KNN news during October 1998
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Serial killer hunt begins in Naas
NAAS, 31 OCTOBER, 1998: A team of gardai who investigated the Veronica Guerin murder began an official search for a serial killer in Leinster last night. They are conducting a special investigation into the disappearances of six women over the last five years. Headed by Assistant Commissioner Tony Hickey, the detectives are now based at Naas and will initially identify suspects in the region who have shown a history of serious sexual violence against women. The earliest of the cases is that of American Annie McCarrick and the latest is the disappearance of Deirdre Jacob (pictured above) in Newbridge last July. The other cases include Fiona Pender (25) of Tullamore, Co Offaly; Jo Jo Dullard (21) of Callan, Co Kilkenny; Fiona Sinnott (19) of Lady's Island, Wexford; and Ciara Breen (18), of Bachelor's Walk, Dundalk. Gardai have already said they believe all the women are dead. The 20-year-old murder of Phyllis Murphy of Kildare is also likely to be reexamined.
Leixlip to clean up
LEIXLIP, 31 OCTOBER, 1998: Leixlip Town Commission has voted to triple the amount of money spent on keeping the North Kildare town clean next year. The £12,000 earmarked for the work has been gained by the making of substantial reductions in other areas of the commission's budget. Fianna Fail Commissioner Paul Kelly has welcomed the move and says that the possibility of using private contractors for the work should be considered so as to get the best benefit. "We need to be creative in the use of this money and we should not be afraid to adopt new ways of doing the work," he said in a statement this weekend. "I don't want to see this extra money being used to get Kildare County Council off the hook and watch the money being soaked up in administrative costs." Cmmr Kelly also noted that areas in the town which get no service at all, such as River Forest, and Barnhall and Green Lane Shopping Centres should also 'get a fair crack of the whip'.
OAK announces awards scheme
EDENDERRY, 31 OCTOBER, 1998: An awards scheme to encourage community groups to develop enterprises has been launched by the OAK Partnership which serves the North-West Kildare and North Offaly areas. A total prize fund of £14,000 is being provided for the 'Enterprising Community Award Scheme', and groups which are short-listed in the initial judging will each be given business advice and seed capital worth £2,000. In the final judgement an overall winner will receive an additional £1,000 and two area winners will receive £500 each. Initial entries must be made by Friday 6 November and interim adjudication results will be announced at the end of February. The Final selection will be made during April. According to OAK manager Pat Leogue (above), the enterprises need not necessarily be profit making, but have the potential to provide employment, work experience, and inprove the quality of life for the local community. "Community groups can play a vital role in the provision of local services which are really enterprises in their own right," he said when announcing the scheme.
Appeal for Carnalway Church is launched
BRANNOCKSTOWN, 30 OCTOBER 1998: A £60,000 appeal has been launched to save the architecturally important St Patrick's Church at Carnalway in Brannockstown, Kilcullen. The Church of Ireland place of worship has been closed in recent times because of danger due to subsidence in its foundations. St Patrick's is one of three churches in the Newbridge Union of Parishes and has been described as being 'certainly worthy of conservation' by heritage minister Sile de Valera TD. There have been churches on the site for 600 years, and the present edifice was built in the late 1880s under the direction of architect James Franklin Fuller, whose other works included the Church of Ireland Church at Clane, the restoration of the Cathedral of St Brigid in Kildare, and Ashford Castle and Kylemore Abbey. A Heritage Committee has been formed to raise £60,000 which will be used for concrete injection into the foundations and reinforcement of the sandstone arches over the chancel area. Committee chairman Hubert Beaumont says that further damage may be uncovered as the work progresses, but patron General Noel Bergin told a meeting in Kilcullen that if this generation fails to preserve the building it would be a tragedy which the next generation would not lightly forgive. The Rector of St Patrick's is Dr John Marsden. He is pictured (centre) with Lieut-Gen Noel Bergin and Hubert Beaumont.
(Associated links: Carnalway Church Special Feature)
No room for the musicians!
NEWBRIDGE, 30 OCTOBER 1998: The stage in the proposed new Kildare Arts Centre will not be able to accommodate the county's new orchestra, according to Kildare County Council's executive architect Brian Swan. Following a question from Celbridge area councillor Ger Brady, Mr Swan said that at the planning stage the orchestra 'had not been a key issue' and as designed the stage would not hold its 100 members. He argued that the new centre is for general arts and not a purpose-built theatre, and the planners had been thinking in terms of musical society use when it came to designing the size of the stage. Work on the new building is expected to get under way early in 1999.
