The Anglo-Celt Review of the year – December
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Knockbride Ladies and sisters, Janelle and Gia McCabe, Player of the Match, celebrate their All-Ireland win back on home turf. PHOTO: ALEX COLEMAN Alex Coleman.Image 2 of 5
Jim O’Connor, national sales manager, Lidl, cracks open the champagne with staff at the Cavan store to celebrate selling the winning ticket for the €17M Euromillions jackpot.Image 3 of 5
Disgraced former Cathaoirleach Sean McKiernan arrives at Trim Circuit Court before his sentencing for theft.Image 4 of 5
Cillian Burns and Maisy Donnellan with Santa in Kingscourt. 8PHOTO: ALEX COLEMAN Alex Coleman.Image 5 of 5
The cast and crew of Wildling celebrate in style after Hoodwink Theatre won the ACDI/DLI All Ireland One Act Drama Festival in early December.McKiernan jailed for theft of €172K
A FORMER Cavan County Councillor was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison after he spent over €172,000 of money stolen from a Meath charity on male escorts, crystal meth, and liquid ecstasy.
Sean McKiernan (44), with an address at Trinity Bungalow, Virginia Road, Bailieborough, was in Trim Circuit Court charged with 58 counts of theft.
The court heard the thefts totalled €172,120 from Navan Mental Health Housing Association, and took place between March 2019 and April 2020.
A Lotto Luck!
THE winners of the staggering €17M EuroMillions jackpot were a father, son and daughter syndicate from Cavan, the Celt exclusively revealed.
The humble two-line Quick Pick ticket was purchased on the day of the draw, December 12, in the Lidl store in Cavan Town.
The modest flutter has now erupted into one of the biggest lottery celebrations the county has ever seen.
It came just a few weeks after Rudden’s Service Station on the Dublin Road sold a €1M Daily Millions ticket marking a winning streak for the Breffni County.
Bird flu blow
DEVASTATION visited a farm near Butlersbridge after an outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in a commercial turkey flock on December 1, just days before the turkeys were due to be slaughtered for the Christmas market.
Instead, the farmer faced into the grim task of euthanising the birds, in the region of 6,000 turkeys, which were raised at the poultry farm over the previous year.
Bird flu cases were expected to peak nationwide over the Christmas period.
Regional NDP road project updates
The government published its National Development Plan Sectoral Plan setting out a renewed vision for the country’s transport system between 2026–2030. A number of major National Roads Projects, each valued at more than €200 million, were earmarked to enter procurement or construction by 2030 locally.
Among these were the N3 Virginia Bypass, approved by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and led by Cavan County Council with construction anticipated to start in 2029.
Two significant schemes for County Monaghan were also advancing. The N2 Ardee to South of Castleblayney project, approved by TII and managed by Monaghan County Council, is expected to begin in 2030.
The N2 Clontibret to the Border upgrade is progressing on a similar trajectory.
These projects each carry an estimated cost of €250-€500M.
Verdict of Medical misadventure
“THE findings delivered today, while not surprising, are still devastating for us as a family. Knowing our mother would still be with us if not for the mishandling of her care at Cavan General Hospital has left us heartbroken,” say the family of Jean (Mary Jane) Lamb (née Ryan), responding to the inquest verdict of medical misadventure in their mother’s death.
The outcome followed a critical review into the 80-year-old grandmother’s death at the acute hospital facility on April 23, 2023.