KNOCKANURE
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TAX: Budget options to raise money
The paper recommends budget options, including fiscal measures, to potentially raise money for the Exchequer and encourage behavioural change linked with reducing road transport emissions.
It suggests if a 1% VRT rate increase was considered across bands 11-20, such as hatchbacks and SUVs, which would only affect cars with above average emissions, then it is estimated to raise €28 million based on 2024 registrations.
https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2025/0724/1525211-government-tax-revenue/
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WATER: Cllr Cahill has submitted a motion to the June meeting of Kerry County Council, calling on Uisce Éireann and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to examine connection charges, particularly in cases where applicants face bills running into tens of thousands of euro for relatively short network extensions. Pointing to a recent case, Cllr Cahill said a family had been quoted approximately €27,000 to extend a watermain by 60 metres. He described the cost as ‘outrageous’ at a time when people are being encouraged to build homes in rural Ireland.
https://www.independent.ie/county/kerry/kerry-family-asked-to-pay-outrageous-27000-for-60-metre-water-connection/a/154510395.html?utm_source=independent&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_content=Zone%20name&utm_term=0-0&utm_campaign=IN:Kerry&hConversionEventId=AQEAAZQF2gAmdjYwMDAwMDE5ZS04YzJmLTcyMTktYjYyOC05ZTg5ZDIyYzA0NTfaACQ2NGExZGU5MS1iYzcxLTQ3NmYtMDAwMC0wMjFlZjNhMGJjZGLaACRiZjk4MThlYS02MGViLTQ2YjItYjJlYS1jM2MyNzI1YTE4ZWaHWhOQVI3o7pZIytZp3uJCiAAiODMx_UzYiOf9-21PwA
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CARBON: This paper proposes an approach for assessing lifestyle carbon footprints and lifestyle changes aimed at limiting global warming to 1.5 °C and facilitating the transition to decarbonized lifestyles through participatory research. After introducing per-capita targets of lifestyle carbon footprints, it provides a hotspot analysis of current lifestyles and mitigation impacts from individual and multiple lifestyle change options, focusing on the case studies of Finland and Japan.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11625-021-01018-6
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Experts say it is especially important for the world’s wealthiest to get serious about their carbon footprint. Just 10 per cent of the planet’s population is responsible for nearly half of emissions.
So, if you want to live a more climate-friendly life, here are a few things you can do. 1. Consider walking, cycling or using public transport
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/here-are-eight-simple-ways-you-can-fight-climate-change-today
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DISINFORMATION: The U.S. House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee earlier this month widened its inquiry into the oil industry’s role in fostering doubt about the role of fossil fuels in causing climate change. A letter from the panel to Darren Woods, ExxonMobil chief executive, said lawmakers were “concerned that to protect … profits, the industry has reportedly led a coordinated effort to spread disinformation to mislead the public and prevent crucial action to address climate change.”
https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/09/oil-companies-discourage-climate-action-study-says/
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GRAFT: A massive leak of confidential documents has for the first time exposed the true extent of corruption within the oil industry, implicating dozens of leading companies, bureaucrats and politicians in a sophisticated global web of bribery and graft.
After a six-month investigation across two continents, Fairfax Media and The Huffington Post can reveal that billions of dollars of government contracts were awarded as the direct result of bribes paid on behalf of firms including British icon Rolls-Royce, US giant Halliburton, Australia’s Leighton Holdings and Korean heavyweights Samsung and Hyundai.
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CLIMATE Action;
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Nick Rabbitts 09 Apr 2026 3:59 PM
A NEW wind farm development is being planned around the East Limerick-West Tipperary border. The development of 14 turbines, to reach 185 metres high and 163 metres wide has been earmarked for a series of townlands near Doon. https://www.limerickleader.ie/news/planning/2056468/fourteen-turbine-wind-farm-planned-for-along-limerick-tipperary-border.html
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Tom Donovan
Admin
· reSptoodnsiP44tlt8 pal:ft29c4f481a laM4719u ia9t0l35A7r1 970 ·
Capuchin Archives, Ireland · Follow
reSptoodnsiA44tlt8 pal:ft29c4f481a laM3814u ia9t0l35A7r1 970 ·
Brandon Pier Mission, County Kerry, 1930
A view of Capuchin missionaries blessing fishing vessels at Brandon Pier in County Kerry, in the 1930s. Brandon Pier is a scenic stone pier and fishing harbour located in the village of Brandon on the north shore of the Dingle Peninsula in County Kerry. The two Capuchin friars present are Fr. Charles Brophy OFM Cap. (1895-1976) and Fr. Ignatius Collins OFM Cap. (1885-1961).
