#Donal Hickey

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European leaders call for stronger defence after Trump’s US presidential election win
European leaders call for stronger defence after Trump’s US presidential election win
The European Political Community met on Thursday in Hungary’s capital Budapest 

Thu, 07 Nov, 2024

Smoking chimney
Donal Hickey: Open fires are literally breathtaking 
There are regular warnings from environmental and health promotion organisations about dangers of domestic emissions of solid fuel which cause 1,300 deaths per year, according to the EPA. Particulates can cause irritation to lungs, nose and throat and can be particularly harmful to older people

Thu, 07 Nov, 2024

9 things you didn't know about holly, our favourite Christmas plant
Donal Hickey: Early berries a sign of a harsh winter ahead?
This year, I saw red holly berries more than two months ago — trees working hard to feed hungry birds or is that a myth?

Thu, 31 Oct, 2024

apple eating race. Food On A String game. Activity for halloween party
Donal Hickey: Does winter start on November 1 or in December? 
The Halloween/Samhain tradition marked the end of the farming year, with all the harvest in and animals housed for the harsh season ahead. Crops to feed animals and people were stored away safely — and it was a time to celebrate

Thu, 24 Oct, 2024

Parallel parking cars on urban street. Outdoor parking on road
Donal Hickey: Engine idling — and why it's so dangerous for humans and animals
We literally have to cut the engine idling. Exhaust fumes are especially harmful to children, pregnant women, older people and people with chest illnesses. Engine idling while on school or sports activities pick-up duty is a contributor to exhaust fume pollution

Thu, 17 Oct, 2024

Donal Hickey: Urban allotments and community gardens growing in popularity
Donal Hickey: Urban allotments and community gardens growing in popularity
It's National Allotments and Community Gardens Week now — anyone motivated to get stuck in might be interested to know that Cork City Council has more than 50 plots for rent in Churchfield 

Thu, 10 Oct, 2024

Donal Hickey: Huge numbers of animals killed on roads every day
Donal Hickey: Huge numbers of animals killed on roads every day
It's World Animal Road Accident Awareness Day on Thursday, October 10 — people are urged to be extra careful in areas that are known animal crossings and also to consider what they would do if they hit an animal while driving

Thu, 03 Oct, 2024

Donal Hickey: With a sliver of opportunity and a helping hand, life finds a way
Donal Hickey: With a sliver of opportunity and a helping hand, life finds a way
Priority actions for the new NPWS/Coillte deal will include a focus on protected habitats such as raised and blanket bog, heaths and wetlands, lakes and rivers, and for threatened species such as freshwater pearl mussel, hen harrier, merlin, and breeding waders

Thu, 26 Sep, 2024

Boarded up shop
Much dereliction in our towns and villages, but also glimmers of hope
Would ‘derelict housing swat teams’, like those in operation in the US, help speed up the process of purchasing houses and other buildings left vacant by absentee, or disinterested, property owners?

Thu, 19 Sep, 2024

Coast Road
Long way around is worth it when you're talking about the beautiful Beara peninsula
A trip around the south-west starting at Roaringwater Bay and heading northward towards Tralee is only around 40 miles on a map but it's nearly 500 miles if you follow the coast and zig-zag around all the promontories and inlets

Wed, 04 Sep, 2024

Donal Hickey: Why have the birds abandoned my garden?
Donal Hickey: Why have the birds abandoned my garden?
Some readers have been in touch to say that the wild birds seem to have deserted the area despite full feeders and birdbaths 

Thu, 29 Aug, 2024

South Polar Skua, Catharacta maccornicki on Cuverville Island, Antarctica.
Donal Hickey: Spotted — Ireland's first south polar skua
Final confirmation is determined by the Irish Rare Birds Committee, based on video evidence and the evidence of the eight birders present when the pictures below were taken

Thu, 15 Aug, 2024

Dingle transport survey with a chance to win an electric bike or solar energy system
Dingle transport survey with a chance to win an electric bike or solar energy system
Dingle Peninsula has been designated a decarbonisation zone and already there has been a successful rollout of local link buses that were used more than 45,000 times last year

Thu, 08 Aug, 2024

Donal Hickey: Beach safety in peak holiday season... anyone can drown but no one should
Donal Hickey: Beach safety in peak holiday season... anyone can drown but no one should
Today is World Drowning Prevention Day. Water Safety Ireland's summer online class only lasts seven minutes but could save lives — link below

