A heroic NUI Galway student from Kildare was honoured by the Mayor of Galway yesterday following a brilliant act of bravery last July.

Celbridge native Alan Herdman helped to save eight children from drowning during the summer of last year when they got into difficulty at sea in Barna, Co Galway. The 24-year-old was alerted to the distressed youths while he was teaching kayaking to another group of children, and he quickly sprung into action.

“I was out on the water near Barna on July 15 teaching stand-up paddle-boarding to a group of children when a man who had been walking his dog on the beach raised the alarm to say some kids were in difficulty," Alan told the Daily Mirror at the time.

“I sent my own group to shore and paddled over to see eight children, who were not strong swimmers, in a fair degree of difficulty.

“I gauged that one girl, who was a fair bit away, was going under and popping up and was in the most danger.

“I had to swim past the other children who were screaming and crying but I could see that she wasn’t coming up.

“So when I reached her I managed to grab her from under the water and dragged her up to the surface and put her on my board.

“I saw another child was close so I pulled her on to my board too.”

The keen watersports athlete was honoured by Galway Mayor Frank Fahy at a special ceremony on Friday afternoon, where he was presented with a piece of Waterford Crystal.

Mayor Fahy took to facebook to thank Alan for his bravery.

"My final function as Mayor of Galway. I presented Alan Herdman a young NUIG student from Kildare with a piece of Galway Crystal in recognition of his bravery in rescuing 8 children who were in danger of drowning in Rusheen Bay last July," he said.

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The Console East West Cycle from Celbridge to Galway takes place today as hundreds of cyclists and open to participants at all levels of fitness and expertise.

The event aims to raise much needed funds for Console and help to reduce the high levels of suicide here in Ireland.

Console, the National Suicide Charity, is a dedicated service involved in Suicide Prevention and Bereavement and provides professional counselling, support and helpline services Nationwide on its helpline: 1800 247 247.

The cycle will be fully supervised by a support crew consisting of Garda escorts, motorbike outriders to handle the traffic, medics, bike mechanics  as well as buses to allow any cyclist who needs a break.

The event aims to highlight the importance of exercise, nutrition and community participation in maintaining a healthy mind and body.

The cycle is a fun and friendly participative event, connecting communities along the route while promoting messages of positive mental health throughout.

Each cyclist had a fundraising target of €250 to take part.

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Gardaí investigating the murder of gangland associate Gareth Hutch have made another arrest.

A Garda Press Office spokesperson confirmed that officers in Mountjoy investigating the murder of Gareth Hutch on the May 24, have arrested a 30-year-old male in connection with the incident. He was arrested this morning the in Dublin and is being detained under the provisions of Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act 1997 as amended at a Dublin city centre station.

A number of arrests have already been made in connection with the brutal murder, with one man already appearing in court for unlawful possession of a handgun, while a 43-year-old woman was also arrested earlier this week for withholding information in relation to the investigation.

Hutch became the seventh victim of the bitter Hutch-Kinahan feud when he was gunned down in broad daylight while getting into his car at a city centre car park last month.

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This beautiful Georgian country lodge in Athy is turning some heads in the markets since it was put up for sale.

The five-bedroom Shamrock Lodge is a picturesque residence that is well hidden from the public eye by a landscape of large trees and a long driveway.

The house itself is on the market for a cool €580,000, while an adjoining three-acre lot is for sale for €200,000 and three further fields totalling 13.6 acres are valued at €270,000. The owner of the property would rather sell all three together however.

The accommodation is laid out over two floors with attic rooms and boasts wonderful period features with original oak parquet and pitch pine wood floors, corniced ceilings with center roses and recessed sash windows with wooden shutters.

The living room in Shamorck Lodge.

The main reception rooms are bright and spacious and arranged around the main hall. There is a long western red cedar conservatory on the south west side of the house which enjoys great light and a wonderful aspect of the garden. A library occupies the first floor return and the main bedrooms are on the first floor with a sixth bedroom in the return to the walk in attic.

To the rear of the main house is found the enclosed courtyard which has a series of useful buildings including stables, former calf houses, a lofted coach house, former cattle stalls and the garage (with maintenance pit). Connemara ponies were bred by the family.

The house is about a mile outside Athy town on the Kildare road and is close to the M7 Motorway.

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A band which is made up of mostly members from Kildare, will be honoured at a special ceremony next week following their brave actions in Atlantic City last month.

