Weekly news from around the 32 counties of Ireland

ANTRIM
A policeman's girlfriend was injured last Friday when a bomb exploded under her car as she left his Belfast home. The 38-year-old woman was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital for minor injuries and was later discharged. She was reversing a red MX5 sports car out of the drive of the semi-detached house at Kings dale Park in east Belfast when there was an explosion under the front of the car. The blast, at 7.30am, sent shockwaves through the quiet residential area less than half a mile from police headquarters. A major security operation was mounted in the area, with army bomb disposal experts examining the car that was abandoned half in the drive of the house and half in the road.

(Source: The Belfast Telegraph)

 

ARMAGH

James Doyle from Whitecross is a newly crowned World champion having captured the World Men’s Handball Singles One Wall B title. The tri-annually World Handball Championships took place over a nine-day period and the cream of the world’s handball crop fought it out for success at Portland, Oregon, USA with James emulating the feat of his wife Máighréad Ní Riabhaigh-Dúill.The Irish handball history books were re-written three years ago when Máighréad captured Ireland’s first adult One Wall World title in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

This time round it was the turn of husband and fitness specialist James, to reach the highest accolade in the sport, elevation to World champion. Fittingly one of the oldest and most prestigious clubs in the United States and indeed the world, Oregon Hanball Club was the perfect venue for James, who recently captured the National Open title in Abbeylara, to add a World title to his many sporting achievements.

(Source: The Examiner)

 

CARLOW

Carlow is benefiting from the presence of US firm Unum in more ways than one. 35 staff in the company raised €13,000 for two local charities, the Delta Center and Saplings Carlow, by participating in a ten kilometer walk. Each of these worthy causes received €6,400 as a result of the fantastic fundraising effort, after Unum matched the sums collected by the team at its software development centre in Carlow. Now, the town’s new Visual arts centre and George Bernard Shaw Theatre has gained too, after the US multinational decided to present it with a grant for $10,000 (around €7,000). The money will be spent on a hearing aid loop to allow those with a hearing impairment to switch their hearing aids to a channel through which they will hear the venue’s sound system directly.

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Nster.com