Yeats county Sligo 
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The 2012 Sligo Cos Cos Sean Nós Festival is on
Rathcormac, Drumcliffe, Co. Sligo 11th to 13th May
To follow on from our successful previous festivals, the Cos Cos Sean-Nós Festival 2012 will be something extra special. Bringing together some of the country’s finest Sean-Nós dancers, musicians, singers, poets and storytellers. It will run over 3 days – May 11th – 13th 2012 in Rathcormac, Sligo.
Everyone is welcome so why not join us. Visiting musicians also very welcome! For more & prgramme of events click links here:
Festival Program | Map of Venues
The Great Swell waves of Mullaghmore Co Sligo on the 8th March 2012
Irish surfer Ollie O’Flaherty is in the running for one of big wave surfing’s most prestigious prizes for his ride on a monster Co Sligo wave last month.
O’Flaherty (24), from Lahinch, Co Clare, has been nominated in the Biggest Wave category of the Billabong XXL 2012 contest for a wave he was towed into at Mullaghmore Head on March 8th. The category carries a $15,000 prize.
Devon-based surfer Andrew Cotton was also nominated for a wave he caught at Mullaghmore on the same day.
The nominations are the latest acknowledgement that Irish big wave surfing is on a par with anywhere else in the world.
It was O’Flaherty’s first time surfing at Mullaghmore, one of Ireland’s many world-class big wave spots. A NUI Galway science graduate, he has been a pioneer at other spots in Co Clare, most notably the heavy slab at Riley’s near Kilkee and Aileen’s at the base of the Cliffs of Moher.
EUROSURF 2011 Bundoran Co Donegal FROM: 23 SEPT. 2011 – 02 OCT. 2011 
Cain Kilcullen from Enniscrone & Richie Fitzgerald, Bundoran
- Ritchie Fitzgerald from Bundoran says it is a privilege to be the host’s for this prestigious event. We have some of the best waves in the world and we are expecting big crowds and lots of competitors from all over the world.
- The eyes of European the surfing world will be on the “surfing capital of Ireland” from September 23rd until October 2nd as the highlight of the European Surfing calendar “Eurosurf” parks up at the world famous “Peak” and “Tullan” surfbreaks in Bundoran, Co. Donegal for 10 days.
- It will the showcase spectacle of Irish and International surfing. 13 teams from all over Europe will compete for the prestigious Eurosurf title bringing the cream of amateur European Surfing to the world class waves at Bundoran.
- All the fun of a major sporting event will round up the traditional summer season with opening ceremonies, designated Eurosurf Club venues around town each night and supplementary entertainment and cultural events to add to the sporting excitement. Book now to avoid disappointment. About Eurosurf:
- The European Surfing Championships alternate each year between the senior event “Eurosurf” (odd years) and the Junior event “Eurojunior” (even years). The separation into a junior event and senior event happened in 1992. The Euro’s were first held in 1970 in Jersey. 2011 will be Irelands 4th time to host Eurosurf, and 3rd time in Bundoran.
- The previous Eurosurf events held in Ireland were 1972 in Spanish Point, Co. Clare which was won by England, 1985 in Bundoran, Co. Donegal won by France, 1997 in Bundoran, Co. Donegal won by Portugal. Until recently there had been a trend that the winners in Ireland retained the senior title until the Eurosurf returned to Ireland. England held the title from 1970 to 1985, then France held it from 1985 to 1997 when Portugal won the senior title for the first time.
- They then lost the title to Spain in 2003, who proceeded to relinquish it once more to Portugal in 2005. Portugal retained the title in 2007 before losing it to France two years ago in Jersey. Each team is entitled to bring up to 13 surfers and at least 2 judges, as well as team staff. The surfers are split into the following divisions – Open, Womens, Senior (over 28), Masters (Over 35), Longboard, Bodyboard and Womens Bodyboard.
- There were teams from 13 countries at Eurosurf 2009 and indeed Eurojunior 2010, neither Israel nor Scotland had teams at those events, we hope to see a return of representatives from those nations in 2011. The International Surfing Association has added 3 new European nations to their roster – Malta, Greece and Hungary, and we hope to see those countries join the Eurosurf family as well.