The upsurge in Catholic devotional practice in the first half of the twentieth century created a widespread demand for missions and retreats. Diocesan clergy were not always readily available so there was a general dependence on religious orders like the Capuchins to conduct missions and to preach to isolated rural communities. The image is credited to E. Moore, photographer, Kilcummin, Castlegregory, and it forms part of the Irish Capuchin Archives photographic collection. (Image Identifier: CA-PH-GP-161).
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SOLAR: Our Agricultural customers can avail of the TAMS III Grant which covers up to 60% of the cost of your solar installation, if you are not eligible for TAMS III our team will push to get the Commercial Grant for you which can be anywhere up to €162,600. We’re partnered with agri leaders Tirlán, Dairygold, Aurivo and Drinagh, who trust us exclusively to help family farms across Ireland reduce operational costs, improve energy efficiency, and lead the way towards a more sustainable future with . https://pvgeneration.ie/msads-agricultural/?thank-you
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ACTION; The UN secretary general, António Guterres, called on governments to take drastic action to reduce emissions by investing in renewable energy and low-carbon technology. He said rich countries must try to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions “as close as possible to 2040”, rather than waiting for the 2050 deadline most have signed up to. He said: “The climate timebomb is ticking. But today’s report is a how-to guide to defuse the climate timebomb. It is a survival guide for humanity. As it shows, the 1.5C limit is achievable.”
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CLIMATE action; The world is dramatically off-course for meeting its 1.5 degree target. At current rates, we won’t meet a 2 degree target by 2100, despite plenty of scientific evidence of the devastation that this level of temperature rise would cause. And, as each year the world fails to reduce emissions by the amount required, the emission reductions required in future years to ‘keep 1.5 alive’ seem more and more implausible. Emissions now need to reduce, annually, by more than the massive drop in emissions that took place during the COVID pandemic. But last year, emissions didn’t go down – they soared.
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CO2; https://ourworldindata.org/search?q=CO2&resultType=all
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ENVIRONMENT: The Environment Index combines seven 7 SDGs: clean water and sanitation (SDG 6), affordable and clean energy (SDG 7), sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11), responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), life below water (SDG 14) and life on land (SDG 15). The analysis sees Ireland in 13th place among our peers. Our analysis indicates that significant challenges exist if Ireland is to meet our commitment to the environment goals set out in Agenda 2030.
https://www.socialjustice.ie/article/measuring-progress-2026-environment-index
==============================
DEATHS from the world’s deadliest animals.
One and a half million people are killed by animals every year. Almost one million by other animals, and more than half a million from direct conflict among ourselves.
Almost all of these deaths from other animals are caused by just two types: mosquitoes and snakes.
In the chart below, we’ve brought together estimates of the number of people killed by different animals.
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DEVOTIONS: Worldwide Spread of the Divine Mercy Devotion
The Divine Mercy devotion as we practice it today came from Saint Faustina Kowalska, a Polish nun who lived in the early 20th century. She claimed that she had regular visions of Jesus and saints and that Jesus himself gave her the details of the devotion.
She wrote descriptions of what she saw and heard in her diary, which is now published in her book, "The Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska: Divine Mercy in My Soul."
Warning her fellow nuns that a great war was coming and that they should pray for Poland, she died at the age of 33 on Oct. 5, 1938.
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WHERE NATURE'S RIGHTS GO WRONG
Mauricio Guim, Michael A. Livermore
Virginia Law Review, Vol. 107, No. 7 (November 2021), pp. 1347-1419 (73 pages)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/27135599?mag=rights-of-nature-a-reading-list&seq=6
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TURBINES: Opposition to the establishment of wind turbines on country properties is mostly driven by jealousy and misinformed prejudice (“Tilting at turbines”, October 26). Farmers whose properties have been chosen to host the turbines are provided with an opportunity to “drought-proof” their operations in a practical way. Most sensible people accept the need for renewable energy, and of landholders to improve their situation by embracing wind farm projects. The major cause of community division from the projects is largely driven by those who believe they will not benefit financially from the technology. This attitude is both selfish and short-sighted. The wider community will certainly benefit from renewables despite the destructive opposition, which is generally going nowhere. Derrick Mason, Boorowa.
