Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the release of J.K. Rowling’s first Harry Potter title, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ with a series of events at Mountmellick Library from Tuesday 27th – Friday 30th June.
Tuesday 27th June – Presentation of the life of J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter Quiz, Raven Haven Aviary Show
Wednesday 28th June – “The Word & the Wand: The Magic of Harry Potter”, a Free Public Lecture for ages 12 – 99 years by Dr Jane Suzanne Carroll, Assistant Professor of Children’s Literature at Trinity College Dublin
Thursday 29th June – Wand Workshops
Watch out on Mountmellick Library Facebook page for booking details – coming soon.
‘Invent a Spell’ competition closes on Tuesday 27th June. Application forms available at the library
“Painting and Drawing in Light, Mood and Movement”, is the title of the forthcoming Summer Art programme for adults in the Laois Arthouse. It will be directed by acclaimed painter John Keating. It takes place on 7, 8th and 9th June from 11.00am to 4.00pm daily and the cost is €80 per person.
Over the three days the participants will focus on a number of areas including still life- observational line, texture form and composition in various techniques; the figure- drawing and painting the figure through gesture, movement and static form; a sense of perspective- developing painting or drawing with the emphasis on spatial dimensionality and creating the illusion of space through light, tone and depth.
Born in Tipperary in1953. John Keating studied at the Crawford College of Art, Cork, Trinity College, Dublin, Loughborough University, Leicestershire and The Arts Student League of New York, which he attended on a scholarship. Keating has exhibited nationally and internationally including exhibitions in the U.S.A., Italy, Spain, Greece, Monaco and China. His work is included in private and public collections in Ireland, the U.S.A., Australia, Italy, Greece and England. Keating has guest lectured and tutored on the drawing studies course at the National Gallery of Ireland, National College of Art and Design, Dublin Institute of Technology.
There will be a closing reception on Friday 9th June at 4.30pm where a selection of the participant’s works and John Keating’s paintings will be exhibited. The exhibition will be on show until the end of June.
Documentation of the programme will be done by artist Lisa Fingleton. This project is curated by Muireann Ní Chonaill, Arts Officer. This project is funded by the percent for Art Scheme and Laois County Council. For more info: T 057 8664033 E: artsoff@laoiscoco.ie www.laois.ie
The Roads Authority of Laois County Council wishes to advise the following:
TEMPORARY TRAFFIC LIGHTS
STOP-GO BOARD(s)
At the following location: Road: L-2095-29
BETWEEN (delete as appropriate) the following dates
Friday 26th May, 2017 07:00hrs Friday 2nd June, 2017 17:00hrs
Observations (if any) should be emailed to pmcloughlin@laoiscoco.ie and copy ekenny@laoiscoco.ie
The Waters and Communities Office are hosting public meetings to discuss the natural waters of County Laois. If you are interested in water quality, angling, heritage, biodiversity, amenity use or issues affecting your local waterways then this is an opportunity to have your say.
We will present information on the latest draft River Basin Management Plan for Ireland 2018 – 2021 along with details on how you can input into the final plan. The Waters & Communities Office aims to get local communities more involved in valuing and protecting our local waters and these meetings provide an opportunity for you to have your say.
Basil Mannion, Community Waters Officer for Laois will present this information and facilitate a discussion on the issues raised. There will be refreshments after the meeting and opportunities to network. The times, dates and venues of the meetings are set out below. For more information contact Basil on 086-8599514 or bmannion@lawco.ie. Visit www.watersandcommunities.ie and like us on Facebook.
Location
Date
Time
7 Oaks Hotel Carlow
Tuesday 30th May
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Portlaoise Heritage Hotel Portlaoise
Wednesday 31st May
7.00pm – 9.00pm
Castle Arms Hotel Durrow
Thursday 1st June
7.00pm – 9.00pm
For information on water quality in your area or to find out what local communities are doing around Ireland, check out www.catchments.ie and sign up for the Catchments Newsletter.
As a mark of respect due to the death of our esteemed colleague, Mr. Oliver Doran, Executive Technician, Laois County Council, (R.I.P.), the Offices of Laois County Council will be closed for the morning of Wednesday, 24th May 2017 and will re-open to the public from 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 24th 2017.
Laois County Council regrets any inconvenience this may cause.
Laois County Council Hereby Notifies that the use of
TEMPORARY TRAFFIC LIGHTS and STOP-GO BOARD
At the following location:
N77 Portlaoise Road, Abbeyleix between the Heritage House and the Fire Station
BETWEEN the following dates : Monday 22/5/17 08:00-19:00 Thursday 25/5/17 08:00-19:00
Observations (if any) should be emailed to kkennedy@dunnebros.ie;
wwilkinson@laoiscoco.ie and copy squinn@laoiscoco.ie & rglynn@laoiscoco.ie
Funding has been announced for the conservation of protected structures in Laois, and nationally. Two schemes, administered by Laois County Council on behalf of the Department of Arts, Heritage, Rural, Regional and Gaeltacht Affairs will bring almost €150,000 in funding to 15 properties right across the county. A wide range of building types in Laois will benefit from funding this year, including thatched houses, old mills, churches, modest homes, and large country houses. Typical works to be funded under the scheme include roof repairs, structural consolidation and measures to ensure weather tightness.