- The Irish Team… The Irish Surf Team to compete at this event will be: Shane Meehan, 29, from Strandhill, Stephen Kilfeather, 23 and Ashleigh Smith, 24 from Sligo, Cain Kilcullen, 24 from Enniscrone, Ronan Oertzen, 20, Shauna Ward, 24, Darragh McCarter, 25 & Richie Fitzgerald, 36 from Bundoran, Easkey Britton, 25 and John Britton, 32 from Rossnowlagh, John McCurry, 26 from Portrush & Oliver O’Flaherty, 24 and Stephen Kelleher, 24 from Lahinch, County Clare
- 1.Shane Meehan, hails from Strandhill and can boast an impressive surfing career having come 7th in last worlds to include Body Boarding and has been twice quarterfinalist in IBA World Tour. He has also been twice Irish national champion. Shane will be competing in the Men’s body Board section of Eurosurf 2011. Shane is sponsored by Alder Wetsuits and Keep Shoes.
- 2.Stephen Kilfeather, a student of NUI Galway is a goofy footer from Sligo who counts Strandhill as his homebreak. Stephen is no stranger to surfing competitions and was crowned Irish National Open champion in 2010. Stephen is currently sponsored by Billabong and Vans and will be competing in the Open section of Eurosurf and is excited to compete for Ireland at Eurosurf 2011.
- 3.Ashleigh Smith from Sligo has been national Women’s Body Board champion multiple times and in Eurosurf 09 in Jersey placed 3rd in women’s body boarding. Ashleigh also placed 7th at the last worlds to feature Body Boarding. Ashleigh is sponsored by Alder Wetsuits and will be competing in the Women’s Body Board division of Eurosurf 2011.
- 4.Cain Kilcullen is from Enniscrone and is regularly seen charging at his local break of Easkey C Sligo. Cain will be competing in the open division of Eurosurf. Cain is one of the few regular footed surfers on the national Irish surf team and is looking forward to making the short trip to Bundoran from Easkey to compete at Eurosurf! Cain is sponsored by Billabong and Etnies and is a member of the West Sligo Surf Club.
- 5.Oliver O’Flaherty, known as Ollie, is a member of the West Coast Surf Club and is sponsored by C-Skins, Emerald Surfwear, Tubes, Cequential Surfboards and Bulldog. He will be competing in the open surfing division of Eurosurf.
- 6.Stephen Kelleher is also from Lahinch and has recently been elected vice-chairman of West Coast Surf Club. Stephen is no stranger to international competition and was ranked 17th whilst representing Ireland at Eurosurf 09 in Jersey. He is also WCSC Longboard Champion 2008. Stephen will compete in the Longboard division of Eurosurf.
- 7.Student Ronan Oertzen originally hails from Belfast but now calls Bundoran his home. He will compete in the “Open” section of Eurosurf 2011 and comes with a wealth of competition experience having competed in Eurosurf 09 held in Jersey, Euro Juniors in 2008 where he was ranked 9th, Worlds ’09 Open, World Jrs ’07 U18 ranked 61st and Inter-Celtics ’06 U18 & Open. He currently holds the title of Irish Student Champion and is looking forward to competing this September on his home break of The Peak . He is sponsored by Xcel, Ocean & Earth and Dorrington Surfboards.
- 8.Shauna Ward is a Bundoran girl through and through and has been surfing since she was 6 years old. This goofy footer first represented Ireland in the 2002 Euro Juniors where she finished an impressive 4th. She is sponsored by Powersource, Protest and C-Skins and counts Bundoran’s Peak as her favourite place to surf. Shauna will be competing in the Women’s division of Eurosurf.
- 9.Darragh McCarter is originally from Tyrone and now lives in Bundoran. He works in his parent’s business of furniture stores. Darragh is no stranger to international competitions having been ranked 14th in Eurosurf 07 and was also crowned Irish National Champion in 2007 – not bad for someone who has only been surfing now for around 7 years. He will be competing in the Men’s body boarding division of Eurosurf 2011 on his favourite surfing reef – the Peak in Bundoran.
