New community hub planned for Blacklion


PLANS for a new public amenity and community building in Blacklion have been given the green light. The redevelopment of Fairgreen in the border village has been given planning approval by Cavan County Council. The project also includes the replacement of Mooney’s Hall as a community building. The redevelopment will include outdoor seating, car parking […]


Fermanagh left out of £800m schools funding


THERE has been local anger after not one single Fermanagh school was included in the massive £800 funding pot announced by the Department of Education this week. On Monday, Education Minister Michelle McIlveen announced a capital investment programme of £794 million, which will include funding for advance planning works at 28 schools across the North. […]


Mother voices concern about playgroup closure


A MOTHER has voiced her concern over the closure of a Newtownbutler playgroup which she says is a “vital service” for early detection, after staff from the ‘Railway Kids’ programme discovered her son Cian had autism. “Cian attended Railway Kids back in 2017. He loved it, but at first he  was a bit unsettled, and […]


With two weeks to go uncertainty reigns on Brexit deals


FEARS are growing about the future of rural funding in Fermanagh post-Brexit, with the Westminster government being urged to give assurances tens of millions in lost EU financial support will be fully replaced.  Last week the agriculture and rural affairs ministers from the North, Scotland, and Wales, including Minister Edwin Poots, wrote an open letter […]


‘Scandalous lack of support’for schools in Covid crisis


THERE ARE fears some local schools will not be able to afford to keep up with their much-needed social distancing and Covid safety measures due to a lack of funding.  When the Herald recently spoke to some Fermanagh schools about how they were coping with their reopening in these challenging times, all were doing OK […]


Singalongs proving a hit with care home residents


ELDERLY people everywhere are well known for singing along to their favourite tunes. Well, Fermanagh is no different with residents in many care homes lifting their spirits by joining in sing-songs with the help of a local tenor.  Fermanagh tenor Andrew Irwin who last week won the ‘Audience Prize’ at the Northern Ireland Opera Festival, […]