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Policy makers often debate the constraints and opportunities of renewable energy.
Renewable electricity production, from sources such as wind power and solar power, is sometimes criticized for being variable or intermittent. The International Energy Agency has stated that its significance depends on a range of factors, such as the penetration of the renewables concerned.[2]
There have been concerns relating to the visual and other impacts of some wind farms, with local residents sometimes fighting or blocking construction.[3] In the US, the Massachusetts Cape Wind project was delayed for years partly because of such concerns. Residents in other areas have been more positive, and there are community wind farm developments. According to a town councillor, the overwhelming majority of locals believe the Ardrossan Wind Farm in Scotland has enhanced the area.[4]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy_debate
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RENEWABLES: Personal Interests
Self-Interest: People often prioritize their immediate needs and comforts over long-term environmental benefits. This can lead to resistance against changes that require personal sacrifice.
Lifestyle Changes: Transitioning to renewable energy often involves altering daily habits, which some may find inconvenient or undesirable.
Misconceptions About Renewables
Effectiveness and Reliability
Skepticism: There is a belief that renewable energy sources, like solar and wind, are not reliable enough to meet energy demands consistently.
Perceived Costs: Some view renewable energy as more expensive compared to traditional fossil fuels, despite decreasing costs in recent years.
Environmental Impact
Environmental Concerns: There are worries about the environmental impact of producing renewable energy technologies, such as land use for solar farms or wind turbines.
Conclusion
Opposition to renewable energy often stems from a mix of economic fears, personal interests, and misconceptions about the effectiveness and environmental impact of these technologies. Addressing these concerns through education and demonstrating the long-term benefits of renewables can help shift perspectives.
Wikipedia
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CLEAN Energy; The Plot Against the Clean Energy Transition
Inside the conspiracy to take down wind and solar power
By Rebecca Burns -------------------------------------------
Morano works at the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, part of a sprawling climate-denial machine assembled with funding from fossil fuel interests like ExxonMobil and the Charles Koch Foundation and dark-money groups like DonorsTrust. Between 1998 and 2014, ExxonMobil and its foundation gave more than half a million dollars to the committee, which did not respond to a request for comment. DonorsTrust gave the group nearly $8 million between 2008 and 2017, according to federal tax data. Today, as both the science and the tangible effects of a warming planet become irrefutable, it's increasingly rare to encounter the kind of outright climate denial these groups pioneered. Instead, it's being replaced by what misinformation experts call "climate delayism"—a coordinated campaign to undermine climate solutions.
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ORGANIC: A new organic fertiliser product from 'Down Under' looks set to be the answer to the prayers of hard-working farmers across the country.
Unpredictable weather patterns, and myriad environmental regulations mean Ireland's agricultural community has never had it so tough.
One of the biggest tasks for farmers is ensuring compliance with the nitrates directive, which compels them to prevent the pollution of waterways from agricultural sources, as well as cutting ammonia emissions.
Now, a Limerick-born businessman is bringing to market a unique new organic fertiliser product, which will comply completely with these strict environmental directives.
(James's father Jim Long, a former Mayor of Limerick, has invested in the concept,)
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GAS: Atlantic Canada to receive its first shipment of Australian liquified natural gas after shipping it 25,000 kilometres across the ocean instead of purchasing Canadian LNG directly from Alberta.
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Explore Ireland
https://www.nli.ie/news-stories/news/explore-irelands-environment-through-paula-t-nolans-lens
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WORKTOPS: Silicosis deaths and cases among young stonemasons cutting quartz kitchen worktops
In 2024, Australia became the first country in the world to ban quartz after hundreds of young stonemasons, most aged under 35, contracted silicosis from 2015 to 2022. Epidemics have also emerged in Spain, where nearly 5,900 cases of silicosis were recorded between 2007 and 2024, California, which has seen over 500 cases and 29 deaths since 2019, Israel and Italy.
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/news/world/two-more-workers-die-after-inhaling-toxic-kitchen-worktop-dust/ar-AA1Wnz13?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=6991bc3edb6642489f972bbc07251bd7&ei=18
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The funeral was over. Another one.
Father Michael McGivney stood in the cemetery dirt, watching another widow try to figure out how she'd feed her children tomorrow. Her husband had died in a factory accident. No insurance. No savings. No help coming.
This was the third funeral this month. Always the same story.
The woman looked at him with desperate eyes. "What do I do now, Father?"