The four-strong band saved a number of people from a burning property that they were staying in while on a tour of America, and they will be honoured at a special ceremony in Longford this coming Thursday. One of the band's members, Kian Johnston, is from Longford, while Keith Garrett, Danni Carroll and Rob Higgins are all from Naas.

The award comes after the hard rockers and their management team woke up their four US friends in the old wood-framed house and guided them to safety as flames and thick black plumes spread through the property.

When they got outside they heard screams coming from a basement apartment below the house where there were four adults with five children under five trying to escape.

The band then re-entered the property and helped the rest of the trapped individuals flee to safety.

"It is an honour to be receiving this award, but we just did what came naturally and helped ensure everyone was out. We are just delighted that nobody died that night - which was a night I'll never forget for the rest of my life.' The drama unfolded on May 14 when the band were staying with friends in a house after a gig in Atlantic city," said band member Kian.

The band are even helping to raise money to help the families rebuild their home after the cost of the damage caused by the fire was estimated to be about €400,000.

Donations to help the property's residents rebuild their home can be made at www.gofundme.com/248tuv8.

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A Kildare based social entrepreneur has been shortlisted for the annual Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Awards Programme, sponsored by DCC plc. Over 170 entries were received by Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, with 50 being shortlisted to attend Social Entrepreneurs Bootcamp held recently in the RDS.

Kildare company Talk2MeMore is a digital service empowering parents to enhance their child’s language exposure at an early age. Their mission is to address the ‘Word Gap’ between children brought up in different socio-economic environments, to extend quality parent-child interactions, and help all children to be more prepared entering school.

The prestigious social-funding competition, now in its twelfth year, has supported 190 social entrepreneurs to date and invested €6.2m in direct funding to projects in areas including community and active citizenship, education and learning, environment and sustainability and mental and physical health.

Attendees at Bootcamp received expert coaching during workshops and talks specially designed to further their understanding of crucial business methods such as fundraising, branding, media and networking. Participants were given 15 minutes to pitch their project to a panel of judges. Following Bootcamp, six Impact applicants and twelve Elevator applicants were chosen to proceed to the next stage of the selection process.

This year the competition will be providing €420,000 in direct funding to nine social entrepreneurs. In addition, direct support valued at €180,000 will be made available to successful applicants ensuring that they are equipped to bring their vision to fruition as soon as possible and have a positive impact on their respective communities and beyond.

CEO of Social Entrepreneurs Ireland, Darren Ryan, said, “In Ireland today we aren’t solving our social problems quickly enough and this process is all about empowering people to bring about change right across Ireland. The challenges we face are vast and complex, and so we need to support people to develop innovative approaches to solve them.  We have been inspired by the calibre of applicants for this year’s Awards and the incredible impact that social entrepreneurs are having all over the island. The supports from SEI, along with the backing of our main partner DCC, will help the successful entrants to increase this impact and build sustainable organisations.”

Irish headquartered international company DCC plc has sponsored the awards selection process for the last six years. CEO of DCC, Tommy Breen, said, “We are delighted once again to support the SEI awards and to continue our support for Ireland’s brightest and most ambitious entrepreneurs working to have a positive impact on our society.”

The successful applicants will be announced at a gala ceremony in October 2016. For more information about the competition please visit www.socialentrepreneurs.ie

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Gardaí are reviewing all prosecutions brought against people for not having a valid NCT certificate after revealing that some people have been fined twice.

The fixed charged notices handed out by Gardaí have been issued to some people on multiple occasions, resulting in the payment of fines on more than one occasion. As a result, An Garda Síochana are now carrying out a full review of all the prosecutions handed out to motorists for such an offence.

A statement from An Garda Síochana read:

"An Garda Síochána have discovered that prosecutions have been taken for the offence of having no NCT Certificate where a fixed charge notice had already been issued for the offence and the fixed charge had been paid.  As a consequence of this, a review of prosecutions in relation to all fixed charge offences has commenced.

The purpose of the review is to establish the full extent of the issue and to ensure that action is taken to prevent reoccurrence and address the consequences of any prosecutions which were incorrectly taken.

In parallel, District Officers have been directed that as cases come before the courts where the above issue arises that they should withdraw the prosecution.  An Garda Síochána will, in consultation with the Director of Public Prosecutions, bring any matters to the attention of the courts as required."

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Kilcullen will play host to one of the country's biggest cycling events of the year as Cycling Ireland brings the 2016 National Road Championships to Kildare in a fortnight's time.

The race gets underway on Thursday June 23 when the time trials start at 6pm on the Main Street in Kilcullen. All of the races over the course of the four days will begin in the same place, and the route will be centred around the areas of Kilrush, Narraghmore, Blackrath, Brewel Hill and Kilgowan.

