From Maguiresbridge to taking on Thatcher


THE sight and disgust at the rural poverty in Fermanagh helped stoke the fire in Maguiresbridge’s own Richie Venton’s fight for worker’s rights and against injustice. It has been a fight that has seen him lock horns and beat both a Prime-Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and a retail giant – IKEA. The latter is something that Richie, […]


Fermanagh’s ash trees give hurley makers hope


FERMANAGH is turning into a mecca for Ireland’s hurley makers as they search for the dwindling wood they need to keep a healthy production line going. The ancient Irish sport of hurling is called the “clash of the ash” because the hurls or hurley sticks are made from the bottom 1.3m of the native Irish ash tree. […]


Apprenticeships could ease stress on local students


FOLLOWING on from last Thursday’s A-Level results day, many students across the county are now left with the unenviable task of deciding where their future lies and what courses they’ll study at university. One of Enniskillen’s leading accountancy firms is urging school leavers to consider following an apprenticeship route which could help ease the ‘difficult […]


Local pupils get GCSE results


PUPILS across Fermanagh went back to school last week to find out how well they did in their GCSE exams. And for many, it was a day of celebration with school Principals across the county praising them for their achievements and the effort that was put in over the last two years. Principal of St […]


BID getting things done


WITH the summer coming to a close, Enniskillen BID is already hard at working preparing for its Halloween fun day in the county town. Stepping in to save the day after the Council confirmed it would once again not be holding any Halloween festivities this year, after cancelling last year’s fireworks at the eleventh hour, BID is determined […]


Hold your horses


IRELAND’s biggest equestrian event will now not take place in Fermanagh. The Eventing National Championships was to be held at the Castle Irvine Estate at Necarne in Irvinestown on September 9-10, but the decision has been made by organisers, Eventing Ireland, to cancel it due to poor ground conditions. “A site inspection of the courses […]


Quigley pleased to bring trophy ‘back home’


ROSLEA joint-captain Seán Quigley admitted the Shamrocks got the ‘rub of the green’ after they ended their nine-year wait for silverware on Sunday. Two goals in the last six minutes were key for Ciaran Murphy’s team and Quigley, who kicked six points for his side, was very pleased with the character and resilience shown by his teammates. […]


‘Conflict of interest’ concern over St Mary’s closure


THERE have been renewed calls for the proposal to close St Mary’s Primary School in Fivemiletown to be withdrawn after it emerged one of the key officials to vote for the closure had an alleged conflict of interest. In January this year both the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) and the Education Authority (EA) earmarked […]


Classic red phone boxes go on sale for just £1


BRITISH Telecoms (BT) are selling up to 45 classic red phone boxes for just £1. This announcement from BT comes as only 150 of these traditional and cultural boxes remain across Northern Ireland. Back in the day many phoneboxes became focal points in rural communities, as many residents weren’t connected to landlines and thus unable […]


Veteran Jones grateful for ‘days like these’


EXPERIENCED Derrygonnelly defender Michael Jones was delighted to pick up another Division One league title after seeing his side come out the right side of a bruising encounter with Kinawley on Sunday. “It was a tight bruising encounter and both sides really did battle well. We were probably slow enough to get going and we went in at […]