He had no answer. Not a real one anyway.
Michael had grown up watching this happen. His own father worked brutal hours in a brass mill, breaking his body for pennies. When Irish families like his came to America fleeing starvation, they found a different kind of hell waiting.
"No Irish Need Apply." The signs were everywhere.
Catholics couldn't get decent jobs. Couldn't get insurance. Couldn't get help when tragedy struck. And tragedy struck constantly in those dangerous factories and rail yards.
Every week, Michael buried someone. A father crushed by machinery. A mother dead from disease. Children who never had a chance.
After each funeral came the same heartbreak. Families destroyed overnight. Widows sent to poorhouses that were basically prisons. Children scattered to orphanages or left on the streets.
Michael couldn't sleep anymore. He'd walk the dark streets of New Haven, seeing families huddle in cold tenements, knowing that one accident, one illness, one bad day would destroy everything they had.
The other priests told him this was just how things were. The rich took care of the rich. The poor suffered alone.
But Michael refused to accept that.
Late one night in 1882, he had an idea that seemed almost too simple. What if Catholic men banded together? What if they pooled their money? When one of them died, his family would get help from everyone else.
It wasn't charity. It was brotherhood.
He started gathering men in St. Mary's basement. Factory workers with calloused hands. Shop clerks earning barely enough to survive. Immigrants who spoke broken English but understood perfectly what it meant to struggle.
"We take care of each other," he told them. "When your family needs help, we'll be there. When mine needs help, you'll be there."
They called it the Knights of Columbus. The name meant something. Columbus was Catholic. Catholics belonged in America just as much as anyone else.
The first meetings were small. Maybe a dozen men sitting on wooden crates, planning how to save each other's families.
But word spread through the immigrant neighborhoods. Here was something different. Here was hope.
Michael threw himself into the work like a man possessed. He already worked eighteen-hour days as a priest. Celebrating Mass at dawn. Visiting the sick all day. Hearing confessions until midnight.
Now he added this. Recruiting members. Organizing meetings. Handling paperwork. Traveling to other cities to start new groups.
Friends begged him to slow down. He looked skeletal. His hands shook from exhaustion.
"There's no time," he'd say. "Another family is suffering right now."
The Knights grew. Slowly, then faster. When a member died, his widow received money that let her keep her home. His children stayed fed. The system worked.
Michael never stopped pushing himself. Never took a break. Never said no when someone needed help.
By 1890, his body was failing. He could barely stand through Mass. His cough wouldn't go away.
Then pneumonia hit New Haven. As always, Michael went out to the sick. Gave them last rites. Comforted dying families. Breathed their infected air.
He caught it himself.
His friends carried him to bed. For the first time in years, Father Michael McGivney had to stop working.
On August 14, 1890, two days after his 38th birthday, he died. Worn out. Used up. Gone.
He never got to see what he'd built.
When Michael died, the Knights had maybe three thousand members. Small. Hopeful. Nothing more.
He died thinking he'd helped a few families. Made a small difference. Maybe.
He had no idea.
Today, the Knights of Columbus has two million members worldwide. They've given billions to charity. They provide life insurance to millions of Catholic families. They run programs in dozens of countries.
Every dollar donated traces back to that exhausted priest who wouldn't stop working.
In 2020, the Catholic Church declared him Blessed Michael McGivney, one step from sainthood.
But here's what gets me about his story. He never got his victory moment. Never saw the crowds. Never received the applause. Never knew his work mattered on this scale.
He just kept going until his body gave out. Trusting that somehow, helping one family at a time would add up to something bigger than he could imagine.
Most of us want to see our impact. We want results we can measure. Recognition we can feel.
Michael McGivney got none of that. He just worked himself to death for people he'd never meet, creating something he'd never see.
And maybe that's the most powerful kind of service there is. The kind that asks for nothing back except the faith that somewhere, somehow, it matters.
#ForgottenStories #Faith #Service #IrishAmerican #KnightsofColumbus
~Forgotten Stories
https://www.facebook.com/ForgottenStoriess
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FLOODS: Updated 10:07 AM UTC, January 6, 2026- Leer en español
MANADO, Indonesia (AP) — Flash floods triggered by torrential rain killed at least 16 people in Indonesia’s North Sulawesi province, officials said Tuesday.