- 10.Easkey Britton has surfing in her blood! The Britton family are well known in surfing circles right around the country and indeed the world. As well as surfing the normal breaks around her beloved Rossnowlagh, this four times Irish women’s champion has also recently become involved in “Big Wave Surfing” and recently competed in the Billabong competition held in nearby Mullaghmore, County Sligo as the only female big wave surfer! She was nominated in the Girl’s Performance Award in the Billabong XXL Big Wave awards for the same event. Along with Shauna Ward, Easkey (named after that famous surf break in County Sligo), will compete in the women’s surf division of Eurosurf 2011. Easkey is sponsored by Animal, Etnies, Surfplugs and JP Surfboards
- 11.What can be said about Richie Fitzgerald? Possibly Ireland’s best known surfer and star of the surfing movie Waveriders. Richie has been surfing in Bundoran for more years than he cares to remember and along with his family have helped promote the sport in both Bundoran and Ireland and firmly established it as a sport to be reckoned with. Richie will be competing in the Masters division of Eurosurf. He competed in Eurosurf 97 when it was held in Bundoran , the Euro Juniors in 1994 and the Worlds in 1994 and 1996. “It’s a huge honour for me to be surfing for the Irish Team in EuroSurf 2011 on home turf in Bundoran, I can’t wait for September” says Richie who is sponsored by Volkswagen, Vans, Billabong, C-Skins, and Northcore.
- 12.John McCurry, known as “Long John”, has 8 caps for the Irish national surf team and holds a degree in Travel and Tourism Management from the University of Ulster. Among his many accolades are Irish National Longboard Champion 2006, 2008, 2009. Runner-up 2005, 2007. 16th ISA World Surfing Games (Ecuador, 2004). 17th European Surf Championships (France, 2007). 3 time National Student Longboard Champion. He counts East Strand Portrush, The Barmouth on a good day, and a selection of reefs down West Ireland among his favourite breaks. John is sponsored by Gul Surf, Westbay Surfboards, Oxbow and Relentless.
- 13.Having grown up in Rossnowlagh with the surname Britton, surfing is in John’s Britton’s blood and he enjoys nothing more than taking his favourite board down to the famous drive-on beach and letting rip in the Atlantic waters. A primary teacher by profession John recently made the move home from Dublin with his wife Fiona to nearby Ballyshannon. John is familiar with the Eurosurf competition having competed for Ireland in both the 1996 event held in Portugal and the 1998 event held in France – both times in the open division, and is sponsored by Fin McCools
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10 August 2011
Welcome to Sligo and the Home Internationals site for the 2011 staging of the event at Co. Sligo Golf Club.
Click here for our special sub-site for the event, which include details of match times, players and general event information – or click here for live scoring.
Commentary is available with a click here http://www.gui.ie/news_detail.asp?id=3123&area=5 for information brought to you as soon as we get it from the course! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
What’s on in Sligo for August?
Events in Sligo for August 2011
Yeats International Summer School
Seisun- Summer Music Sessions, Gurteen
Sligo Heritage Week
Sligo Races
Queen Maeve Summer School of Traditional Music,
Song and Dance
Ballymote Heritage Weekend
Tubbercurry Old Fair Day Festival
Enniscrone Black Pig Festival
The Annual Warriors Run, Strandhill
Coleman Traditional Festival, Gurteen
Agricultural & Horse Show, Gurteen
Sligo International Jazz Summer School
New Sligo Lúnasa Festival Announced
Sligo comes alive on Wednesday 3rd August with the start of the inaugural Sligo Lúnasa Festival!
The Lúnasa Festival will feature a myriad of events, including a week-long celebration of café culture, pub gigs, street party and a two-day race meeting. The beauty of these events especially in these recessionary times is that over 95% of them are free.
SligoToday.ie along with The Sligo Champion and Ocean FM are the official media partners for the 5-day action packed festival.
These events have been produced by FergusonEvents, in conjunction with Marketing Forum Sligo and have been grant aided by Sligo Borough Council, Guinness and the participating venues. (See http://www.sligotourism.ie for full details.)
Also running will be Lúnasa Arts Festival at The Model, Sligo with a month long festival of the arts featuring music, free exhibitions, free guided tours, comedy, film screenings, workshops and education events. See http://www.themodel.ie for full details and booking.
