Meath Archives - Ireland's Forecourt & Convenience Retailer

North Meath RFC seal five-year deal with Park Rí Kells

Linda Stewart — Wed, 11 May 2022 12:10:35 +0000

North Meath RFC has agreed a landmark sponsorship deal with Park Rí Destination Stop and Food Court Kells.

Following a five-year agreement first reached between the club executive and Park Rí owner Micheál McKeon in 2020, prior to the pandemic, Park Rí will serve as the club’s official sponsor until the end of the 2025 season.

Part of the arrangement will see the grounds renamed as Park Rí The Grange for the duration of the partnership.

The funding from Park Rí will help pay for important club equipment and provides a critical lifeline at a time when local sports clubs are under pressure due to the pandemic.

An official presentation of the sponsorship cheque, from Park Rí operations director Damien Duffy to North Meath RFC club president Jack Kenny and players from the club’s U12 girls’ team, took place this week having been postponed due to the pandemic.

Young players were treated by Damien Duffy to an ice cream from the Moo Parlour in Supermacs in the Food Court at Park Rí.

Jack Kenny, North Meath RFC said the sponsorship deal was a big deal for the club.

“This is a red letter day for the club and hugely important for our long term development. Our club has grown and prospered since its humble beginnings in 2007. This owes much to the hard work of our coaches, parents and players. But the support of Michael and Damien and the team at Park Ri will be critical to that growth. Having that vote of confidence and financial backing will enable us to further develop our facilities and bring rugby to the wider community in North Meath,” he said.

Damien Duffy, Park Rí Kells said:“We sponsor a number of sporting clubs in the Kells area and County Meath and are happy to support clubs where young people can go for team sports and to stay fit. We were very happy to agree a substantial sponsorship of North Meath RFC to be the Club sponsor, as they are a very progressive and well-run Rugby Club. I was delighted when a group of players and the Club President visited Park Rí this week to accept, in person, the sponsorship cheque for 2022.”

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Former GAA footballer jailed for 10 years for ATM raids

Linda Stewart — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 15:24:44 +0000

A County Armagh man has been ordered to serve 10 years in jail for a series of robberies in which ATMs were ripped from walls in the Republic of Ireland.

Daniel O’Callaghan, from Monog Road in Crossmaglen, had denied 16 charges but was found guilty at Ireland’s Special Criminal Court in Dublin last month.

He is the fifth member of an organised crime gang to be jailed over the ATM raids that took place in 2018 and 2019.

The judge said he played a central role as a planner and active gang member.

The gang stole hundreds of thousands of euros in six ATM robberies across counties Meath, Cavan and Monaghan until they were caught “red-handed” by gardaí.

Officers intercepted the gang in County Cavan in the early hours of 14 August 2019, as they attempted to pull a cash machine from the wall of a restaurant in Main Street, Virginia.

When their stolen vehicle was rammed by gardaí, gang members tried to flee by jumping over a wall and running into a nearby field.

Two of them were arrested but O’Callaghan, an ex-Gaelic footballer, escaped.

However, the former player, who won three All-Ireland club championships with Crossmaglen Rangers, was recognised at the scene by two officers from different units.

O’Callaghan’s DNA was also later found in a sauna inside a nearby shed, where it is believed he hid as his accomplices were arrested.

Passing sentence on Monday March 7, the judge said O’Callaghan had taken part in an “audacious” operation on behalf of a “well-oiled” criminal organisation.

She said he had contested the charges against him, despite being caught “red-handed” at the scene of the attempted raid in Virginia, and therefore did not get the benefit of a guilty plea.

However, she said the court would take into consideration that O’Callaghan had not contested certain issues during his trial, meaning that a number of witnesses were not required to give evidence.

She also considered his involvement in his family and his local community to be a mitigating factor.

She handed down an 11-year sentence, ordering him to spend the first 10 years in jail, with the final year suspended due to the mitigating factors.

O’Callaghan was the only member of the gang who did not admit his involvement in the ATM raids and he has received the longest prison sentence.

Last week, County Monaghan brothers Ciaran and Gerard Duffy were each jailed for seven years and nine months and their older brother Stephen was jailed for four years.

Their co-accused, Niall Finnegan from Cherry Grove, Cullyhanna, County Armagh, is already serving three years in jail for his part in the thefts.

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Dealz announces first distribution centre in Ireland

Linda Stewart — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 15:37:21 +0000

Leading Irish discount retailer Dealz has announced plans to open its first distribution centre in the Republic at Clonee, Co Meath, creating 60 new jobs and providing a direct route to market for suppliers in the Republic of Ireland.

The new facility at THE HUB, Logistics Park, which will open this month, means Irish suppliers will be able to send their products directly to the retailer for distribution into Dealz’ Republic of Ireland stores and represents a €4.4million per annum investment.

The new site will also become the base for Ireland’s leadership team who are responsible for both the Republic of Ireland and Poundland stores in Northern Ireland.

Dealz is confident the new facility will provide additional opportunities for it to expand its Irish supply chain, working in partnership with 3PL and Primeline.

The announcement comes as the company celebrates a ‘Decade of Dealz’ after opening its first Irish stores in 2011 at Blanchardstown and Portlaoise. It now has a portfolio of 79 stores across the country.

Dealz has been transforming at pace to widen its customer offer, investing in new stores, refurbishments and new ranges. The retailer brings customers a selection of over 1,000 well-known brands and established own label products.

Clothing and home stores

For the first time, Dealz also plans to open stand-alone clothing and home stores in 2022 to bring a full range of women’s, men’s and kids’ fashion and homewares to new customers.

