News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Ellie and Annie began sending letters on her behalf in January, to the Colombian Embassy in London, demanding her release.

Ms Gaviria Toro heard about the girls’ campaign in her cell at Villa Cristina women’s prison in Quindio, Colombia and wrote to them.

“I look forward to meeting you and thanking you in person,” she said.

“We never thought she actually meant she would come to Ireland but it’s lovely,” said Annie.

Over 3,000 trade unionists are currently imprisoned in Colombia, while 23 have been executed this year alone.
(Source: Inside Ireland)

Kildare

Extensive damage was done to a car parked outside a house in Orchard Park, Curragh, in the early hours of Friday morning after a corrosive substance was poured over the bonnet.

The incident occurred between 1am and 9am on Friday last 2 December and Newbridge gardaí are investigating.

In another incident, a double-barrelled shotgun was stolen from a house at Scarlettstown, Milltown Road, Newbridge, between 7.30 and 8pm on Friday evening.

A short while earlier, in what may have been a related burglary, a safe was taken from a house at Ryan’s Field, Newbridge, between 6.30 and 7pm. The safe contained documents, some of which were found on the following morning by a farmer in a field at Punchesgrange, on the Milltown-Rathangan road.

Sergeant Seamus Rothwell said Newbridge gardaí would like to hear from anyone who may have noticed anything unusual, including suspicious vehicles, in either the Milltown or Ryan’s Field areas on Friday evening.

A shopper coming out of the Tesco store in Newbridge was the victim of a handbag snatch on Saturday evening 3 December at around 7.55pm. While putting her shopping into the boot of her car, the woman left her handbag in the trolley and was taken completely by surprise when a man cycled past on a bicycle and grabbed the bag. Described as a tan leather handbag, it contained a small amount of cash, bank cards and reading glasses.
(Source: The Kildare Nationalist)

Kilkenny

Kilkenny LEADER Partnership has launched a new program to help get Kilkenny’s long-term unemployed people back into the workforce.

The program called TÚS, which means ‘beginning’ in Irish, the program will provide 80 long-term unemployed people with a 12 month work placement in community and voluntary organizations across Kilkenny. The TÚS program will match each participant to a work placement best suited to their skills and areas of professional interest with the aim of helping participant’s upskill and gain work experience with the long-term goal of employment.

The program also includes training and programs will be personalized to best suit each participant. Courses provided by the TÚS programme include CV preparation; ICT and ECDL training; interview preparation and much more.

“This program is the first of its kind in the country, aiming to get 80 long-term unemployed people back into employment through training and work placements, tailored to best suit each participant. As part of our Employability Strategy, we are always working towards helping Kilkenny’s unemployed get back into the work force and this program is a continuation of this work,” said Declan Rice, CEO of Kilkenny LEADER Partnership.
(Source: Kilkenny People)

Laois

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