit him. For Glenswilly manager Gary McDaid, the chatter started soon after the seniors went out of the championship to Dungloe on September 21. Murphy was spotted on the pitch in Páirc Naomh Columba as the U21s were training for the championship. 'He was running away himself,' recounted McDaid. 'People were wondering, 'What's going on here? Is he just trying to get his body right for next year, for the club, or what's he at?' 'But everybody soon realised something was up. That he might be going back to Donegal and he was getting ready for road and seeing if his body was going be able to live up to the demands of inter-county after being away for two years.' McDaid estimates Murphy spent up to 10 weeks on his own before rejoining the panel. 'I would have never discussed this with him, but he felt himself that the body was good and, listen, it's obviously been to Donegal's benefit, he's our top scorer in the championship with 44 points. 'The semi-final against Galway last year, a lot of people would have felt if Michael Murphy had been there, we would have won and God knows what would have happened in the final then. We lost by two to Galway, had a free late on to put us one up, and it went wide.' The condition of Murphy, who celebrates his 36th birthday in a couple of weeks, impresses McDaid. 'To be as lean as that, it takes great mental strength. He just looks really athletic, really strong, not carrying any timber, as the man would say. When you head over that 30 mark, it's a lot harder to keep the body fat down, and to keep lean, and to keep match fit.' Meath's Adam O'Neill and Michael Murphy leap to catch the ball. File picture: Ryan Byrne/Inpho Murphy's understanding of when he can and can't push it is deep and his game intelligence has always been high. He has been coaching since a teenager. When he repeated the Leaving Cert, he was too old for the McRory Cup and assisted McDaid in preparing St Eunan's College team. He is now the coaching officer in Glenswilly and in the couple of years he had been away from the inter-county scene immersed himself in under-age coaching at both county and club level. 'We won our first ever county under-age Division 1 title a couple of years ago, a minor title at U18, and he was a manager. We beat Glenties in the final. 'He's just a fountain of knowledge for all the under-age coaches. He's very helpful and sharing and always giving wee pointers to all the coaches.' Murphy has not finished a game since the final group win over Mayo. Since then, he has been taken off midway through the second half of the Louth and Meath wins when Donegal were well on their way to victory. In their rutting of Monaghan in the second half of their All-Ireland quarter-final, he came off in the 67th minute. McDaid suggests his club-mate could come off and return to the fray on Sunday similar to another Ulster star against The Kingdom in the final 20 years ago. 'I'm delighted to see what's happening this year, because I would have always said for years, in his heyday, that he would have been kept on in games that he didn't need to be kept on. We would have done that (substituting him) a lot at the club when we thought we were in a good position and comfortable. 'Yes, we're relying on Michael now but we have super cover on the bench as well. I expect we will see more of him on Sunday but could you see Donegal doing a Peter Canavan and bringing him off and bringing him on like Tyrone did in 2005? Jesus, it'd be wild, It'd be unbelievable to have him coming on going down the home straight. You need him in the melting pot.'
The Herald Scotland
11-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish publisher announces closure after 'labour of love'
The award-winning company, which published both books and literary magazines, has been funded by Scottish Government arts agency Creative Scotland in recent years. Read more: In a statement on the 404 Ink website, McDaid and Jones-Rivera said they had decided to wind down the company by next summer as they had "ticked off every aspiration and goal" that they had set. However they have cited a significant increase in "costs and obstacles" since the launch of 404 Ink, which was honoured last year in the British Book Awards. Chris McQueer is among the writers published by 404 Ink. (Image: Wildfire) And they have admitted their work on the company had been a "labour of love" which had been "mostly unpaid." Recent titles have included Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson's recent celebration of their cabaret double act Victor and Barry. Alan Cumming and Forbes Masson reunited to write their Victor and Barry book Kelvinside Compendium, which was published by 404 Ink. (Image: Tommy Ga-Ken Wan)) Other writers published have included Chris McQueer, Genevieve Jagger, Heather Parry, Helen McClory and Ellie Nash. McDaid and Jones-Rivera have pledged there will be an "ethical wind down" of 404 Ink by continuing to trade until next year and working with the Glasgow-based publisher Saraband to continue Inklings, a series of pocket-sized non-fiction books. Authors and agents were also alerted about the closure plans earlier this year "to give them as much time as possible to process the news and act accordingly." The company has largely focused on developing the careers of new and emerging writers based in Scotland, and published fiction, non-fiction and poetry. However the pair said they had decided "it is time to step back and leave space for others to pick up the mantle, or disrupt the mantle, or just create their own mantle and future they want to see in the book