Tag Archives: Wales

Aberystwyth University in Wales has awarded a posthumous BSc degree in Information and Library Studies to Caitríona Lucas. Caitríona died during a search and rescue mission with the coastguard service after the lifeboat capsized in rough seas at Kilkee last September. Caitríona, 41, from Ballyvaughan, began her BSc degree in Information and Library Studies in June 2015. She studied by distance learning whilst also bringing up a family, working as a librarian for Clare County Council, and volunteering for the Search and Rescue Dog Association. She also completed over 700 hours every year as a volunteer with the Doolin Coast Guard in Ireland. Speaking during the graduation ceremony, Professor Judy Broady-Preston, director of the Institute of Professional Development, said,  “Caitríona Rós Lucas died on September 12, 2016 whilst on active service as a volunteer with the Irish coast Guard during a search for a missing person.  Caitriona joined the service in 2006 and served with her husband, Bernard who joins us today, …

The  Archbishop of Cardiff George Stack, led tributes to Clare born nun, Sister Mairéad Noonan, at a special mass in Wales recently to celebrate the 50th year of her religious profession. A native of Moohane, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Sr Mairéad is attached to the Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy at LLantarnam Abbey, Cwmbran in South East Wales. The mass in Llantarnam Abbey  was attended by Sr Mairéad’s mother, Ellen and members of the Noonan family. A daughter of Ellen and the late Charles Noonan, Sr Mairéad attended Ballycar National Achool and Ennis Vocational School before becoming a member of the Sisters of St Joseph of Annecy in Llanternam Abbey. She then undertook teacher training in Newman College in the University of Birmingham after which she pursued a training course in psychotherapy .She is now an energy and  health practitioner in Llantarnam Abbey. A former Cistercian monastery, Llantarnam Abbey was also a depot for the American Army during World War II. In 1946 it …

Ask any car nut to name their favourite marques and the chances are Alfa Romeo will come close to the top of most lists. Unfortunately, a lot of that is down to nostalgia and remembering past glories like the Alfasud. In truth, in recent years Alfa have lost their way, with too many bland and uninspiring designs. Happily there are signs that Alfa Romeo are on the rebound, with a plethora of new product on the way, including the long anticipated rear wheel drive 3 Series rival, the Giulia, which unfortunately we won’t see until 2016 at the earliest. In the meantime though, there’s hope in the form of the gorgeous 4C, a truly brilliant mid-engined car that does an inspired job of showcasing Alfa Romeo’s talents. With styling loosely based on the larger, more expensive 8C Competizione, the 4C is a striking car on the road. A strict two seater, it’s roughly the size of a MiTo, in other …

… and Shelly too On our holiday to Devon and Cornwall two years ago, we were struck by how dog-friendly everywhere was, so we made up our minds that we’d come back some day with Daisy, our West Highland Terrier. Some day turned out to be last month, as we sailed again to the South of England. Ford provided an S-Max this time, a fine choice, with extra space and plenty of comfort. Not only had we all of Daisy’s stuff to bring, but my wife, Shelly, is by no means a light packer, so even starting off, we were fairly well loaded. [doptg id=”29″] We chose to travel with Irish Ferries on their Swift Service, as it involves a journey time of just two hours. Daisy would have to travel in a kennel on the car deck, so we wanted to minimise the journey time. It was terrible having to put her into the kennel and lock the door …