Days of monsoon rain burst riverbanks early Monday, triggering fast-moving torrents of water mixed with mud, rocks and debris that swept away people and submerged villages in Siau Tagulandang Biaro District, said Abdul Muhari, a spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency.
https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-north-sulawesi-flash-floods-siau-d04a2fe55a51bebd32af0ce41322e3b6
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Wind Power
Germany's Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU) estimates that wind farms kill more than 100,000 birds each year in Germany. But this is a relatively low figure compared to other hazards. Glass-covered buildings kill about 1,000 times more birds (108 million) each year than wind farms. Around 700 times more (70 million) die in collisions with cars, trucks and trains, while 20 times more (2 million) lose their lives to power lines and 10 times more (1 million) are killed through hunting. And domestic cats alone are responsible for the deaths of some 60 million birds in Germany each year. But by far the biggest threat to birds is industrial agriculture, according to NABU. Monocultures and the use of pesticides, has seen the number of insects decline massively, removing a major source of food for birds raising their young. In the past decades in Germany, 13 million breeding pairs of birds have disappeared (15%), leading to 170 million fewer young birds each year.
https://www.dw.com/en/wind-power-critics-whats-the-truth-about-their-claims/a-60048961
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CLIMATE: The vast, overwhelming majority of real climate scientists agree with this assessment. Oddly, the fossil fuel industry doesn’t. They sponsor a lot of very loud and very wrong “think tanks” who deny the very existence of the problem the industry itself created. So the Earth heats up, and they fiddle with the truth.
As I wrote recently, global warming is in the news because it’s very likely that the hurricane Sandy was influenced by our changing climate. I’m not the only one to think so. Climate scientist Randy Horton says, for example, that melting sea ice and a declining jet stream may have been in part responsible for steering Sandy into the east coast, instead of over the open ocean as late-season hurricanes usually do.
The deniers, of course, are spinning this faster than the hurricane itself.
https://slate.com/technology/2012/11/the-neroes-of-global-warming.html
======================
ACTION: The Dáil Committee on Environment and Climate Action heard from Client Earth, urging a ban on fossil fuel advertisements and from the Advertising Authority of Ireland (ASAI), stating that greenwashing was a growing source of complaints. From car ads encouraging you to go "above and beyond" by driving a vehicle that will accommodate the kids, the luggage, the dog and the kitchen sink, and airline ads urging you to "travel the globe and make dreams come true", ‘badvertising’ encourages consumers to make environmentally disastrous decisions.
https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41028383.html
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FESTIVAL: Horizon Festival 2026 at Ballybunion, 10–12 July 2026. Entry: Strictly Over 19s (ID Required) Tickets: Available via Eventbrite
MAO: Few events in history demonstrate the absurdity of political symbolism as clearly as the Mao Mango Mania that swept China during the infancy of the Cultural Revolution.
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BOAR: As of December 1, 2025, new regulations are in place to strengthen wild boar management. Wild boar are now classified as a pest in all circumstances, hunting and trapping are restricted to specific control situations, and all wild boar kills must be reported. These changes aim to better protect livestock, the environment, and animal and human health, while supporting ongoing efforts—alongside landowners, municipalities, and researchers—to eradicate wild boar in Alberta.
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ALBERTA and Ireland Feb 2026
https://search.alberta.ca/alberta/Pages/results.aspx?k=ireland
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Renewable Energy Feb 2026
https://northkerry.wordpress.com/2026/02/05/renewable-energy-feb-2026/
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REFLECT: Pointing to others ought not to be a medium of accusation and denunciation, rather let it be a means of appreciation and admiration. Let us become people of true acknowledgement and not wasteful blaming with our critical judgment.
FBD: Over the five decades since the FBD Trust was first established it has had one fundamental objective - to support and champion Ireland's farm families.
Whether it is shining the spotlight on award-winning farmers or supporting ground-breaking scientific research the FBD Trust will always stay true to its roots in rural Ireland. The FBD Trust is now celebrating 50 years of championing farmers who are committed to sustainable agriculture and
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Tralee Chronicle and Killarney Echo 1843-1881, Saturday, 20 May, 1843; Page: 2
One of the Alpaca or Peruvian Sheep at Gunsboro dropped a fine ewe lamb on the 12th inst.,thus establishing the fact that those-interesting animals do well in our climate They are the only specimens of the breed in Ireland, and are from the Andes in South America. Their wool is of the finest description, the manufacture of which is equal to silk in appearance, and far surpassing it in durability. It is no uncommon thing to see Alpaca wool 30 inches in length, and always equally fine at one end as the other. If the .mountains and waste lands of Ireland, to which they are well adapted, were stocked with these animals, the profits from the sale of their wool would be immense—as it generally sells In the Liverpool market, wholesale, at from 2s. 8d. to 3s. 6d per lb. and they do well, at an altitude above the level of the sea, where the ordinary sheep would starve. They do no perspire through the skin, so that their fleece is of a dry and silky description, impenetrable by the heaviest rains.