Thu, 25 Jul, 2024

Big Butterfly Count 2024
Donal Hickey: Why so few butterflies this year?
Most adult butterflies only live for around two weeks anyway and factors such as habitat loss and an increase in wasps and other preying insects may also contribute to a scarcity of butterflies this summer

Thu, 18 Jul, 2024

Donal Hickey: Plastic pollution linked to disease risk
Donal Hickey: Plastic pollution linked to disease risk
Micro- and nanoplastics (MnPs) have been detected in lungs, blood, breast milk, placenta, and stool samples confirming that the particles enter the human body from the environment

Thu, 11 Jul, 2024

Beautiful foxglove in the garden.
Donal Hickey: More wildflowers please!
A new Networks for Nature project could see more appreciation given to the wildlife value of roadside verges

Thu, 27 Jun, 2024

Donal Hickey: Welcoming wildlife back — Ennis Men's Shed and Burrenbeo team up
Donal Hickey: Welcoming wildlife back — Ennis Men's Shed and Burrenbeo team up
Men's Shed creating pond used for demonstrations in Ennis

Thu, 13 Jun, 2024

Rear view of dad holding her little girl in arms and showing at their house with installed solar panels. Alternative energy, sav
Donal Hickey: Some reasons people opt for solar panels — and what's putting some people off
A total of 522 survey respondents (17.7%) have solar panels installed — and all but one said that it has been a good financial decision, and almost all of those people said they would recommend solar to family and friends

Thu, 30 May, 2024

National Trust Species Regeneration Project
Dónal Hickey: Increase in only one butterfly species here
Invasive plant species such as montbretia and fuchsia crowd out all native herbs that butterflies need for their life cycles

Thu, 23 May, 2024

Irish forest, Muckross Lake, Kilarney
Donal Hickey: In case you need another reason to head down to the woods today...
Reenadinna yew wood and Munster Blackwater valley have some majestic and mysterious spots — check them out

Thu, 09 May, 2024

kids set for creativity, collection of colorfull fall, leaves for herbarium
Donal Hickey: Do kids still need nature tables in their classrooms?
Almost half (46%) of teachers surveyed stated that nature tables are no longer in their classroom

Thu, 25 Apr, 2024

Donal Hickey: Circular Economy Fund open for applications now
Donal Hickey: Circular Economy Fund open for applications now
Schools, community groups, sports clubs, festivals and events can all apply for this funding — link below

Thu, 18 Apr, 2024

Donal Hickey: We'll hear cuckoos any day now — or have you already?
Donal Hickey: We'll hear cuckoos any day now — or have you already?
Satellite-tracked cuckoos should be coming 'home' from Africa very soon

Thu, 11 Apr, 2024

Donal Hickey: Steering the shipping industry towards low-carbon fuels
Donal Hickey: Steering the shipping industry towards low-carbon fuels
Shipping accounts for 3% of global CO2 emissions

Thu, 04 Apr, 2024

Donal Hickey: Graffiti on an 800-year-old friary in Cork
Donal Hickey: Graffiti on an 800-year-old friary in Cork
Damage has also been caused to a number of monuments by people unwittingly churning them up by driving scramblers or quad bikes over them

Thu, 28 Mar, 2024

barn swallow flies fast
Donal Hickey: Easy to see why it's called a 'swoop of swallows'
Swallows often nest in sheds, garages, and farm buildings

Thu, 21 Mar, 2024

GARDENING Gardening Column 4
Donal Hickey: Is there a spud-planting deadline?
St Patrick’s Day has traditionally been seen as the middle day of spring, with hopes of better weather and improved growing conditions afterwards

Thu, 14 Mar, 2024

Drop vapes and other e-waste in for free recycling
Drop vapes and other e-waste in for free recycling
Used vapes can also be returned to the shops in which they were purchased and anything with a plug, battery, or cable, is free to recycle in local authority sites, or participating electrical retailers

Thu, 07 Mar, 2024

Dónal Hickey: Campaign to save monuments from accidental damage
Dónal Hickey: Campaign to save monuments from accidental damage
There are more than 140,000 archaeological remains here including standing stones, castles, and ring forts — and an online map lets you check any area before starting digging work

Thu, 15 Feb, 2024

Donal Hickey: Do e-collars work — and are they cruel?
Donal Hickey: Do e-collars work — and are they cruel?
The deadline for public consultation on e-collars is February 16

