Year in Review - February - Nail-biting finish at St Canice’s Credit Schools Quiz in Kilkenny

The sense of pride was palpable as some of Kilkenny’s brightest young minds gathered at the Ormonde Hotel for the Junior (u 11) and senior (u 13) rounds of the St Canice's Credit Union Schools Quiz.

Remarkably, both evenings needed a tie-breaker round to decide the winners. St John’s Senior School came out on top at junior level and Kilkenny School project won at senior level. Finishing in second place at junior level was CBS Primary School and the runners up at senior level were St Canice’s Co-Ed National School.

Kilkenny People in February reported that Kilkenny County Council netted over €260,000 in vacant site levies in the first ten months of 2023 in information obtained under The Freedom of Information Act.

In February there were 23 properties on Kilkenny County Council’s vacant sites register, along with 39 on the council’s derelict sites register.

Information also obtained under The Freedom of Information Act also confirmed that Kilkenny County Council failed to collect any derelict site levies in the first ten months of 2023.

In other news floodwaters surged to the forefront of discussions at County Hall as elected representatives made fresh appeals for flood relief schemes to be expedited across multiple districts in Kilkenny.

A perceived lack of progress on the recently announced pilot flood relief schemes in Freshford and Piltown drew particular criticism, as did the ongoing delays for other schemes, particularly in Thomastown and Inistioge.

There was also controversy locally following an increase in parking charges in Kilkenny City. Local councillors called on Kilkenny County Council to offer a parking solution or transport alternative for people working in Kilkenny.

At February’s meeting of the Kilkenny City Municipal District, Cllr Andrew McGuinness along with party colleague, Cllr John Coonan raised the matter again, having previously raised it initially at January’s plenary meeting.

Both councillors believe a cheap or free alternative for workers commuting into the city should be considered as soon as possible. Cllr McGuinness claimed that the current city parking measures were ‘not fair’ and should be altered ‘as a matter or urgency’.

Cllr Coonan touted the idea of a park and ride service as a solution to the parking costs, saying, ‘it should be widely used’ and it could offer a suitable extension to the KK1 and KK2 bus routes which have proved popular in recent times. In 2023, over 300,000 people availed of the Kilkenny Bus Service.

In positive news it was announced in February that €850,000 has been made available to the community in the Butts which will allow the local authority to carry out a detailed assessment of the locality and to engage fully with residents to determine what measures could best benefit the community living there.

The hugely popular park run in Kilkenny also had a significant milestone in February when it celebrated its 400th event.
The Castle Park has been long associated with the park run - a weekly fun, free and friendly 5k and a bumper crowd turned out to mark the momentous occasion as 220 people jogged, ran and walked the 5k course.

In February Kilkenny bade farewell to an icon and matriarch of Irish racing. In the passing of Maureen Mullins, aged 94, the racing world has bid farewell to a remarkable figure whose invincible spirit and unwavering dedication left an everlasting mark on the sport she loved.

With a lifetime devoted to horses and racing, Mrs Mullins’ legacy as the mother of Irish racing will be remembered for generations to come. On news of her passing, tributes poured in from across the horse racing and sporting world. Her funeral took place at the Church of the Holy Trinity in Goresbridge and was attended by large crowds, including the aide-de-campe of the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins.

Mourners heard of a proud Goresbridge woman, who had a wonderful life. She adored her grandchildren and was proud of each and every one of them. Her son, Tony Mullins gave a touching eulogy recounting the details of a fascinating life, well lived.