RECENTLY a man asked me out of the blue “Why did you leave the priesthood?” I was taken aback by the directness of his question and replied that I wasn’t cut out for the celibate life. He laughed at my response but that evening I reflected on that difficult decision I made 35 years ago. […]
Dubai’s calling for Tumbling Paddies
THE Tumbling Paddies are jetting off to Dubai where they are set for a jam packed weekend. The Fermanagh band enjoyed a lot of success in 2023, finishing off with five sold out Christmas shows which the bands drummer John McCann described as ‘massive crowds and the atmosphere was high’. The band has a year […]
Over 5,000 people call for return of Fermanagh railways
OVER 5,000 people have now signed a petition calling for Fermanagh to be included in the All-Ireland rail plan. There was immense disappointment when the county was not included in the long-awaited All-Island Strategic Rail Review, a draft of which was published in the summer. The cross-border plan was intended to be a road map to bring […]
Sinn Féin’s Gildernew wants to deliver euro ‘change’
AFTER serving as Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP for almost 20 years, Michelle Gildernew (pictured) is set to contest the upcoming European Parliament election. On Monday morning, the Eglish politician took to Sinn Féin’s social media where she confirmed that she will contest a seat in the Midlands/North West constituency election in June. If successful, […]
Lotto winner Jonny keeping it real
IT SEEMS it will take more than a £3.8 million lotto windfall to keep Jonny Johnston away from his job! Despite Jonny and partner Christina Williams celebrating the massive win, pictured right, just weeks before Christmas, the Irvinestown man was spotted still working his day job as a Tesco delivery man last week. When news broke […]
Talented chef Glen is cooking up a storm in Enniskillen
GLEN Wheeler is one of the country’s top chefs – but his journey to running an award-winning restaurant has been anything but straightforward. At 15, the Lisnaskea man had absolutely no interest in cooking. He wanted to be a professional footballer or a plumber, but a chance encounter with a careers teacher pushed him down a different […]
Cassidy is ‘buzzing’ to be back playing with the county
He made his debut under Ryan McMenamin in 2020 against Down in the Ulster Championship quarter-final but since then Sean Cassidy has been ravaged by injury and had to undergo a hip operation for a hip impingement. Now, the Ederney man says he has wholeheartedly committed to the preseason training and is feeling fit again. […]
Fermanagh patient’s fears after Altnagelvin experience
A FERMANAGH patient and family have spoken out about worrying gaps in the local health system, and their concerns for surgical patients who present to the SWAH, after his experience of having to travel to Altnagelvin for an emergency operation. Eamon McCaffrey, who is in his 80s, was speaking along with his family after recently spending almost […]
Enniskillen singer Garrity visits local nursing homes
ENNISKILLEN singer John Garrity has said he wants to ‘give something back’ to the local community and he has committed to entertaining residents in nursing and care homes with his dulcet tones. The ‘Belfast Busker’ recently took to social media and said he wanted to perform in some care homes in the North and he […]
‘Enough is Enough’ says Enniskillen teacher
Teachers were amongst those striking on Thursday in Enniskillen when they left their classrooms to fight for better pay. The senior vice president for NASUWT the teachers union Sally Rees spoke about why she was out on the picket line. “I’ve been teaching for 28 years and in that time what we have seen is […]