News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Tributes were paid to the underground mapping carried out by the Polish diver to assess future flooding problems.

Margaret Kozlowski said her brother had always followed his heart and cave exploration was his great passion.

She said it would be very difficult for the family to get over this tragedy.
(Source: RTE News)

Kerry

A twelve-year search for ' Kerry's Queen of the Ballad' ended in a jubilant reunion last week, when Tralee historian Peter Locke finally met Eileen Sheehan of Abbeydorney.

Peter's quest to find Eileen ( now Flaherty) began after he came across her ads in old editions of The Kerryman while compiling his own CD ' Dance Halls and Dance Bands.'

Having trawled dozens of editions of The Kerryman from the 1960s, one name kept popping up in the entertainment section — Eileen Sheehan, Kerry's Queen of the Ballad. Eileen, a well known face on the music scene at the time, not only performed in Kerry but throughout the country.

Despite numberos enquiries on Peter's part, no one seemed to know the whereabouts of Eileen, until he was put in touch with Ballymac man Gerry Savage, a relative of Eileen's husband.

" Thanks to Gerry I made contact with Eileen and we had a great time catching up this morning," Peter told The Kerryman after last Tuesday's meeting.

"It was wonderful to finally meet the lady who I had been searching for the past 12 years. Several people I asked didn't know who she was, others told me she had imigrated, but when I spoke to Gerry she told me she's alive and well in Abbeydorney. She'a s wonderful woman and I got a huge welcome when I arrived."

Peter explained that Eileen, now in her mid 80s, recorded an LP and EP during her heyday, and was runner up in the national Queen of the Ballad competition in 1962.

" When the music scene changed and the big acts like Dickie Rock and the showbands took over, Eileen unfortunately faded from the scene, as did the old Irish ballad, so it's great to bring her into the public eye again. She was huge in her day."

Eileen's LP and EP — featuring songs like Ballyseedy Cross, A Brave Boy From Tralee and Dan O'Hara — will now be transferred to CD by Peter's friend John Quinn in Coventry.
(Source: Kerryman)

Kildare

The new confidence in the agricultural sector will be evident at the National Ploughing Championships in Athy, Co Kildare, this week where there has been a huge rise in the machinery section.

“There has been an enormous demand for space for machinery on the site and as you know machinery sales are a barometer of the wellbeing of the sector,” said Anna Marie McHugh, the public relations officer for the ploughing association.

“We are expecting a record attendance here, but we have been astonished at the demand for machinery space.”

She confirmed Taoiseach Enda Kenny would be attending on Thursday, while other Ministers would also attend. “The Minister for Agriculture, Simon Coveney, has indicated he will be here on at least two of the days, and the Minister for the Environment, Phil Hogan, will also be here.”

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Nster.com