Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/SportsfileRetired Leonard ready to start a new chapter“Time comes for everyone, and the time has come for me. I’m happy and at peace with the decision,” – Galway’s Tracey Leonard on her decision to retire. Following 12 years of loyal service to the cause, Galway ladies football stalwart Tracey Leonard believes the time had come to bring her inter-county career to an end, writes Daire Walsh. A TG4 All Star winner in 2019, Leonard made her senior debut for the Tribeswomen while still a teenager eight years earlier. She was a regular starter for Galway during their subsequent campaign in the TG4 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship, scoring 1-6 across three outings.

The rate of new solar panel installations on homes reached a seven-year high in 2023, according to new analysis. The increase was revealed by Coventry Building Society analysis of government solar panel figures. The rate of new solar panel installations is now at the highest level since 2015, when the total for the year was 179,137. The 2023 boom in solar panel fitting was likely caused by households looking to bring down high energy bills. The highest year on record for solar panel installations was 2011, when 200,589 panels were installed – this was following the launch of the Feed-in Tariff scheme in 2010.

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Niamh Clarke, Val Smyth, Patrick Kenna, Art O'Leary, Marie Baker, Conor Clarke, Dara Clarke, Michael Scully, Brian Collins. Electoral commission chief visits Tullamore GAA to discuss March referendumsTullamore GAA Club welcomed the Chair of Ireland’s independent electoral commission yesterday, Thursday, as Ms Justice Marie Baker visits the popular Tullamore club to talk to players young and old about voting in the upcoming March 8 referendums. An Coimisiún Toghcháin, Ireland’s independent electoral commission is responsible for explaining the issues to be voted on in the two March 8 Referendums and for encouraging people to get out and vote. The Commission is totally independent and not backing any side in the campaign. Dara Clarke, Art O'Leary, Marie Baker, Conor Clarke Photo by LENSMEN

Significant jobs blow for AthloneThermo Fisher Scientific, the owner of PPD in Athlone, has announced plans to “discontinue operations” at their supply depot in the town which is expected to result in substantial job losses. The company has yet to quantify how many staff are affected and the timeline for the changes in Athlone. In May of 2021, several months prior to the sale to Thermo Fisher Scientific, PPD announced a significant expansion in the size of their Athlone lab which would result in the creation of 180 extra jobs over the following three years. Now over a decade in the town, PPD is part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, a world leader in serving science, with an annual revenue of approximately $40 billion and 100,000 employees worldwide. Among its industry leading brands are Applied Biosystems, Invitrogen, Fisher Scientific, Unity Lab Services, Thermo Scientific, Patheon and PPD.

Hospital urges non-emergency patients to consider optionsThe Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore has said it is experiencing a very busy period with a significantly increased number of people requiring admission to the hospital with increasing levels of flu, COVID-19, and other respiratory illnesses in circulation. The hospital has opened additional beds to cope with this extra demand on capacity and resources. Where possible, the management at Tullamore Hospital is asking patients with non-emergency conditions to seek assistance from other parts of the health service such as their local Pharmacist, GP, GP out of hours service, or a local injury unit. If you require urgent medical attention out of hours, you can visit https://www2.hse.ie/services/find-a-gp-out-of-hours/Unfortunately, patients who are presenting at the ED with non-urgent conditions are experiencing very long waiting times to be seen, the hospital said. Any patient who needs emergency hospital care will be seen and Midland Regional Hospital Tullamore would urge such patients not to delay attending the ED.

Energia has become the latest energy firm to announce price cuts, with 300,000 customers set to benefit from reduced energy bills. Effective from March 1st, electricity customers with Energia will see a reduction of 7.5 per cent in their bills, while gas customers will see reductions of 5 per cent on their unit prices. The company said electricity customers would save about €129 based on an average bill, while gas customers would see a reduction of about €65. Energia’s managing director of customer solutions Gary Ryan said: “This latest price reduction, the second in six months, follows our 20 per cent reduction introduced on October 23rd. “We continue to work with St Vincent de Paul, Mabs, Alone, as well as other charities and urge customers to always contact us to find a solution.”