Prosperous sewerage plan near approval
PROSPEROUS, 30 OCTOBER 1998: The existing sewerage treatment plant in Prosperous will be abandoned under new plans for a new scheme for the area which are currently awaiting the final approval of the minister for the environment. The scheme is part of the Upper Liffey Valley Sewerage Scheme which will also provide for the improvement to the systems at Kilcullen and Athgarvan. Effluent for all three communities will be brought to the Osberstown treatment plant near Naas which is currently being upgraded.
Titanic pictures on view
NAAS, 30 OCTOBER 1998: An exhibition of photographs taken by an Irish priest on the Titanic is on view at the premises of Allied Irish Bank in Naas until November 6. The pictures were taken by Fr Frank Browne on the Southampton to Cobh leg of the doomed ship's maidan and final Atlantic voyage. Some 42,000 negatives are in Fr Browne's total collection, which is an important documentary archive of Irish life and affairs in the first half of this century.
Athy work to go ahead
ATHY, 30 OCTOBER 1998: Environmental works have been approved by the minister for housing, Robert Molloy, for Castle Park and Town's Park in Athy. The work, under the department's Remedial Works Scheme, will complete the estates which comprise 62 houses completed at a cost of £1 million. Progressive Democrats senator John Dardis has welcomed the minister's approval.
Kilcullen man's daughter a model child
KILCULLEN, 29 OCTOBER 1998: The young daughter of Kilcullen-born Fergus Byrne, Ismay, is becoming well-known throughout the US as the model for a range of cotton-based tissue products. Fergus is the youngest brother of well-known Kilcullen businessman Des Byrne, former owner of The Hide Out pub and now proprietor of the Kilcullen Service Station and XL shop. Fergus lives with his wife Victoria near Weymouth in England.
(Associated links: The Byrne Marketing Group)
Kildare Show Kase a major success
THE CURRAGH, 26 OCTOBER 1998: Many thousands of visitors flocked to the Curragh Racecource on the bank holiday weekend to see for themselves the breadth of community and business iniative throughout County Kildare. Kildare Show Kase was a joint promotion by the county's four community development agencies - Action South Kildare (ASK), Kildare County Enterprise Board, Kildare European Leader II Teo (KELT), and Northwest Kildare and North Offaly Partnership (OAK). Over 100 exhibitors showed their services and products and afterwards a spokeswoman for the organisers, Mary Browne, said it had been an outstanding success both from the visitors' and exhibitors point of view.
(Associated links: Kildare Show Kase Special Feature)
Donacomper girl shares Subaru Bursary
CELBRIDGE, 15 OCTOBER 1998: Jane Kinsella of Donacomper Riding Club in County Kildare was a Gold Medal winner in the Subaru International Bursary Awards organised by the Association of Irish Riding Clubs (AIRC). The finals involved nearly 30 riders from all over Ireland and were held at the Charlie Swan Equestrian Centre in County Tipperary. The event included an instructional weekend for all participants and was judged by a team of internationally-known examiners. Clare McKenna of Curracloe Ravens shared the Bursary, and both riders will have instruction from a trainer of their choice. Pictured are James Devine, general manager of Subaru Ireland, with Clare McKenna and Jane Kinsella.
(Associated links: )
Naas signs twinning agreement with Dillingen
NAAS, 12 OCTOBER 1998: Naas UDC signed a twinning agreement with the Bavarian town of Dillingen at the weekend, in a ceremony carried out at the Kildare County capital's historic Town Hall on Saturday evening. The event was the official highlight of a visit to Naas by a delegation from Dillingen and followed a lengthy association between the two towns which began with an exchange between school students. Those attending the proceedings were entertained by musicians and a choir from St Mary's School. Naas UDC chairman Paddy Behan said it was an historic occasion which would work to the benefit of both present and future generations.
(Associated links: Dillingen Homepage)
New Stand opened at Naas Racecourse
NAAS, 11 OCTOBER 1998: Ireland's minister for finance Charlie McCreevy TD officially opened the new Woodlands Park Stand at Naas Racecourse. The development represents a £2 million investment by the racecourse. Course manager Margaret McGuinness said the new facilities would mean a great deal to the future of racing in Kildare.
(Associated links: Naas Racecourse)