world." McDaid and Jones-Rivera had pledged to focus on "quality over quanity" and "always punch above our weight in all areas to get our authors in front of as many people as possible." Other writers the pair have championed include Andrés N. Ordorica, Arun Sood, Carrie Marshall, Joe Donnelly, Liam Konemann and Nadine Aisha Jassat. McDaid and Jones-Rivera said they had "paused and reflected" on the future of 404 Ink ahead of its 10th anniversary in July 2026. In their closure announcement, the pair said: "Struggling to come up with a revised mission statement for the next ten years, we realised that we had ticked off every aspiration and goal we had set as fledgling publishers back in 2016 and couldn't think of any way to better those aspirations. "404 Ink has been run by two people the whole time. We were 24 and 25 years old when we launched the company, fresh-faced out of university and full of confidence that we could ruffle some feathers in publishing. Ten years later, we can confidently and proudly say that we did, and it is time to step back and leave space for others to pick up the mantle, or disrupt the mantle, or just create their own mantle and future they want to see in the book world. "Running a company isn't easy - 404 Ink was, is, a labour of love, mostly unpaid to the two of us, who are no longer the scrappy upstart graduates, and have different, bigger responsibilities than our younger selves, and over the years the costs and obstacles in independent publishing have increased significantly (we won't bore you with the long, long list. "We have also seen many publishers come and go over this time - some burning out in these conditions until they can no longer continue, others stepping back not-so-ethically and leaving their authors in the lurch. "We felt the best service we could do, to ourselves, our authors, and the legacy of 404 Ink, is to go out while on top, following our biggest year ever, and on our own terms." McDaid and Jones-Rivera said all future books would still be coming out as planned over the next year. They added: "We aren't commissioning any further titles under 404 Ink and we are focusing our efforts on the ethical wind down of the company, ensuring that all our authors find the future they hope for as much as we are able. "We still have one year until the company fully shutters and plenty of time for goodbyes (and maybe even a big farewell party/funeral), but for now we want to thank our incredible authors who trusted us with their work, the freelancers who we could not have made these books without, the partner organisations who have shared these books far and wide, the funders who made a lot of this business possible and viable, those who have offered insight or supported us through the past ten years and, finally, the wonderful readers who pick up books, whether that's from us, bookshops, libraries, or shared via friends. "No matter how you got them, we're glad you read them. Please keep reading them."
Daily Record
24-06-2025
- Daily Record
POLICE COLUMN: Detective Chief Inspector Barry McDaid
Detective Chief Inspector McDaid spoke on the dangers of cannabis cultivations As the Detective Chief Inspector for Lothians and Scottish Borders Division, this is my first column and I'm grateful to Chief Inspector McArthur-Kerr for allowing me the opportunity to focus on some very serious issues we've been working hard to address. The first is in relation to drug supply and in particular, cannabis cultivations. For a cannabis cultivation to be financially viable, a significant space is required, and thereafter high levels of electricity and water are used to maximise the growth of the plants. What we tend to see is that criminals will either force entry to an unoccupied property, or they will rent a large home or building from an unsuspecting landlord. They will then tamper with electricity meters and plumbing to meet the needs of their cannabis growing operation. Not only is this incredibly dangerous, particularly when you're messing with electricity and water, it ultimately results in significant damage to the properties in question and means that those who own these buildings are left to foot the cost of repairs. Since March 2025, the West Proactive Crime Team (PCT) have been progressing inquiries involving intercepted packages of cannabis going to a variety of addresses in West Lothian, Midlothian, and Edinburgh. Between January and April 2025, UK Border Force intercepted 68kgs for addresses assessed to belong to the group involved. On April 1, West PCT seized a further 25 kgs of cannabis from an address in Livingston with a further 1kg from a neighbouring address. As a result of evidential analysis carried out following these searches, warrants were granted for 15 further properties throughout the Lothians and Scottish Borders Division, and Edinburgh. Three men aged 33, 31 and 24 were subsequently charged in connection with these inquiries. In addition to the 68kgs of cannabis seized by UKBF, police enforcement saw the recovery of 42kgs of cannabis along with around £24,000 in cash. The estimated value of all of the drugs seized attributed to group is around £700,000. On June 10 and 11, two large scale cannabis cultivations were discovered in Livingston and Uphall and after warrants were executed at these addresses, plants worth over £80,000 were recovered in Livingston, while within Uphall the value of the cultivation was totalled to be around £320,000. Within both cultivation addresses, Vietnamese males were discovered and reported being victims of human trafficking. Our inquiries are continuing. This brings me onto the second issue I wanted to discuss, namely human trafficking. Organised criminals continually look to exploit vulnerable people for their own gain and often this takes the form of bringing people from foreign countries into the UK illegally and making them work in squalid and dangerous conditions – usually through fear and intimidation. We treat all reports of human trafficking with the utmost seriousness and work with international partners to return victims to their countries of origin while relentlessly pursuing those responsible for such offences. If you have any concerns relating to organised crime, drug offences or human trafficking, please contact us via 101 or make an anonymous report to the charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