“Over 40 venues have come together to put on over 100 events. The Sligo Lunasa Festival will ensure that both festival goers and promoters alike, together with the local community will enjoy local hospitality at its best. The many fringe events will have the whole town buzzing and will showcase the wealth of musical talent Sligo has to offer, this will be complimented by a host visiting artists,” enthused Bairbre Ferguson.
Sligo is throwing one big party. The party is for everyone, young and old, and has a myriad of events to suit all ages and musical preferences. Everyone can experience the best that Sligo has to offer, the best music, the best food, the best shopping, the best atmosphere and most of all the best of craic.
Together for Sligo welcome the inaugural Sligo Lunasa Festival and hope that it becomes an annual event. The festival was first muted by the group earlier this year. Committee members include representatives from Sligo Hotels, Pubs, Nightclubs, Tourism Agencies and those with a vested interested in increasing tourism numbers to Sligo.
* 10th – 12th Auguest / Mens Home International / County Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point
* 27th August / Warriors Run Festival / Strandhill ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Monday “5th July Here is what is on in Sligo in the next few weeks
Summer Green Gym Programme All Welcome Outdoor Gym Programme July 05 – August 09 2011
Sligo Sport&Recreation Partnership are running a 6 week outdoor gym programme with a qualified instructor,providing a great opportunity for everyone to enjoy fitness & healthy active living for free.Just come along for fun safe exercise class suitable for all abilities and ages. Info at *********** *********** *********** ******** ********** Yeats International Summer School & Sligo Arts Festival
Sligo, July 24 – August 05 2011, Phone: 071 9142693
A two-week academic Summer School with lectures,seminars,poetry & drama workshops, Yeats Country tour, music and drama with focus on W.B.Yeats’s works. Registration in Yeats Memorial Building on Sunday,24.07. 11-18 hs and Monday,25.07. 9-13hs. Sunday 24.07.11 14.30 Coach Trip from Yeats Memorial Building to Glencar Waterfalls, Lough Gill and Yeats’s Grave in Drumcliffe with Eveningsong at Drumcliffe church at 17.00, Welcome Reception and official opening at 18.30 in Sligo City Hotel. *********** *********** *********** ******** ********** Celtic Fringe Festival, Grange, County Sligo. June 22 – 26. The Celtic Fringe Festival – will feature artists from coastal and celtic regions of Spain, England, Holland & Scotland whose traditions are linked by the voyage of the Spanish Armada, three of whose ships foundered on Streedagh Beach over 400 years ago.The first festival will feature artists from Galicia and Ireland.
The Dip In The Nip, June 25 – 25 
The first Dip in the Nip was held in 2009, and 180 women took part and raised over €56,000. The money was raised for the Action Breast Cancer programme of the Irish Cancer Society, and they were also the beneficiaries in 2010. The Irish Cancer Society will also benefit this year, but the Haematology & Oncology Department in Sligo General Hospital and the Drogheda Cancer Research & Education Trust will also benefit. To find out the location and how to become part of this event just clink on the link below.
Ballymote Co. Sligo. June 27 – July 03. Phone: 071 6036243
Lovin Life Festival
Sligo. June 28 – July 04. Phone: 086 4016047
Cairde Summer Festival
Sligo. July 02 – 09. Phone: 071 2214079
Seisun Summer Music Sessions
Gurteen, Cty. Sligo. July 04 – August 28. Phone: 071 9182599
*********************************************************************** Tidy Towns – Sligo Mid Week Clean Up. Wednesday 29th. June
Sligo Tidy Town clean-up: The Sunday morning cleans ups are having a positive effect on the town so the Tidy Towns Committee would like to say a huge thank you to those who have volunteered and the Committee hope you’ll continue to donate the hours.On Wednesday 29 June Sligo Tidy Towns are organising a mid-week clean up for those who can’t attend the Sunday clean ups and still wish to volunteer. If you would like to help the Sligo Tidy Towns Committee please meet us at: Stephen Street car park – 7pm 29 JunePlease show your support to Sligo. Litter pickers and gloves will be provided for on the evening.
The Tidy Towns committee can be contacted atsligotidytowns@gmail.com or via any of the contact details given below.
