News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

The sister of local dance instructor and founder of Crystal Ice Dance Academy, Emmanuella Salako, sat on the stage in front of a packed O2 while Rihanna dressed in black hotpants and fishnet stockings performed one of her crowd-pleasers.

“I invited Rihanna’s dancers to do a workshop for Crystal Ice at The Studios Dundalk while they were in Ireland. They gave the class the day before Rihanna’s concert and that night, we all went out for a party with the dancers,” said Emmanuella.

“The dancers gave us free VIP tickets and backstage passes all access. My sister Anita was called up on stage by Rihanna. It was a fabulous weekend. I will be bringing some of the dancers to Dundalk in November when they come back again.”

Rihanna played the O2 in Dublin as part of her LOUD Tour and with Rihanna mania showing no signs of slowing down, she is set to play another sell-out gig at the venue on Friday, November 25.
(Source: Dundalk Democrat)

Mayo

A massive brawl erupted in the grounds of St Colman’s Church, Claremorris last Monday during the funeral ceremony for Patrick Collins of Luí na Gréine in the town.

Six people were arrested during the disturbances and Garda reinforcements were called in from as far away as Galway. One man who was struck across the head with a slash-hook was rushed to Mayo General Hospital with serious injuries. He is understood to be from County Donegal.

Fr Peter Gannon was just commencing his homily when he became aware of the growing din and commotion outside the church. He stopped the ceremony and many in the congregation, aware of the ructions developing in the church foreground, rushed to the doors.

At this stage, Fr Peter informed the congregation that, out of respect for Patrick (known to many in the travelling community as Padraig), the doors should be closed and no dispute should be furthered within the walls of the church.

Many in the congregation adhered to the request and the rest of the celebration of Requiem Mass proceeded in normal fashion.

Such was the intensity of the feud outside that large rocks and stones, together with slash-hooks, knives and hammers, were all part of the row that spilled out onto the public footpath. Some of the large rocks were still visible last week behind the cordoned-off area.
(Source: The Mayo News)

Meath

Meath's jobless figures have fallen, leading to a cautious welcome for what has been described as "a small but significant step".

The numbers on the live register in Meath in September fell to 11,721 from the August figure of 12,290. The figure for last month also saw a fall from the same period last year when the number unemployed in the county was 11,841.

Some 2,032 of those on the live register in Meath are under the age of 25 and the number of men on the dole is significantly more than women with 7,362 males and 4,357 females signing on.

Navan saw a drop in jobless numbers to 5,984 from 6,244 in August. There are 3,803 males and 2,181 females signing on, with 1,037 young people under the age of 25 registered.

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Nster.com