News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

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During 2010 and 2011, ARI recorded profits of over $63 million on its overseas operations, a sum that is understood to be around half of Shannon’s overall debt.

ARI was the brainchild of Shannon-based executives and they are angry Shannon is on the cusp of losing all connection with ARI, following last month’s Government decision that Shannon will leave the DAA structure, with ARI set to remain part of the group along with Dublin and Cork airports.
[Source: Clare Champion]

CORK

While all Irish eyes will be focused on Poland during Euro 2012, one Corkman will be more concerned with what is going on at the Metalist Stadium in Kharkiv in the Ukraine. Martin Galvin from Newcestown has been overseeing the development of the pitch at this 40,000 capacity stadium that will be home to Group games for Holland, Germany, Portugal and Denmark.

Since arriving in Kharkiv in March 2011, Martin who works with STRI, a leading consultancy firm, has been responsible for digging out the old pitch and establishing the pitch from seed.

"Basically we dug out the old pitch in April last year and completely replaced it with underground heating system and ventilation because the weather here drops down to -30 degrees on occasions and we even had -27 degrees in February, It's a very demanding climate and it's 32 degrees today."

The Metalist Stadium is the only one of the eight venues being used for Euro 2012 that was developed with seed, as all the others are turfed or sodded.
[Source: Cork Independent]

DERRY

MP Mark Durkan has welcomed the news that Niche Drinks is to invest $16m in a new build whiskey distillery in Derry which will create a number of construction and indigenous manufacturing jobs in the city.

He said: “This is a very welcome investment by a local company of proven performance.

“As local MP I have taken prominent visitors to see the company’s operations at their existing site and they, like me, have always been impressed by the quality, volume and value of the business.

“The firm were also sharing with us that they were feeling the constraints and age of the Rossdowney plant.”
[Source: Derry Journal]

DONEGAL

A Donegal-born businessman has been named as one of the 50 best-paid executives on Wall Street.
Liam McGee is CEO of Hartford Financial Services, one of the biggest insurance and wealth-management firms in the US.

He turned down the chance to run the bailed-out Allied Irish Banks (AIB), where salaries are capped at €500,000 a year.

Before he joined the US firm in 2009 McGee was tipped as the front-runner to manage AIB.However, it would have meant signing up for a maximum €500,000-a-year salary and McGee took the job at Hartford instead where his starting salary was $1.1m in 2009, and has since risen to $1.4m.
(Source: Donegal Democrat)

DOWN

With the news that Kilbroney Forest Park in Rostrevor has been successful in its bid to host the Mountain Bike Downhill and Cross Country events in next year’s World Police and Fire Games, The Examiner caught up with one of the chief organizers of the event to find out what exactly this means for the area.

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Nster.com