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Alan Johnston: Military Man to Master Mechanic

February 21, 2021 By Admin

Unless you were lucky enough to be one of the 84,309 people who licensed a brand-spanking-new Irish car in 2020, then you [like the rest of us] might find yourself needing to take your older vroom-vroom to an auto repair garage in the very near future. Fortunately, generations of drivers across this land have had a love affair with the automobile, so there is no shortage of independently owned garages vying for your attention and promising to treat your prized four-wheeled possession as if it was their own.

Helen Sandison: The Seam-Less Journey

February 17, 2021 By Admin

When Helen Sandison of Mullingar based Sensory Clothing moved over to Kerry from the UK in 2007 with her husband Rudi, she couldn’t understand why her two-year-old child kept telling her that he didn’t like his clothes, especially his socks. It became normal for him to hide behind their sofa and then pop out with his clothes off. However, like most first-time parents – Helen just thought that it was something that he would eventually grow out of. A year later, her second child arrived, and she found herself juggling the needs of a new baby while battling with a toddler over his dislike of clothes. “I did wonder whether I had been pandering to my son, but nevertheless I took him to the doctor’s because I knew there was something wrong. You could call it a mother’s intuition. My son was tested for Autism (ASD) but we were told that he simply had some little quirks and wasn’t on the Autism Spectrum itself. I just had to cope with his meltdowns over the clothing.” It turned out that Helen’s son has a neurological condition called Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) which is often misdiagnosed as ASD because many children with ASD have sensory issues or difficulties. However, as in the case of Helen’s child, SPD was a standalone condition.

Abi Howe: The Bride’s Best Friend

December 23, 2020 By Admin

2020 is a year that billions of people across the world will never forget. Our lives were unceremoniously turned upside down by a disease that demanded changes. Face coverings, hand sanitisation, social distancing and lockdown have become everyday terms. In Ireland, businesses have been forced to close, jobs have been lost and the economy is on life-support. Extended family relationships have been strained and any plans for the future have had to be put on hold or cancelled altogether.

Ross Tormey – The Interactive Tourer

December 17, 2020 By Admin

In 2008 the economic tsunami triggered by the collapse of our banking and building sector ensured the roar of the Celtic Tiger was over. The following year, a dark cloud of economic depression loomed over the country and the phrase “Sometimes you’re flush and sometimes you’re bust,” made perfect sense. In 2011, the CSO’s Census of Population recorded that 8,637 people in Westmeath were unemployed, that equated to almost 10% of the county’s 86,164 population. Draconian public spending cuts continued, consumer spending and confidence was on life-support and the construction sector was almost non-existent.

Creative Genius: That Personal Touch

December 10, 2020 By Admin

Ireland’s two lockdowns, if nothing else, allowed thousands of people to explore their creative side. Some used it to perfect that one recipe that had always alluded them. Others discovered a hidden talent for making or building something that a full-time job never allowed. Undoubtedly, many hard-working people lost jobs due to Covid-19 and had to find a way to be resourceful. For them, the opportunity to make some extra cash was a driving factor and the hobby became a business. But whatever the individual circumstances were; some great pictures for a Facebook page and the camaraderie of like-minded entrepreneurs was all the armoury needed. Thanks to the most powerful communications tool of the third millennium – the internet – the world became an instant shopfloor.

Kilbeggan: Whipping Up a Chocolate Delight

December 3, 2020 By Admin

Chocolate is one of the few foods that has a universal appeal. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a simple chocolate bar or a delectable, unique masterpiece of confectionery. At both ends of the spectrum – blissful, indulgent pleasure is likely to be the verdict by whosoever is eating.

Referred to as the ‘food of the gods,’ by Swedish botanist, Carl Linneaus in the 18^th century, chocolate and confectionery production in Ireland is worth €239 million Euros to the Irish economy and employs 1,725 people. In 1933, Cadbury opened its Ossory Road factory in Dublin and ever since the nation has taken the beans of the tropical cacao tree, named Theobroma Cacao, to its heart.

Jack Has The Code To Success

November 26, 2020 By Admin

Parents across the world have at some point bought their child a computer game. The hours of contented game playing bliss that children gain is often considered to be worth the high price tag. But what if I told you that a computer game was the catalyst for an 8-year-old boy to learn to program? That then at 16, he would create and then patent a piece of futuristic screen technology that could be straight out of a Hollywood Sci-Fi movie? This is the story of a truly remarkable young man, Jack O’Regan Kenny.

Ger Heraty: More Ideas Than Time

November 25, 2020 By Admin

Very few people have not heard of ‘Spider-Man,’ the fictional teenage superhero creation of Marvel writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko that first appeared in 1962. Peter Parker, the alter-ego of Spider-Man, is a normal teenager who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and gains spider like superpowers. Other popular Marvel Comic Book characters include the Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Deadpool, Thor and Black Panther. Fans of all ages have collected superhero comics for decades and their impact on both society and popular culture has only increased with time. Marvel itself has evolved from a publisher of comic books to a very successful Disney owned film and television studio, producing movies and television series based on its characters.

Picture The Scene: A Winning Coffee Experience

November 19, 2020 By Admin

In October 1969, a Hollywood film called ‘For Love Or Money’ starring Kirk Douglas and Mitzi Gaynor was being screened at the Adelphi Cinema and Theatre on Gleeson Street in Athlone. It was the sort of light-hearted and fluffy romantic comedy usually reserved for the highly successful on-screen partnership of Rock Hudson and Doris Day. That being said, the on-screen chemistry between Douglas and Gaynor; vivid and bright Technicolor cinematography; talented and good-looking supporting cast; great wardrobe choices and sumptuous locations – made the movie a joy to watch. It was essentially a very sophisticated take on 1960s chic and a perfect way to escape a cold October night in Westmeath.

The Refill Mill – Our Planet in Your Hands

November 5, 2020 By Admin

For almost 70 years, we have been soothed and enlightened as a tv audience, by the voice of legendary broadcaster Sir David Attenborough presenting natural history documentaries. Now, aged 94, his distinctive oration gives a sombre warning to reverse a devastating trajectory the planet is headed on. Or, as he eloquently puts it, ‘The human race will regret it if we don’t act on plastic now.’

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