ShopMitchelstown News and Events

30/05/2026

❤️ Can you help Special Friends Mitchelstown in 1 minute?

Your nomination could help us secure funding to support children and young adults with additional needs and their families in our community.

1️⃣ Copy this charity number first:20078096

2️⃣ Click the nomination form:https://aib.ie/personal-forms/community-fund

3️⃣ Enter:

Charity Name: Parents Support Group Special Friends Mitchelstown

Charity Number: 20078096

Every nomination makes a real difference ❤️

Please share to help us spread the word.

The AIB Community €1 Million Fund enables customers, the public and our employees to support the local charities that matter most to them, within their region. The Fund supports charities across six regions in Ireland, Northern Ireland & Great Britain.

26/05/2026

You could not make this up.
A Sinn Fein councillor is emigrating because she has no realistic path to housing or building an independent life here.
Even the political class are unable to afford to live here.

25/05/2026

# The Lives of Women and Girls Under Taliban Rule

Since returning to power in August 2021, the Taliban has imposed some of the harshest restrictions on women and girls seen anywhere in the modern world. Human rights organisations, journalists, and Afghan women themselves have repeatedly warned that daily life for millions has become a struggle marked by fear, isolation, and the loss of basic freedoms.

For many Afghan girls, childhood now ends early. Education beyond sixth grade has effectively been banned for most girls across the country. Universities that once welcomed female students have shut their doors to them, destroying dreams of becoming doctors, teachers, lawyers, and professionals. A generation of girls who once imagined a future filled with opportunity now face a life confined largely to the home.

The Taliban’s growing body of laws and regulations has also intensified fears surrounding child marriage. Reports from Afghan media and international observers describe new family regulations that appear to legitimise marriages involving minors under strict religious interpretations. In some cases, the silence of a “virgin girl” can reportedly be interpreted as consent to marriage, raising serious concerns among women’s rights advocates who argue that genuine consent becomes impossible in deeply coercive environments.

For women trapped in abusive marriages, the situation can be even more severe. Critics of the new rules say they offer little legal protection against domestic violence or psychological abuse. Some provisions reportedly punish women or young brides who flee to relatives without the permission of their husbands. Human rights groups warn that such laws risk trapping women and girls inside violent households with few safe options for escape.

The restrictions extend far beyond marriage laws. Women in Afghanistan face strict limitations on movement, employment, dress, and participation in public life. In many areas, women are forbidden from travelling long distances without a male guardian. Entire professions have become inaccessible to them. Female voices have been pushed out of public spaces, media, and government institutions.

The psychological impact of these restrictions is difficult to measure fully. Afghan women have described feelings of hopelessness, depression, and suffocation as their freedoms disappear one by one. Many speak of living in constant fear of punishment for even minor acts of independence. Mothers worry not only about their own futures, but about the futures of their daughters growing up in a system where opportunity is shrinking rapidly.

International organisations including the United Nations and major human rights groups have condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls. Some campaigners have gone so far as to describe the system as “gender apartheid,” arguing that women are being systematically excluded from education, work, public life, and equal legal protection.

Behind every regulation and decree are millions of individual lives. Girls who once carried schoolbooks now remain at home. Women who once worked as professionals are now unemployed or hidden from public view. Families who hoped for progress instead face uncertainty and fear about what the future holds for the next generation of Afghan women.

The situation in Afghanistan remains one of the starkest examples in the world of how political and ideological control can dramatically alter the freedoms, safety, and opportunities available to women and children.

24/05/2026

Sincere condolences to family and friends. RIP 🙏Mary❤️

Coughlan (Mitchelstown).

On May 21st, 2026, peacefully, at Cork University Hospital surrounded by her loving family, MARY (nee Condon), Broomhill, Mitchelstown.

Predeceased by her husband Richard, her mother Ellen, her father Patrick and her brother Michael.

Loving mother of Richard, Helen (Sheehan) and Margaret (Cronin), proud grandmother of Eoin, Miriam, Conor, James, Ciaran, Eleanor, Richard and Kate and great-grandmother to Sophie and Lucey.

Sadly missed by her loving family, daughter-in-law Josephine, sons-in-law Eugene and Michael, brother Tom, sisters Ellen and Betty, sisters-in-law Gertie Condon, Claire Condon, Sister Teresa Agnes and brother-in-law Tom Coughlan, nephews, nieces, relatives, neighbours and friends.

May Mary Rest in Peace.

Reposing at the Chapel of Rest, Baldwin Street, Mitchelstown, P67 DX81 on Sunday evening (24th May) from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Reception into St. Joseph’s Church, Killacluig, P67 A996 on Monday afternoon (25th May) for Requiem Mass at 2 p.m. Burial afterwards in Mitchelstown Church Cemetery.

Family flowers only. Donations in lieu to the Neuro Ward, Cork University Hospital

House Private.

The family would like to take this opportunity to thank the staff of the GA Ward of Cork University Hospital for their care given to Mam during her time there.

24/05/2026

Over 60 and still kicking a ball. Walking football what a game.

24/05/2026

If anyone recognises this dog could they please contact 0879107700.
It is safe with the finders out of the heat

23/05/2026

🕊️ Discover the Secret Life of Swifts in Ireland! 🇮🇪

Join us for a fascinating evening with Dr. James O’Neill of UCC and the Cork Swift Network as he shares insights into one of Ireland’s most incredible birds — the swift.

These amazing birds spend almost their entire lives in the air and return to Ireland each summer, filling our skies with their unmistakable calls and breathtaking speed. Learn about their behaviour, migration, and the importance of protecting their nesting sites in our towns and villages.

📅 Date: 3rd June 2026
🕢 Time: 7.30pm
📍 Venue: Saint George’s, Mitchelstown
💚 Admission: FREE OF CHARGE

Hosted in association with BirdWatch Ireland and Mitchelstown Tidy Towns.

Whether you’re a bird lover, nature enthusiast, or simply curious about Ireland’s wildlife, this promises to be a wonderful community event.

Please like, share, and invite friends! 🐦✨