There will be plenty of high class competitors competing over the course of the weekend, including the likes of Nicholas Roche and Dan Martin. Around 5,000 spectators are expected to flood into the area, and over 500 cyclists will be competing.

“I am delighted that after a busy few days, the race details have now been confirmed to bring this prestigious national event to the local Kilcullen area," said local Fine Gael TD Martin Heydon.

"With up to 500 competitors including Nicholas Roche and Dan Martin, up to 5,000 spectators are expected across the 3 days which will be a huge boost to the local area and businesses.  Well done to the local Kilcullen Cycling Club who were able to provide the route and required facilities for this important event," he continued.

“I am delighted to be playing my part in conjunction with Cllr Ivan Keatley in assisting Cycling Ireland and local organisers in liaising with Kildare County Council to ensure that all the local roads are in suitable condition for the road race.

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A unit of the Garda Traffic Corps operating in Dublin caught a bogus taxi driver red handed while out on a routine patrol yesterday afternoon.

The fake taxi driver was stopped outside the Gemini Dry Cleaners near the Charlestown Shopping Centre after Gardaí realised that the driver was not registered to operate a taxi. The official Garda Síochana Twitter page tweeted to say that the driver was not a legitimate taxi and will now appear in court and at later date.

The number of drivers caught masquerading as taxi drivers seems to be on the rise in the last year or so, and this is just the latest incident that Gardaí have had to deal with.

Bogus taxi driver found operating West Dublin by DMR Traffic. Driver is not a legitimate Taxi operator.Court next pic.twitter.com/BmLQLfK8bB

— An Garda Síochána (@GardaTraffic) June 10, 2016

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President Michael D. Higgins today sent his best wishes to the Irish teams competing in the European soccer championships in France. The Galway native issued a statement to the press this morning, wishing both the Irish and Northern Irish teams the best of luck in their respective campaigns.

“As the teams prepare for their first matches at Euro 2016, may I extend my greetings to the fans, coaches and players of all 24 nations participating, and in particular my best wishes for success to the Republic of Ireland team and our neighbouring Northern Ireland team.

Many of us look forward to a feast of skill, talent and passion, as well as to the sheer celebration of the art of football at this tournament, this ‘Rendez-Vous’ in France.

As President of Ireland I want to express our collective pride in having Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane's team representing us on the international stage and I wish them every success in the coming weeks. I have no doubt that, as Ireland once again has the honour of competing for the Henri Delaunay cup, this team can create new memories to add to those of 1988 and 2012.  

For Northern Ireland fans, I know this tournament will bring back happy memories of the great team of the 1980s.

The beauty of soccer lies not only in the athleticism and skills of the players, but also in its ability to bring out the best in people, players and spectators alike, and Irish supporters have a great reputation for how they support their team abroad. 

Sport is so much more than entertainment. Sport brings us together and helps bridge cultural, linguistic or ethnic divides. 

This year, of course, we have two Irish teams participating, and we have the additional joy of supporting each other.

It is my sincere hope that our teams' participation in Euro 2016 will be an occasion to strengthen the common bonds among all of us living on this island, and within the community of peoples we call Europe.”  

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Cllr Mark Wall has called for more speed ramps and traffic calming for estates in the Athy municipal district.

The Labour Party politician said residential areas in villages and towns in south Kildare must follow national guidelines "on this very most important issue."

The Athy municipal district area covers Ballitore, Castledermot, Kildangan, Kilkea, Monasterevin, Moone, Narraghmore and Nurney.

Cllr Wall plans to raise this issue with Council officials at the monthly meeting in Athy on June 20.

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Kildare North TD Bernard Durkan has received a response from the National Director of Primary Care centres on a number of questions that he raised in relation to the facilities.

Deputy Durkan requested that the National Director answer his queries on how many primary care centres are in operation in the area, how many are planned for the area and how they have impacted on emergency services in the area.

John Hennessy, the National Director of Primary Care, issued the following response:

Dear Deputy Durkan, The Health Service Executive (HSE) has been requested to reply directly to you in the context of the above Parliamentary Question, which you submitted to the Minister for Health for response.

Primary Care Centres:

There are currently 92 Primary Care Centres operational, two of which became operational in Q1 2016. A further 14 Primary Care Centres are currently in construction or nearing completion, with 11 of these to open in 2016. In addition, 34 Primary Care Centres are at planning stages under the Capital Plan or progressing via the PPP programme. The HSE has also issued Letters of Intent for a further 34 locations. In total, this amounts to 82 Primary Care Centres that are at varying stages of development, in addition to the 92 Centres already opened. 11 of the 82 Centres are due to open in 2016 with approximately a further 20 scheduled for completion in 2017.

