August in Kilkenny: Ancient ring fort discovered and choir sing for Pope Francis

Soaring temperatures and drought like conditions resulted in a somewhat unusual discovery at the beginning of August.
Keen photographers, Brian Dwyer and James Burke were operating a drone at Duninga near Goresbridge which revealed a circular enclosure visible from the drone’s aerial photo. The prehistoric 20 metre structure has now been added as a new monument on the Sites and Monuments Record, after the pair reported their find to the Archaeological Survey of Ireland. An archaeologist with the National Monument Service said that the size of the enclosure is quite typical of a ringfort, suggesting a date between the 7th and 10th century.
There were also plenty of strong female ambassadors from the Marble City who made the headlines in August including Helena Hughes who is a wonderful Rose and Bennettsbridge woman, Josephine O’Neill who was crowned the International Miss Macra.
In more good news one of Kilkenny’s most highly-regarded choirs was involved in two choral performances during the visit of Pope Francis to Ireland. Arís, under the musical direction of Veronica McCarron performed both for the concert for the Pope and the Papal Mass.
During August Mick Cahill, who is originally from Wolfe Tone Street in the city, retired after 52 years in the postal service, making him the longest-serving postman in the country.
Once again Kilkenny Arts Festival proved to be a critical success and a huge financial benefit to the city. The streets and lanes were full for the ten days of the festival as street performed, virtuosos, acrobats, dance troupes and trad musicians enthralled audiences. Conservative estimates put the value of the ten day cultural event to the city at over €8 million.
The shortage of school buses made the front page at the end of the month as some children were told that there was no room for them on the school bus as they were not offered a concessionary ticket by Bus Eireann while in the city residents of the Irish Wheelchair Association’s facility were moved out of their homes to new locations in the community, while respite services have been transferred to a local hotel.
The IWA says a fire safety issue was identified at Claddagh Court, located on College Road and following a building survey, ‘significant building compliance concerns’ were discovered.
The IWA said it was not in a financial position to fund the works required, and it is not considered value for money to restore the buildings there to compliance with building regulations.