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ExclusiveDaily Mail staff have been told about the cutsMore journalists are losing their jobs after the Scottish Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday announced a round of redundancies. Daily Business has learned that at least seven staff, mainly on the sports desk, have been told they are no longer required. Deputy night sports editor Ramsay Laing is also said to be among the casualties. David McCarthy was let go last week at the Daily Record whose parent group Reach recently announced a huge cull of journalists across the UK. Alison Phillips will be resigning as editor of the Daily Mirror as part of 450 redundancies – almost a tenth of its entire workforce – in an effort to trim operating costs by 5% to 6% this year.

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue will speak at the Monksland event on February 1. Minister for Agriculture to speak at Monksland annual conferenceThe ICSA AGM and Annual Conference will take place on Thursday, February 1 next in the Athlone Springs Hotel, Monksland, Athlone. The event will feature special guest speaker Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Charlie McConalogue. The theme for this year’s conference is 'Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security – the One Road?' The evening session of the conference featuring Minister McConalogue will commence at 7pm.

A three-night stay at Cassidys Hotel, located in the heart of the city, is priced from $859 each, twin-share. You’ll also visit the legendary Guinness Storehouse, where a complimentary pint will be pulled for you. Contact: Princess Cruises, 0800 780 717 or check out princess.comSnorkel among incredible, colourful corals on an island-hopping trip in Palawan. You’ll visit the world-renowned Nacpan beach and Puerto Princesa’s secret underground river. Priced from $2186 each, twin-share, internal flights in the Philippines are included.

Winners of the #ThinkLanguages Champion Team Final, students of Our Lady’s Bower, Athlone, being presented their award by Minister for Education Norma Foley TD at the Department of Education today. From L-R: Teresa Detoche, Hannah Murray, Ella Scullion, Minister for Education Norma Foley TD, Cindy Zhang, Eilish Brehany and Mia DalyOur Lady's Bower wins national #ThinkLanguages competitionOur Lady's Bower, Athlone, has been announced as the winner of the national #ThinkLanguages competition for a trip to Brussels. #ThinkLanguages is an annual event for Transition Year (TY) students, celebrating languages inside and outside of the classroom and thinking about how languages can enhance life’s opportunities. Minister Foley said: “I am delighted to present this prize for the #ThinkLanguages Champion Team to Our Lady's Bower, Athlone. Three schools were shortlisted:- Our Lady’s Bower in Athlone- Killarney Community College and- Our Lady of Mercy, Waterford.

“Across the country, the rate of chronic absenteeism reached about 31% in 2021-2022,” a White House Fact Sheet said. “Baltimore City Public Schools made significant gains in reducing the chronic absenteeism rate,” said a school system spokesperson, Sherry Christian, in an email. Wicomico County’s chronic absenteeism rate last school year was near the state average at 28%. Chronic absenteeism is the highest and attendance rates are the lowest among the state’s high school students, the interim state superintendent’s presentation showed. Dwight A. Weingarten is an investigative reporter, covering the Maryland State House and state issues.

You can boost Avios points by up to 300% with Avios Balance BoostWho doesn't like the thought of flying Business Class at economy prices - or even getting a trip for free? Other points currencies which can convert to Avios points are American Express Membership Rewards points, BPme points, Nectar points, Heathrow Rewards points, HSBC Premier credit card points, NatWest credit card points and various hotel points currencies. Use the Avios shopping portalThe Avios shopping portal allows you to collect points for day-to-day online shopping with selected retailers. British Airways Executive Club is the frequent-flyer program for British Airways, and Avios is its reward currency. It lets you buy cheap 'add-on' Avios points direct from British Airways, in order to boost points balances already collected in the previous 30 days.

Comedian Rodney Carrington brings his latest tour to The Palace Theatre in Greensburg on Thursday, Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. Almost Queen, a tribute band, performs Saturday, Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg. Kenny Wayne Shepherd Band will perform at The Palace Theatre on Sunday, March 10 at 8 p.m. For tickets, visit thepalacetheatre.org. Celtic Connections, presented by River City Brass, comes to The Palace Theatre on Saturday, March 2 at 7:30 p.m. Mahler’s Titan, presented by the Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra, will be performed on Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. at The Palace Theatre in Greensburg.