Impact of Primary Care on Emergency Departments: The development of primary care services is a key element of the overall Health Reform programme, leading to a more balanced health service where the vast majority of patients and clients requiring urgent or planned care are managed within primary care based settings. This will involve shifting the balance of care in the direction of Primary Care with commensurate strengthening of resources and capability of the primary care sector. The role of Primary Care in providing continuity of care has a positive influence in terms of health outcomes and reduces admissions and referrals to Acute hospitals. A major focus for 2016 is to broaden the scope of services in Primary Care to include greater access to diagnostics, minor surgery and chronic illness management. Funding of €13.5m has been made available in 2016 in order to improve access and to enhance diagnostics (ultrasound and x-rays), expand the minor surgery programme in Primary Care and enhance the supports available to rural GP practices.

Access to Diagnostics: The HSE has recently developed a service whereby a GP can refer Medical Card and GP Visit Card adult patients for ultrasound scans. Patients deemed to be urgent are seen within 5 working days and routine patients are seen within 10 working days. This service is currently available in 10 Primary Care Centres and the plan is to improve GP access to ultrasound in other areas of the country throughout 2016-2017.

Minor Surgery: The HSE in collaboration with the ICGP is completing a pilot research project involving 23 GPs in 20 practices who are delivering a range of minor surgery procedures in General Practice. Subject to analysis of the results it is intended to extend the pilot project to a further 40 GP practices. This will allow in the region of 10,000 procedures on hospital waiting lists to be fasttracked in General Practice. I trust the above information is of assistance to you but please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further queries.

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As the torrential rain continues to bucket down across Kildare and in many parts of Leinster, almost 1,000 ESB customers have been left without power due to two separate faults in the lines.

The biggest power cut has occurred on the Kildare/Wicklow border near Blessington. A total of 832 homes and businesses have been without power since around 3.30pm this afternoon, and the ESB have said that they hope to restore power to those premises by 7pm this evening.

Another outage in the Calverstown area of Kilcullen has resulted in a total of 111 homes and businesses without power since around 4pm, and the ESB hope to restore power there by 7.30pm.

The ESB have apologised for any inconvenience caused.

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A third-level college in Dublin is looking for applicants for a programme for entrepreneurs.

The LINC, the hub of innovation located at ITB (Institute of Technology Blanchardstown) wants candidates for The New Frontiers Phase 2 Programme - Enterprise Ireland’s national entrepreneur development programme.

With over 100 New Frontiers participants having taken part over the past four years, the LINC are expecting even more great success stories to come from this round of applicants which will see 13 applicants successfully take part in the new programme.

Maynooth-native Claire MacNamee, Enterprise Manager at the LINC said: "We are looking for ambitious promoters with scalable, exportable business ideas.

"What’s on offer is an incredible support package including a desk space at the LINC, an individual Enterprise Ireland mentor, a six month programme of workshops and clinics designed to support you bring your business forward and also a €15,000 tax free stipend to help support yourself during this start-up phase.

"It is important that the groundwork is already in place in terms of the concept being technically feasibility and also the proposition being commercially viable before an entrepreneur would apply for New Frontiers Phase Two."

Celbridge native Orla McCallion, Co-Founder of UniTuition, a participant on New Frontiers in 2015/16 said of her experience of the New Frontiers programme "It was fantastic."

She added: "We had excellent mentors to help us develop our business and the facilities in the LINC were brilliant.

"It was also great to be part of a group of other people going through the same type of experience as I was.

"I would recommend New Frontiers to anyone in the early stages of business development in need of financial and business development support."

The losing date for Phase Two Applications is July 15th 2016 with the programme starting in September.

To find out more go to http://www.newfrontiersprogramme.com or contact Claire MacNamee at email: thelinc@itb.ie.

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A Kildare town band will launch their first EP in their hometown tomorrow evening.

Formed in 2015, the Chapel Hill Gang (who took their name from the hill leading up to the Round Town in Kildare Town) play a combination of blues and roots music.

The band is heavily influenced by legendary artists such as Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, BB King and JJ Cale.

No two Chapel Hill Gang shows are the same and audience members can always expect a high octane and unique musical performance.