LIMERICK: At the Road Sessions held at Shanagolden , County of Limerick, on Thursday last, C. J. Keys, Esq.. of Glin, presented For £71 compensation for -a Stake Weir maliciously destroyed, which was unanimously approved of.
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SOLAR PV allows you to use grants and guaranteed savings to reduce a growing cost in your business. A solar PV investment can qualify for a Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Schemes (TAMS) or Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) grant, combined with a 100% tax write-off and VAT refund.
Together, these supports typically cover 35% to 75% of the total system cost.
https://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/now-tell-me-is-that-not-a-great-investment/
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While energy transition presents challenges, acting promptly with well-planned strategies can mitigate risks and lead to a more sustainable and resilient energy future. Experts agree that delaying action, meanwhile, will cost dearly, and not just in economic terms; it will have environmental and societal implications too.
“Delays have a cascading cost. Economically, Ireland could face anywhere from €8 billion to €26 billion in EU fines for missing climate targets. But the greater loss lies in missed jobs, investment and energy security
https://www.irishtimes.com/special-reports/2025/07/24/delays-in-irelands-energy-transition-will-cost-us-dearly/
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SOLAR: 3. Environmental Impact
By opting for solar energy, businesses can drastically cut their carbon emissions, helping them meet sustainability goals and contribute to environmental protection. Solar power is a clean, renewable energy source that reduces reliance on fossil fuels.This eco-friendly approach not only benefits the planet but also aligns businesses with the growing demand for green energy solutions. Customers increasingly value companies that prioritise sustainability.
https://spvenergy.ie/commercial-solar-panel-installation-benefits/
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Germany’s breakthrough salt-and-air battery is shaking up the energy world. This next-gen storage solution doesn’t rely on lithium, cobalt, or other rare, polluting materials. Instead, it uses abundant salt and ambient air to store clean power from solar panels and wind turbines—without degradation over time. With a lifespan measured in decades, this battery offers unmatched reliability for homes and industries alike.
Even more impressive? It’s fully recyclable, extremely safe (no risk of fire or explosion), and costs far less to manufacture than traditional lithium-ion units. From powering off-grid villages to stabilizing renewable energy grids, this battery could be the tipping point in the global transition to green energy.
#GermanInnovation #GreenEnergy #BatteryRevolution #SaltBattery #NoLithium
https://www.facebook.com/viralfun200
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SOLAR: installing solar panels above crops, Germany’s “Dual Harvest” farms are reshaping agriculture and energy.
Germany to launch the world’s first commercial-scale AirBattery system which stores clean energy using compressed air. This system uses no lithium or rare earth materials, can store 3 to 8 GWh of energy.------------------------------------------
Brackish groundwater is a major potential source of drinking water in underserved areas of the world, but desalinating it affordably is a challenge. A new system developed by mechanical engineering professor Amos Winter, Jon Bessette, SM ’22, and staff engineer Shane Pratt manages to do the job entirely on solar energy, with no need for batteries or grid power.
https://www.technologyreview.com/2024/12/23/1107395/solar-powered-desalination-2/
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Gospel of Life aims to engage and equip Christians of all denominations
in the pro-life movement. It emphasizes the biblical foundation
for defending life and collaborates with many Christian communities
to promote a culture that values and protects the unborn.
https://www.prolifecentral.com/
================
Increasingly, too, the technology that has long facilitated life indoors in the sweltering Gulf states is being deployed to cool the open air. Abu Dhabi unveiled the first of a promised series of air-conditioned outdoor promenades encircling shopping malls this year. Saudi Arabia is building air-conditioned stadiums as it prepares to host the 2034 men’s World Cup. Qatar has even built an air-conditioned outdoor track at a Doha park to keep visitors cool while they enjoy the outdoors.