Extra.ie
18-06-2025
- Business
- Extra.ie
Lidl scores again with return of legendary Irish soft drink
A beloved Irish soft drink is set to return to Lidl shelves – just in time to celebrate the Ladies' Gaelic Football season and the upcoming All-Ireland finals. McDaid's Football Special, the iconic beverage from Donegal, is making a highly anticipated comeback to Lidl stores nationwide. Last time it appeared in stores, it sold out rapidly, and now it's back, but you will have to be quick as it's only available for a limited time. LGFA player Carla Rowe. Available from June 26, Football Special will be sold in 1-litre bottles for €1.79, featuring special edition artwork that highlights the achievements of female Gaelic footballers. For the first time ever, it will also be available in 330ml cans priced at €1.19, carrying the drink's traditional label. Kevin Duffy, Chief Commercial Officer at Lidl Ireland, said: 'Football Special is a perfect example of how a local Irish producer can benefit from Lidl's Kickstart programme and achieve real success. It's great to see such a well-loved local drink score new fans right across Ireland and we're expecting another sell-out run when it returns to stores this summer. LGFA layer Carla Rowe with buyer Eoin Slevin (left) and supplier Seamus McDaid (right). 'At Lidl, we're hugely invested in supporting and advancing female sport through our flagship sponsorship with the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association (LGFA). As part of our 'Get Behind the Fight' campaign, we're focused on elevating visibility of female players to fill every seat at every game. 'Our partnership with McDaid's to produce a special edition artwork bottle putting female players in the spotlight is another tangible example of how we can continue to promote LGFA and its players and drive further engagement and support amongst our shoppers and communities across the country. We're thrilled to relist this popular product just as the LGFA season gets into full swing and leading up to thrilling All-Ireland Championship Finals in August.' McDaid's Football Special is produced by a family-run soft drinks company based in Ramelton, Co. Donegal. First created in the 1940s to celebrate the victories of local football club Swilly Rovers, it earned its name from players who would famously 'fill the cup' with the fizzy, non-alcoholic drink in honour of their wins. With its nostalgic taste and loyal following, this limited-edition return is expected to fly off shelves once again, so fans will need to act fast to nab a bottle!
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Former owner of well-known venue admits VAT fraud
The ex-owner of a restaurant, bar and wedding venue has pleaded guilty to evading VAT and deliberately defrauding HM Revenue and Customs. Jack McDaid, 67, who previously ran Casa Brighouse in West Yorkshire under the company Casa Events, was due to stand trial at Leeds Crown Court along with business partner Samuel Revy-Holmes, 35, and accountant Robert Brook, 47, but changed his plea on Tuesday before the start of a trial. His Honour Judge Simon Phillips KC told McDaid he would be sentenced at the end of the trial, which was expected to last about two weeks. Mr Revy-Holmes and Mr Brook have both denied conspiracy to evade VAT and cheating the public revenue and their trial began on Tuesday. McDaid, Mr Revy-Holmes and Mr Brook have all been granted conditional bail. At the start of the trial, jurors at Leeds Crown Court heard the business's turnover had been almost £10m during the period when the alleged offences took place between October 2011 and June 2018. However, from November 2013 until May 2018, a total of 19 VAT returns were submitted which all showed no sales had taken place and no goods had been purchased, meaning no VAT was due. At that time, McDaid, of Sandal Magna, Halifax, owned Casa Events, while Mr Revy-Holmes, of Upper Marsh, Halifax, was registered as a company director. Mr Brook, of Orchid Grove, Netherton, was director of Yorkshire Accountancy Services and worked as the accountant for Casa Events, Mr Russell told jurors. Prosecutor Brian Russell told the court all three men were "jointly responsible for ensuring the company's tax liabilities and obligations were met". However, they "knowingly and deliberately conspired together to commit the criminal act of evading VAT", Mr Russell said. The court heard that the alleged offences came to light when HM Revenue and Customs began investigating another of McDaid's companies, Castelite Developments, in September 2017. That investigation got under way after no VAT returns were made for the business, despite it being registered for a period of about three years, jurors were told. The trial continues. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
