News from around the 32 Irish counties

GALWAY
€500m project to bypass Tuam and Claregalway bottlenecks. Construction work on the long-awaited €500 million new motorway from Gort to Tuam will commence this November. The National Roads Authority has confirmed that two consortia of builders and financial institutions have been shortlisted from a list of around six consortia who had expressed interest in building the road in a Public Private Partnership (PPP). BAM Balfour Beatty and Direct Route will now go ‘head to head’ in a competition to win the tender for the development. BAMBalfour Beatty consists of BAMPPP and Balfour Beatty Capital Ltd and Direct Route consists of AIB plc, Strabag SE, John Sisk & Son (Holdings) Ltd, Roadbridge and Lagan Construction Ltd.
(Source: Galway News)
 

KERRY
Kerry fishmongers Quinlans have received a national quality award from Bord Iascaigh Mhara. Quinlan's Fish, who have four fish shops across Kerry in Cahersiveen, Killorglin, Tralee, and Killarney have been named in the BIM seafood circle awards for 2010. "This is a great achievement as our shops in Tralee and Killarney have only opened in the past year and the Killorglin shop was the only fish shop in Ireland to receive a 100 per cent success rate from the BIM judges," said proprietor Fintan Quinlan.
(Source: The Kerryman)
 

KILDARE
Happythreads, a company set up by Athy man Daniel Plewman, has won a Dublin City Enterprise Board Award.
“It was wonderful” said a delighted Daniel after he was named the winner of the Dublin City Enterprise Board Link! Best Business Plan Award for 2009, for his company, healthcare and beautycare clothing supplier Happythreads. The company is based in Dublin at the moment and Daniel said the win provided him with a nice impetus to keep going, and that he felt vindicated that someone recognized his business. “It’s great to have a little reassurance that it is a viable business,” he said. “When you’re setting up a business on your own you do sometimes have ups and downs. Sometimes you’re on top of the world and other times you’re wondering how you can accept failure!”he joked.
Daniel also has another reason to be happy at the moment as the company has just secured an exclusive distribution agreement for koi uniforms for Ireland and UK and so will be exporting this year. Happythreads specializes in work uniforms and clothing – and offers employees more choice in terms of shape, fit and color. It also provides a personalization service, the embroidery of names and logos, which is carried out in Ireland.
(Source: The Kildare Nationalist)

KILKENNY
Four local people from the Castlecomer area who were stranded in Peru last Friday morning were evacuated to safety. The group were among 15 Irish tourists who were left isolated in the Machu Picch region of Peru after torrential rain and devastating mudslides in the area.
The Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the entire group was airlifted to "the nearest safe place".
(Source: The Kilkenny People)

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