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The climate crisis has arrived in the Gulf, driven in no small part by the mid-20th-century remaking of the region’s cities and relationship to the natural world. Today, annual per capita water use in the region is 560 liters, or 148 gallons, daily, compared to a global average of 180 liters, or 48 gallons, daily. As water supplies dwindle, the UAE has turned to desalinated water to care for the imported grasses,
https://www.noemamag.com/the-gulf-world-that-air-conditioning-wrought/
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The Battery That Ends Lithium Forever: Tesla’s Silent Revolution
https://youtu.be/tV_gWbltVfw?si=zGKjIhIRqMR1ft-2
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Video link
https://youtu.be/V3_GvXnqHns
Filename
Tarbert Kilrush Doonbeg Kilkee 2025.wmv
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Video link
https://youtu.be/Wjy3K5Ec1eE
Filename
The River and Sea July 2025.mp4
==================================
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So we know for sure that there is no oil in the banned areas?
https://www.tiktok.com/@mrglobaltoo/video/7457216711931055403?utm_campaign=The%20Morning%20Dispatch_TMD%20Free%20Subscribers%20Only_Fires%20Continue%20to%20Rage%20in%20Los%20Angeles&utm_content=Fires%20Continue%20to%20Rage%20in%20Los%20Angeles&utm_medium=email&utm_source=ActiveCampaign
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Calendars of Wills and Administrations 1858 - 1920
Wills and testamentary records are of assistance to genealogists as evidence of the date of a person’s death and for other information which they may contain concerning the dead person’s family, place of residence and property.
http://willcalendars.nationalarchives.ie/search/cwa/home.jsp
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https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wN8sklz40lQSly0w6B_q5ZVNBq20qeNtu5jO4JHjxKw/edit?tab=t.0
====================
public warning as major network provider set to shut down mobile internet access
Millions of Brits could find their mobile phones cut off from the internet very soon. O2 is gearing up to switch off its 3G service later this year, leaving older handsets without web access (Picture: Getty)
https://www.msn.com/en-ie/money/technology/urgent-public-warning-as-major-network-provider-set-to-shut-down-mobile-internet-access/ss-BB1rmcVK?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=34ea6cca7b894adf88db2c491e33b3f4&ei=20
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Commemoration event at the Embassy of Ireland in Seoul honouring the life and achievements of Columban Missionary Fr Kevin O’Rourke on Thursday 17 October 2024.
https://columbans.ie/commemoration-of-fr-kevin-orourke-at-the-embassy-of-ireland-in-seoul/
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Nature
https://columbans.ie/category/nature-notes/
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SOLAR: 13 Important Health & Environmental Benefits of Solar Energy
Solar energy is a natural, unlimited, and renewable energy source that emits no gases or by-products that contaminate the environment or the air. It is sunlight converted to energy for use, just like regular electricity. Today we will look at the various environmental benefits of using solar energy.
https://greencoast.org/environmental-benefits-of-solar-energy/
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NOTE FROM FR JIM. Lenihan ..
As we come to the end of our Christmas Season this weekend we celebrate a beautiful feast called, ‘The Baptism of the Lord’. For the early Christians getting their heads around the incarnation was tough going because God is so high above our created nature that the idea of God taking on our nature is like a carpenter wanting to become a chair, it’s just absurd. So to be born into poverty and in a smelly cattle hut in the middle of nowhere was just incomprehensible. And it didn’t end there, the Baptism of John was for sinners, so to see Jesus, God incarnate queue up with sinners into the muddy waters of the Jordan was just simply embarrassing. And of course this plunging into the muddy waters was just a foreshadowing of Jesus being plunged into His death on Calvary. Jesus wasn’t baptised to be made holy by the water rather He was baptised to make the baptismal waters holy for us. Jesus of course is sinless so like his baptism he took upon himself our sins and put them to death on Calvary. As our second reading of today’s mass puts it, ‘It was not because he was concerned with any righteous actions we might have done ourselves; it was for no reason except his own compassion that he saved us, by means of the cleansing water of rebirth and by renewing us with the Holy Spirit which he has so generously poured over us through Jesus Christ our saviour. He did this so that we should be justified by his grace, to become heirs looking forward to inheriting eternal life’. So the baptism of Jesus changes the nature of John’s baptism. The sacrament of our baptism has made us ‘a new creation’. Not only are our sins washed away by the atoning sacrifice on Calvary but it allows us to share in His spirit making us His brothers and sisters and thus Children of God. God the Father gazes upon His son Jesus with an indescribable love and now because we’re baptised and are God’s children, He now gazes upon us with that same indescribable love. Take time to contemplate this unimaginable love which God has bestowed upon us and live life with appreciation.
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