Two busy pubs run by second generation young publicans in the Mayo Roscommon border country suggest the demise of the rural hostelry may be exaggerated as locals over compensate for time under lock down. The peaty aroma of a turf fire greets the visitor to Duffy’s bar in Kilmovee on a Sunday afternoon recently. […]
Author: markgodfrey
Three churches, three traditions
A few minutes’ walk from the imposing limestone grandeur of St Patrick’s Church, the Assembly of God Mission in Ballyhaunis is conspicuous by its location, a commercial building shared with a furniture store and a gym. Few people knowing they’re passing a church when they walk down the side lane known as Barrack St. In […]
Anyone browsing popular property website Daft.ie during Christmas might be surprised to see a Ballyhaunis house listed at a monthly rent of EUR1,450, a figure more commonly seen in Galway or even Dublin. Granted the property is a lovingly restored old period home in Abbeyquarter – with a B level BER rating suggesting comfort and […]
There’s been so much positivity and expectation around Ireland being allowed into the Chinese beef market. It’s easy to be optimistic given China imported 688,557 tons – more than the equivalent of Irish beef export capacity – of frozen beef in 2017, compared to 60,524 tons in 2012 so obviously there’s a market if you’re […]
China’s leading and longest-established, state-owned fishery company has found itself embroiled in a court case over unpaid loans taken by a prominent government run bank, in the latest twist to an acquisition gone wrong. China National Fishery Co., known for its huge fleet of trawlers and its extensive processing operations, has announced to its shareholders […]
I was interviewed by SABC News to discuss how Chinese long distance fleets are threatening fishing stocks and the livelihoods of local fisherman off the West African coast.