Committee Members: Gerry Moore, Des Faul, Mairéad O’Hara, Eamon McGowan, Enda Brady, Michelle Healy, Dymphna Mannion, Brian Flynn, Berni Chambers, Emer Benson, Niall Draper, Peter Smith, Tess Monaghan, Kathleen Henry, Hugh McConville, Leonora McConville
The Fireball Worlds are on this week Tue 14th June 2011.
Day 1 June 14th, 2011
After a lead in period of two years for the Irish Fireball Class Association, the 2011 Fireball Worlds and International Week got underway on Ireland’s west coast with glorious sunshine conditions and winds of between 15 and 20 knots with gusts up to 22 knots from a WNW direction. Nineteen boats got International Week underway under the burgee of Sligo Yacht Club, with representation from Australia, Canada, GBR and Ireland. The expectation is that more boats will join in as the week goes on but those who weren’t here today missed excellent sailing conditions..
Two races were sailed today and visitors took the gun on both occasions. Australia’s Ben Schulz and Phillip Bowley took the first race from an initial group of five boats that included Canadians Joe Jospe & Tom Egli, Derian & Andy Scott, Noel Butler and Stephen Oram and Louis Smyth and Cormac Bradley. These five were then joined by Guy Tipton and Matt King and Graeme Grant & Hugh Butler.
Screaming reaches opened the gaps as the race progressed but at the end of the day the Aussies were comfortable winners followed home by the Scotts, Butler & Oram, Jospe & Egli and Ireland’s Barry McCartin & Conor Kinsella, who came from behind having initially missed the start.
Race Two saw the wind ramp up a notch, but the author of this piece was only able to watch from the shore – victim of a windward roll at the second gybe mark of the first race.
Day 2 Thrs 16th June
Fireball International Week 2011 saw shining sun and an initial benign winds on day two. By the time the fleet got out on the water, the breeze was rising and the sun slipped behind clouds. This may not have been an unpleasant day but, it wasn’t quite as nice as yesterday, unless of course you were sailing a Fireball off Sligo.
18/19 knot SE winds were recorded by the committee boat for the greater portion of the day but, on path to the start it was gusting in excess of twenty knots and going to as much as twenty two knots. The SE is an offshore direction so the seas were reasonably flat.
Another two excellent races were set by the Race Management team with screaming reaches – some two-sailed – and a more acceptable length to the windward leg. Yesterday morning’s first race had seen very long beats but the RC took the appropriate actions to restore proper order both yesterday afternoon and today.
The first start today saw a leading candidate for victory capsized to tweak his rig, some others lost a minute in the countdown which led to a rather untidy start for some. However, the same group who had enjoyed early success on the water yesterday were to the fore again – the Scotts, Butler/Oram, Jospe/Egli, Grant/Butler, joined by Miller/Mulligan. Schulz/Bowley came from behind after tweaking their rig to join the fun and games at the front of the fleet.
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Week-Ending 16th. June 2011.
Fionn Regan @ The Model
The Model, Sligo Sat.16 July,8pm
Fionn Regan is a difficult man to pin down musically. Just two albums into an extremely promising career, this sublimely gifted singer-songwriter has already demonstrated a staggering lack of regard for following the rules.
Regan’s calling card was the beautiful Mercury-nominated The End Of History which included songs such as ‘Be good or be gone’ and ‘Put a penny in the slot’. Rather than follow it up with more of the same pastoral loveliness, he made The Shadow of an Empire, and with it didn’t so much flaunt convention, as trample all over it to produce a collection every bit as beguiling as its predecessor, but bursting with more ideas and sounds than some acts have in a lifetime. We await his next album due in early August with bated breath. In the meantime, be one of the first to hear some brand new material, and enjoy a special solo acoustic performance from one of the most mercurial musical talents around.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sat 18 June – The Clarence – Doors open 11pm
Altern-8 is an Early UK Rave music duo band featuring Mark Archer and Chris Peat. They were one of the UK rave bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s whose trademark was loud electronic tracks with a heavy bass line. Altern-8’s members wore facemasks and chemical warfare suits. The band was signed to Network Records based in Stratford House, Birmingham, England.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sligo’s top summer festival gets underway this afternoon.