Thu, 08 Feb, 2024

Hedgehog, wild, native, European hedgehog emerging from inside a fallen log after a long hibernation. Facing forward with green
Donal Hickey: Mild weather on the way if you spot a hedgehog at this time of year
St Brigid’s Day, on February 1 — with the bank holiday celebrated on February 5 this year — is the beginning of spring and, effectively, the start of the farming year

Thu, 01 Feb, 2024

Conservation rewards system needs to work for farmers if it is to actually work
Conservation rewards system needs to work for farmers if it is to actually work
Increasing numbers of farmers are participating in eco-schemes and this is critical to their success and to repairing the damage done to the Irish countryside in the last 50 years

Thu, 25 Jan, 2024

Donal Hickey: Welcome protection for seabirds but locals need consulting
Donal Hickey: Welcome protection for seabirds but locals need consulting
The seas off Wexford now become our largest Special Protection Area. The 20 species to be protected at the site include some of our rarest and most threatened birds

Thu, 18 Jan, 2024

Man installing thermal roof insulation layer - using mineral wool panels. Attic renovation and insulation concept
Donal Hickey: Grants to save energy and make our homes warmer
The Government’s highly ambitious goal is to have 500,000 homes retrofitted to B2 energy rating by 2030. A tall order given the level of uptake so far — €170million of the €300million set aside in grants for the scheme was not taken up in 2022

Thu, 11 Jan, 2024

Federal Court To Rule On Diesel Bans For Certain Cities
Donal Hickey: Do you let your kid cycle alone on the road?
Is it safe for a child to cycle to school by themselves? And even when they do, is it fair to expect them to breathe fumes from all the cars idling outside schools?

Fri, 05 Jan, 2024

Donal Hickey: Should dogs be allowed off-leash at beaches or in parks with deer?
Donal Hickey: Should dogs be allowed off-leash at beaches or in parks with deer?
It's lovely to get out for a blast of fresh air at a beach or national park but don't let your dog cause havoc to local wildlife

Sat, 30 Dec, 2023

Donal Hickey: It’s often faster to get through traffic-clogged towns by bike — or shank’s mare
Donal Hickey: It’s often faster to get through traffic-clogged towns by bike — or shank’s mare
If cycle lanes are provided, more people will use them as evidenced in Cork city, which has seen a steady increase in year-round cyclists

Tue, 26 Dec, 2023

Consultation with locals is key for successful windfarm development
Consultation with locals is key for successful windfarm development
Developers of windfarms need to get locals on-side as a priority and deal with their concerns about noise, visual impact and property devaluation

Thu, 14 Dec, 2023

Donal Hickey: Funding for greenways, walking trails, and beach access — at Ballybunion, Valentia, Macroom and more locations
Donal Hickey: Funding for greenways, walking trails, and beach access — at Ballybunion, Valentia, Macroom and more locations
€2.3million is to go towards 50 new outdoor recreation projects, including Ireland’s first underwater artificial reef at Killala Bay, in Mayo

Thu, 07 Dec, 2023

Donal Hickey: Septic tank fix grants go up to €12k in January
Donal Hickey: Septic tank fix grants go up to €12k in January
An EPA report found that half of the septic tanks inspected failed to reach the required standards, with an additional 20% posing an immediate risk to human health and the environment

Thu, 30 Nov, 2023

Curlew, Numenius arquata
Welcome funds to save breeding waders from extinction
Waders are among the most threatened of all breeding birds in Ireland, with six in the red list of birds of conservation concern: curlew, lapwing, dunlin, golden plover, redshank, and snipe

Thu, 16 Nov, 2023

Donal Hickey: When smoke gets in your eyes... and lungs
Donal Hickey: When smoke gets in your eyes... and lungs
It is projected that an estimated €100 million worth of coal products will be imported from Northern Ireland into Ireland this year alone. Despite being banned in Ireland, smoky coal continues to be brought down from Northern Ireland in substantial quantities

Thu, 09 Nov, 2023

Donal Hickey: Superb work on Big Beach Clean — but marine litter is still a coastal concern
Donal Hickey: Superb work on Big Beach Clean — but marine litter is still a coastal concern
Particles from car tyres and cigarette butts are of particular concern because of their toxicity

Thu, 02 Nov, 2023

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