Map showing the distribution of grants under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme (Green) and Structures at Risk Fund (red) in Laois. Courtesy of Google maps.
Welcoming the funding announcement, John Mulholland, Chief Executive of Laois County Council said “Laois County Council is delighted to be involved in running these schemes, which bring a significant benefit to both the building owners, and the heritage of the county. This funding is also important as a support the construction sector in the region, particularly the specialist conservation skills involved in maintaining and repairing these buildings. I am particularly pleased to see funding allocated to two prominent buildings in the historic core of Portlaoise, which was the focus of the recently published Vision Statement. Building on the medieval core of the town will be an important element of developing a vibrant future for Portlaoise”.
St Peter’s Church of Ireland in Portlaoise benefitted from the Structures at Risk Fund in 2016 and has been awarded funding in 2017 to repair the historic boundary wall of the church.
At national level, €3.5 million is being made available under the Built Heritage Investment Scheme and €1.3 million is being made available under the Structures at Risk Fund to allow for the conservation and repair of protected structures across the country. Minister Heather Humphreys said: “This investment will support the conservation of our heritage buildings and jobs in the conservation sector right across the country. The €4.8 million investment will leverage a further €11 million in private sector funds and will stimulate labour-intensive projects nationwide.
“Ireland’s heritage buildings and protected structures are a vital part of the infrastructure of our villages, towns, and cities. The Action Plan for Rural Development recognises the importance of investing in built heritage as a tool for rural regeneration and the economic recovery is allowing me to increase the level of funding available. Investing in our built heritage is not just good for the individual properties concerned, but can also provide a real boost to job creation in the construction, conservation and tourism sectors “.
A HUGE thanks to everyone who came along to the Laois Business Awards on Friday night at the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel making our inaugural event a massive success! It was great to see so many thriving businesses and entrepreneurs coming together to celebrate their achievements and acknowledge the ‘Best of Laois’!!
Thanks to our Partners, Allied Irish Bank andLaois Nationalistfor all of their hard work, commitment, support and guidance over the past few months, without whomwe could not have put this event together, and of course all of our sponsors who so generously contributed:
A special thanks to: The Management and Staff of the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel for their excellent service and hospitality, the wonderfully talented young harpists ofMusic Generation Laois,All Event Productions – Kildarefor their stunning set, sound, lighting and visuals,Graphediafor their design & branding and our charismatic and witty MC, Marty WhelanRTÉ lyric fmfor being an excellant host. Special thanks also toLawlor Video Memoriesand Michael Scully Photography for capturing the event. Our speakers, Tom Mulhall, An Cathaoirleach, John Mulholland, Chief Executive, Laois County Council, Deirdre Cleary, Head of Banking, Allied Irish Banks Laois Offaly & Kildare and our special guest speaker, John Moran ofRHH Internationalfor taking time out of his busy schedule to deliver a truly encouraging and inspirational speech.THE LOLSfor keeping us dancing until the early hours!!!
Finally, congratulations to all our winners on the night and equally to all the runners up, all of whom were so gracious and supportive! The judges had a very tough task in choosing the winners as the calibre of finalists was so high so you should all be so proud of your accomplishments and contributions to this wonderful County of ours!!
Business Support Unit (BSU), Laois County Council in association with Local Enterprise Office
Tidy Towns groups in Laois are being urged to enter a special award in the National Tidy Towns competition which promotes the protection of pollinators.
Irish bees and other pollinators contribute €35 million a year to the Irish economy by pollinating our plants, trees and vegetables. They are under serious threat for survival because they don’t have enough food to eat or places to live. In response to this, in 2016 Local Authority Heritage Officers and Biodiversity Officers, in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, launched a new Tidy Towns “Let’s Get Buzzing- Local Authority Pollinator Award”. This Special Award encourages Tidy Towns groups to support the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan by making their communities more pollinator-friendly. There is an attractive prize fund of €9,000.
Ann-Marie Kelly, Tidy Towns Co-ordinator with Laois County Council said “We hosted various events to promote the role of pollinators over the last few months and these were well attended. It is clear there is a huge interest in making Laois more pollinator friendly. The interest shown by our Tidy Towns committees illustrates their ongoing commitment to enhancing our natural environment. My colleagues and I are very happy to help groups become more pollinator friendly and build on our joint commitment on an annual basis.”
There was a great response to the award in 2016 with 58 Tidy Towns groups taking part. Monaghan Tidy Towns, national winner in the large town category, turned their town into an urban orchard, by encouraging residents to plant pollinator friendly fruit trees.
“Most pollinator actions are not costly or too complicated” explained Catherine Casey, Heritage Officer with Laois County Council. “They can range from simply changing the grass mowing regime, to planting pollinator friendly trees and shrubs, or raising awareness by promoting the Junior All-Ireland Pollinator Plan to youth groups and schools. Local communities can lead the way in creating an Ireland where pollinators can thrive”
The National Biodiversity Data Centre has produced practical guidelines to help communities and Tidy Towns groups to take action. The guidelines and other useful resources can be downloaded here.
The closing date for the award is 25th May 2017. Details and application forms are available to download below:
