A special awards night to recognise the important role volunteers play in many communities across the county will take place on Friday, January 26th at Kilronan Castle. This the second year the Roscommon Volunteer Centre is the running the awards, which had previously been run by Roscommon Leader Partnership. The volunteer centre, located on the Square, Roscommon Town, was among seven other volunteer centres which opened in 2020. Volunteers will receive awards under the categories ‘Board Member 2023’, Health and Well-being Volunteer’, ‘Community Cause Champion’ and ‘Spirited Volunteer’. Roscommon Volunteer Centre currently employs four people and the aim is to connect volunteers with high-quality volunteer placements in community-based organisations.

It will be explosive – Anthony Joshua to take on Francis Ngannou on March 8thBy Reuben Rosso-Powell, PAAnthony Joshua expects an “explosive” encounter when he takes on Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia on March 8th. On his thoughts when the Ngannou fight was offered, Joshua added: “No problem. Every fight leads to somewhere, so this fight is my everything and we will see where it leads me. We can both trade and it will be a good fight.”Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou will go head-to-head on March 8th. The Fury fight is in the past and I will take this more serious than before because there’s more on the line, the undisputed.

LOS ANGELES: Actress Jennifer Aniston and George Clooney have disagreed over the best way to honour their mutual friend Matthew Perry. As per Mirror.co.uk, Matthew's death was ruled as accidental with the "acute effects of Ketamine" listed as a reason for his death on his autopsy report. According to the National Enquirer, Jennifer and George are now struggling to agree. The sighting was the first time since good pal Matthew Perry was accused of "assaulting women" prior to his death aged 54. A source claimed Matthew "shoved" a former friend and worker in a moment in which he could not "control his emotions."

Casting call for local drama groupKiltoom and Cam Drama group is looking for new talent for its next play. The spring play is called 'The Far Away Hills' by Lennox Robinson and the local group is looking for people to join the cast. For these characters the far off hills seem greener! Kiltoom and Cam Drama Group is looking for men and women between the ages of 20 and 40 years of age. If you feel drawn to getting involved or have ever toyed with the idea of being part of an amateur drama group then this is your chance!

Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, Cllr Lee said local gardaí had been interacting with protesters at Racket Hall Hotel in Roscrea, Co Tipperary since last Thursday. Cllr Lee urged Minister for Integration Roderic O'Gorman to visit Roscrea to see the situation for himself. “There absolutely has been no loyalty here to the people of Roscrea by the business owners of the Racket Hall Hotel. He added there also needs to be better communication of the facts about the rights of international protection applicants. The people who arrived at Rackett Hall on Monday were families and female international protection applicants, the Minister said.

THE SUNEverton and Nottingham Forest face minimum six-point deductions this season after being accused of breaching Premier League financial rules. Chelsea are reportedly lining up sensational transfer moves for Karim Benzema or Roberto Firmino to solve their striker problems. Eric Dier has ruled out staying with Harry Kane as there is no room in his Munich mansion. Reading have been dealt another seismic blow after the club accepted an offer to sell fan favourite Tom Holmes. SCOTTISH SUNScotland's refs could back calls for the release of VAR audio - if it means they get a wage rise.

The survey picked out hacking, phishing and online scams as a bigger threat than fraud and tax evasionHacking, phishing, online scams and other variations were part of the overall cyber crime category. Photo: Stock imageA new survey has found cyber crime is the top threat among financial crimes according to compliance professionals in Ireland. ​The group polled 230 compliance professionals working primarily in Irish financial services organisations across the country. “Ireland is now Europe’s largest data- hosting cluster, putting the need for elevated cyber crime and data protection systems into sharp focus. “Businesses and organisations need to ask how can they best prepare and respond, and the general public also needs to know what measures they can take to protect themselves.”

Up to 50 places are being ring-fenced in medicine across Queen’s University and Ulster University, as well as courses including occupational therapy and physiotherapyNew opportunities are opening for students from the Republic of Ireland to study in Northern Ireland. This year, for the first time, up to 50 places are being ring-fenced in medicine across Queen’s University and Ulster University, for students from the Republic. The Irish Government is funding the places and also subsidising students who agree to do their internship with the HSE. Those who do not sign a such contract will pay the standard Northern Ireland annual fee of £4,710, which works out at about €5,500. There are no fees for some healthcare courses in Northern Ireland.