Original band members include Ciaran Wynne (lead vocals and electric guitar), Eamonn Flood (bass guitar), Mark (Sharkey) Wynne (drums) and they were soon joined by George Washington (lead vocals and acoustic guitar), Nicky Brennan (lead guitar), Jim Fraser (keyboards) and Gonz Houlihan replaced Mark Wynne on the drum stool.

The band regularly perform at the Silken Thomas and always feature local guest artists which in the past have included Vinny Thorpe on saxophone, Gordon Turner on lead guitar, Darren Sweeney on bass guitar and Pierce O'Donnell on lead guitar.

For a sneak preview of what to expect at their EP launch in the Silken Thomas at 8pm, visit their Facebook Page; The Chapel Hill Gang.

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Sarah Dempsey, from Carbury, County Kildare, has been selected as the Tote Ireland Student Intern, through the Horse Racing Ireland Internship Programme, commencing a twelve-week work placement on Wednesday, June 8^th.

This is third year of the HRI Student Internship Programme which was launched in November 2013. Over 150 applications were received from throughout the country with 50 students shortlisted and 25 selected for interview.

Horse Racing Ireland has appointed seven interns for the summer season of 2016. Four of the student interns will work in the HRI-owned racecourses: Fairyhouse, Leopardstown, Navan and Tipperary and three will be based in the HRI head office at Ballymany, Kildare, with two in the Marketing Department and one in TOTE Ireland.

Sarah is currently studying Commerce in University College Dublin. She has gained previous work experience in Goffs Bloodstock Sales where she worked part-time for four years. She has also assisted her father Philip Dempsey who is a horse trainer for many years and worked full-time for him for a year in 2014. Sarah continues to ride out for her father and assist him at race meetings.

As part of her role with TOTE Ireland, Sarah will work primarily with the operations team and will also gain experience in marketing and social media.

Carol Nolan, Group HR Manager of Horse Racing Ireland said: “The Student Internship Programme continues to grow and develop each year and yet again we were delighted with the standard of applicants. We look forward to welcoming the students into our busy environment.  As well as gaining practical experience in the industry and making useful contacts, we will work with the students on areas such as CV preparation and interview techniques during their 12-week placement to help further prepare them for the transition from full-time education into full-time employment.”

Sarah Dempsey commented, “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to work in Tote Ireland and I am looking forward to the whole experience and to getting started with them. I hope to extend my knowledge of the racing industry, an industry I aspire to work in, and gain important practical experience, develop my reputation and make new contacts. Tote Ireland is an integral part of Irish racing and I’m sure I will be able to get involved in many different areas of it.”

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Kildare Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 045 409350. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 086 729 0010. Or you can email content@kildarenow.com at any time.

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Kildare Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 045 409350. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 086 729 0010. Or you can email content@kildarenow.com at any time.

A woman who parked across two disabled parking spaces appeared in Naas District Court.
Lauren Daly (26) of Park View Villas in Blessington was charged with the offence on the town's Main Street in September last year.
The court heard that she was issued with a fixed penalty notice but never paid it.

The motorist's solicitor Tony Hanahoe said that his client had suffered an asthma attack and had to park her car suddenly to get an inhaler in a nearby pharmacy.
The judge asked why she didn't turn on her hazard lights in such an emergency.
He fined the defendant €200.

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Kildare Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 045 409350. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 086 729 0010. Or you can email content@kildarenow.com at any time.

It's going to be another long day of scattered showers and dull conditions around Kildare, as a bad spell of weather looks set to take hold for the next few days.

It will be overcast at first today with scattered outbreaks of rain or drizzle. However, it will become brighter as the day goes on but with showers developing, some heavy in the north and east. Highest temperatures of 16-20 degrees, warmest inland in the south and southeast. Winds light to moderate, southeast veering southwest to west.

Showers mostly dying out early tonight but rain and drizzle then spreading from the Atlantic, and becoming persistent in most areas before morning. Winds backing south to southeast, light to moderate overnight and staying rather mild. Lowest temperatures 11-12 degrees.

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A major fault in the line has led to more than 2,000 people in Kildare being left without power in their homes and businesses since early on this morning.

The massive outage occurred in the Springfield area of Leixlip, leaving 2,024 people without power since around 7.15am this morning. The ESB say that they are unsure as to what time the power may be restored at, but they are currently working on the fault.

The network have apologised for any inconvenience caused to customers.

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Kildare Now editorial team. Between 9am and 5pm Monday to Sunday please call 045 409350. Between 5pm and midnight please call or text 086 729 0010. Or you can email content@kildarenow.com at any time.