A Happy, Prosperous and Peaceful New Year to Everyone in 2012
US and British Open winners Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke have both received awards on the Queen’s New Year Honours List.
McIlroy, 22, gets an MBE while Clarke, who is 20 years his senior is awarded an OBE. The pair are among 55 from Northern Ireland to be honoured this New Year.
Ireland rugby coach Declan Kidney has named Munster lock Paul O’Connell as team captain for the forth coming Six Nations tournament. Capped 83 times for Ireland, O’Connell takes over the role as Brian O’Driscoll misses the whole tournament after a shoulder operation.
The 2009 Lions captain will lead out the Ireland team in their first match against Wales at home in Dublin on 5th February. Ireland’s other matches are away to France followed by home matches against Italy and Scotland with their final match away to England at Twickenham on St. Patrick’s Day, 17th March.
The IFA have confirmed the appointment of Michael O’Neill as the new manager of the Northern Ireland football team. As a former N.I. player with 33 caps to his name, he replaces Nigel Worthington after having guided Shamrock Rovers to 2 League of Ireland titles and helped the team become the first Irish team to reach the knock-out stages of the Europa League.
O’Neill takes over officially on the 1st of February ahead of his first match in charge, a friendly international against Norway on the 29th of the month.
After one of the mildest Christmas Days in Northern Ireland on record with a peak of 13.5 degrees Celcius, it’s batten down the hatches as the Met Office have issued a weather warning with gales of 70mph expected. The high winds are expected to last right through today (Wednesday).
Irish pop singer Sinead O’Conner, who had a number one hit in 1990 with ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, has split from her 4th husband Barry Herridge after only 2 weeks and 2 days. The couple met online in August and the two were then married just 3 months later.
Ironically, the song included the lyrics… ”it’s been seven hours and fifteen days, since you took your love away”.
In an operation by the PSNI Organised Crime Branch, five suspects were arrested in the Lisburn area last Friday in connection with a drugs haul worth an estimated street value of £450,000.
A 50 year old woman was released while three men (aged 35, 35 & 37) and a 27 year old woman were held in custody for questioning.
A funny seasonal video…