Recently voted “Best New Festival” at the 2010 European Festival Awards, Temple House Festival has a stellar line-up with 120 Irish and International music acts performing on 4 stages over the weekend.
Live music at the boutique festival will be complemented by a unique arts trail, a path embedded in the stunning natural setting of the old rockery; encounter a world filled with the kooky, colourful, weird and wonderful; and there is a range of children’s activities for under 12’s in Big Mama’s Garden.
Temple House Festival:
On the estate Friday 10th-12th June 2011.
Friday, 10th June
Bavaria Main Stage :
The Late Session with “Wiggle”, Ash, Fighting with Wire, The Walls, The Flaws, The Kanyu Tree, Inteference, 1922’s
The Music Maker stage :
DJ Wool, Arveene & Misk, The Minutes,Pilotlight, Readers Wives, Preachers Son, Chuckys River
Acoustic Stage – Walled Garden :
Ryan Sheridan, Niceol Blue, James Humpstown, Tommy McNulty, Lauren Sheeran, Helen Smits,
Bandwagon TV Stage –Rose Garden :
Yngve & The Innocent, Machine Gun Baby, Joy Booth and B & The Honeyboy, On/Off, Michael Stafford
Saturday, 11th June
Bavaria Main Stage :
Late Session – The Amazing Few , Stereo MCs, Whipping Boy, Kerbdog, Stand, Miracle Bell, Shouting at Planes, Landlovers, Hogan, Karma Parking, Redbrick House,Nova Static
The Music Maker Stage:
Silent Disco, DSonik, Mike Joyce DJ Set (ex Smiths), Declan O’Rourke, Andy McKee, The Fallen Drakes, Dub Doctor Sound System, Merchants of Fortune, Tim Cobain & band, King Kong Club BOB, Lost Colours
Acoustic Stage – Walled Garden:
Rory and The Island, Aisling O’Reilly, The Ball & Chain, Bailer, Wyvern Lingo, Finnian Kelleher, Peter Baldwin
Bandwagon TV Stage – Rose Garden :
Henrietta Game, Neptune City, Eugene Donegan, Clive Barnes, Sanszkrit
Sunday, 12th June
Bavaria Main Stage :
Aslan, Something Happens, Lisa Hannigan, Jamie Lawson, CW Stoneking, The Raglans, Storyfold, Tupelo, Sweet Jane, 2Minutes2Midnight,
The Music Maker Stage :
Bipolar Empire, Riptide Movement, Oddsocks Revival, Jason Clarke, Roisin O, Heathers, GMiley & The Soul Street Orchestra, The Barley Mob, Colin Scallan, Electric Penguins, The Hooks, Slap!
Acoustic Stage – Walled Garden :
Mark Black, Hamlet Sweeney, My Bad Self, John Smith, Rhob Cunningham, Stephanie Rainey, Damian Nash, Deirdre Keelan
Bandwagon TV Stage -Rose Garden :
Paul Crean and the changing band, Saramai & The Swords, A Smile Just Came, Red Queen Contest, Will Kelly, Gog and The Grinders
This June bank holiday Week-end Sat. 04/06 to Sun. 05/06
Sligo county Fleadh in Strandhill.
AS ALWAYS the June bank holiday weekend means the Sligo County Fleadh. This year it will be held in Strandhill.Two previous Fleadhanna in Strandhill in 2005 and 2006 were enormously successful with an estimated attendance on the final Sunday in 2006 of 3,000. This year’s Fleadh will start with a singing session in Bree’s pub on Wednesday 1st at 7pm.The Fleadh official opening and concert is on Friday night. The opening will be performed by Senator Labhras Ó Murchú, director general of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann. The event starts at 8pm
Saturday and Sunday will see Strandhill inundated with ceoltóirí. There are pub sessions organised and street entertainment on both Saturday and Sunday. As always there will be many impromptu sessions indoors and outdoors before the Fleadh closes on Sunday evening. Competitions will be held in the Primary School and in the Golf Club on Saturday and Sunday and the Innisfree Ceilí band will play for a monster ceilí in on Saturday evening commencing at 9.30.
Donie Conway's Ireland News 