More than half of its Irish stores now also have PEP&CO ‘shop-in-shops’ with prices starting at €1.50 with almost 60 per cent of items at €5.00 or less.

This week, Dealz will also be launching its first ever national TV advertising campaign in Ireland, shining a light on its transformation and the range of products now available in store.

Poundland & Dealz managing director Barry Williams said the new Clonee distribution centre and investment in Dealz, and PEP&CO stores is further evidence of the company’s commitment to the Irish retail market and a vote of confidence for the future of the sector.

“Our Dealz brand was born in Ireland and has gone from strength-to-strength over the past 10 years,” he said.

“It’s a reflection of that growing importance that we’re now able to invest further in our Irish operations in support of the customers and communities that have supported us over the past decade.”

Investment fund

Earlier this year Dealz unveiled a €20million Irish investment fund for store expansion and transformation which will create around 500 jobs over the next three years.

In the last number of months alone, the retailer has hired more than 120 staff including in new or refurbished stores in Carrickmines, Ballymun and Mullingar, with Tipperary set to open in November.

Through a €20m investment fund, the group is actively exploring opportunities across Ireland, particularly within smaller, regional areas including Galway, Donegal, Mayo, Wicklow, Leitrim, Meath, Kildare, Kerry, Clare, Louth, Sligo, Limerick and Waterford, as well as suburbs of Dublin.

As Dealz enters its second decade in Ireland, the investment will support the country’s recovery from the pandemic. The company continues to focus on people development including apprenticeship and degree programmes working with Skillsnet Ireland.

Commenting on Dealz’ support for its people and investment in Irish retail, the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD said: “It’s great to see Dealz mark its tenth year in business with the news of a new distribution centre opening in Ireland and I’m especially pleased to see that it will be located, along with 60 new jobs, in County Meath.

“This is an important next step for Dealz as it builds deeper relationships with Irish suppliers, customers and communities.

“The company’s investment in careers within the retail sector and people development is great to see, with many of their passionate and talented workforce enrolled in programmes supported by Skillnet Ireland. It has never been more important for retailers to build supportive environments for people to flourish and the announcement of even more jobs at Dealz today is very encouraging for the sector.”

Across Northern Ireland new chilled and frozen food are being introduced in stores and it’s planned to bring these key new ranges to stores in the Republic of Ireland in 2022.

While the Dealz brand was born in Ireland, it now operates across Europe, currently trading from more than 200 locations in the Republic of Ireland, Spain and Poland.

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Brady’s Coolquay €25,000 donation to Special Olympics Ireland

Julie Nash — Mon, 27 Sep 2021 13:18:48 +0000

Brady’s Coolquay has made a significant donation to Special Olympics Ireland – look out for the full feature on the fantastic new-look forecourt in the September October edition of IFCR!

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Special Olympics Ireland continued to support its’ network of 292 community based clubs and 7,351 athletes by working diligently to develop new ways to keep its athletes physically and emotionally fit. This included operating virtual clubs, which helped athletes stay connected and motivated, plus it gave athletes more opportunities to get involved in Special Olympics Health, Wellbeing, Leadership and Young Athletes Programmes. For the first time ever, athletes were also given the opportunity to enter virtual competitions and challenges.

Special Olympics clubs are transitioning to living with COVID-19 and many are making the return to sport or are preparing to do so. One such club is Club Ash Special Olympics Club who are receiving training so that their coaches and volunteers are equipped and empowered to adapt their training sessions in a safe way.

Athlete Eoin Carey from Ashbourne met up with the team at Brady’s of Coolquay today to thank them and had this to say: “ I am so happy to be back training at my Special Olympics club, it’s great to see all my friends again and get back to training so I can focus on my health.”

Also in attendance was Matt English, CEO of Special Olympics Ireland who said: “Raising vital funds has been very challenging during the Pandemic. I was thrilled to receive a call from Johnny Brady saying that he heard our appeal funds and wanted to support Special Olympics via Brady’s At Coolquay. Funds raised are helping us to continue our vision, because, like our athletes, we can’t stop now. We want to reach more children and adults with an intellectual disability across the island of Ireland so that they too can enjoy all the benefits that sport gives which include improved physical and mental health as well as the huge social benefits being part of our clubs has on the athlete and their family unit. I would also like to sincerely thank all of Brady’s At Coolquay’s customers who supported this fundraising drive over the past couple of months, helping to raise an amazing €25,000!. I would like to also wish Johnny and the whole team continued success with their state of the art Platinum Auto Wash at Coolquay”

Johnny Brady, owner of Brady’s at Coolquay furthered “We were delighted to be able to support Special Olympics fundraising appeal, which suffered greatly due to the pandemic, and thanks to the generosity of our customers we raised €25,000 for Special Olympics Ireland. To raise this money we sold reusable branded cloths at our new state of the art car wash – Platinum Auto Wash – where we then matched the customers donation. It has been a great pleasure to meet Eoin, an athlete from our local group Club Ash, and look forward to hearing more of his achievements.”

In addition to supporting their network of athletes, clubs and volunteers, Special Olympics Ireland are proving that they can’t stop now by publishing an ambitious five year strategic plan. Some of the key focus areas are across early intervention through their Young Athletes Programme, building resilient, adaptable clubs, which includes an exciting new inclusive clubs model, new health initiatives, bringing athletes to the forefront and so much more.

Platinum Auto Wash Image (L-R)

Sean O’Sullivan, Eoin Carey, Matt English – CEO Special Olympics, Bryan Menton, Johnny Brady, Aron Evans, Pamela Kavanagh (Marketing and Communication Manager, Special Olympics Ireland).

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For any queries please contact Natalie Dennis, Marketing, JSB Holdings

Natalie@jsbh.ie

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