Gráinne WalshMidlands boxer chosen for Olympic qualifiersMidlands boxer Gráinne Walsh will have her shot at Olympic qualification, it has been confirmed. Walsh from Tullamore, who is the reigning national elite champion at 66kg for the last two years, was announced today in an eight-strong Irish squad for the second Olympic qualification tournament in Italy in March. All booked their tickets to Paris at the 2023 European Games in Nowy Targ, Poland. Amy Broadhurst competed at the 66kg weight in the European Games but missed out on Olympic qualification, and Walsh, who now fights out of St Mary's BC, Tallaght, has now got the nod for the Olympic qualification tournament. "We have set a target of eight qualifications for the Paris Olympic Games and with five of these already achieved at the 2023 European Games, we are on-track and may well qualify a bigger team.

Welcome for new Offaly Tourism StrategyOffaly-based Cabinet Minister, Pippa Hackett has welcomed the new Offaly Tourism Strategy calling it ‘timely and relevant to our changing times’. She also referred to the newest appointment to Offaly County Council, Mary Hensey, saying: “I welcome Mary’s appointment and wish her well. “I believe Offaly is a beautiful county with huge tourism potential," said Minister Hackett. We have a short window of opportunity for Offaly and we will have failed if we don’t attract significant investment to the county by 2027," Minister Hackett added. "I look forward outside the box thinking; considering market segments from activity tourism to dark sky tourism and industrial heritage tourism and beyond.

Almost 40% of employers mandating office presence in 2024Kenneth FoxMany employers are looking to get more workers back in the office in 2024, as 38 per cent said they are mandating employee presence in the office this year. However, recruitment firm Hays Ireland found 58 per cent of employers expect hybrid working arrangements to stay the same this year. Approximately 44 per cent of employees were found to work fully from the office, while 41 per cent follow a hybrid model. The survey, published as part of the Hays Ireland Salary & Recruiting Trends Guide 2024, received over 1,450 responses from employers and professionals across Ireland between August and September 2023. "As employees preferences shift, we see employers adapting their approaches to workplace setups," Hays Ireland's managing director Maureen Lynch said.

"I went to public school, but I moved in with my (now ex-) partner and their family (whose mom is a teacher there and my ex is an alum) on the campus of a very well-known, elite boarding school in New England. The stories I could tell… Faculty selling vodka in emptied plastic water bottles for an extortionate price, celebrities casually walking around sometimes to check out the school to see if they want to send their kids there, security guards waiting outside classrooms and dorms of different students, literal royals from countries all over being common, the dining hall alone being bigger than half of my public school, the overworked and underpaid/underappreciated staff and corrupt administrators, the ungodly amount of homework that students had per day (minimum six hours and Saturday classes), plus mandatory sports (another three hours minimum, five days a week), and chapel once a week."

First flight was a test at 46 pounds and Delta scales said it was 46 pounds. The next two flights were at 49 pounds and both United and Delta found it to be 49 pounds. The bag on the 4th flight weighed 49 but the United scale found it to be 48 pounds. Four different airports and scales proved that this scale is a good, low cost must-have item for air travel." ALL bags matched weight on the airline's scale and this handheld scale."

But it will not extend and apply to Northern Ireland, with the UK Government saying this is to ensure Northern Ireland farmers have unfettered access to the UK and Republic of Ireland markets. Attempts by the DUP to ensure Northern Ireland was incorporated in the Bill, including a bid for the export ban not to apply to the Republic of Ireland, failed on Monday. The Government has previously said the Bill is only possible now the UK has left the European Union. Elsewhere in the debate, Labour suggested extending the livestock ban to include alpacas, llamas and deer. The Bill received an unopposed third reading and will undergo further scrutiny in the House of Lords at a later date.

Timo Werner confident he can make big impact under Ange Postecoglou at TottenhamBy Simon Peach, PA Chief Football WriterFormer Chelsea forward Timo Werner believes he can make a big impact under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham without being “the main man” scoring goals. Much was expected of the Germany international when he completed a £53million switch to Stamford Bridge in 2020 after scoring goals aplenty at RB Leipzig. “We wanted to win the three points, that’s the only not-so-good thing but we did a very good game,” Werner, whose six-month loan includes an option to make the deal permanent, said. “I enjoyed it out there and with the assist, it was a very good debut for Spurs.”Timo Werner provided an assist as Tottenham drew 2-2 at Manchester United. “We need to take the positives with us, again we need to be disappointed, as two times we were ahead.