SLIGO has seen the launch of a new fashion boutique by Jodi Egan.

The former Hollyoaks star and wife to Kian Egan has launched the boutique in the Quayside Shopping Centre which focuses on women’s fashion that is both affordable, stylish and exclusive.

Speaking to the Sligo Weekender about her reasons for opening a shop in Sligo, Jodi was enthusiastic about her Irish home.

“I fee like I have been adopted here [in Sligo] over the past few years. It feels like home to me now, it really does. I think that Sligo is such a hidden little gem. We get to travel all over the world and you think you might want to leave somewhere like Sligo, but when you see other places and come back here you realise there is no place like it,” Jodi said.

The decision to be in Sligo with husband Kian and the couple’s two sons was ultimately fuelled by wanting a good family life according to Jodi.

“Myself and Kian had looked at other places to live, but thought about what we have here in Sligo. The children really were the thing for me. I have got boys and I want them to be outdoors type guys and be surfers like Kian. I want that for them, not to be stuck in a city. To be able to get out an about and not have the worries you would have in a city,”Jodi commented.

On the business front for Jodi’s Boutique, Jodi wanted to bring a London style boutique to Sligo.

“I am very conscious of when I am shopping being able to go to a boutique and leave with three or four pieces and spend maybe in and around €100. For me, it is not not about how much money you spend on clothes but how you dress yourself. A lot of women don’t want to have to spend huge amounts of money on a dress they might only wear once. If they can find something they can feel comfortable in and maybe get a cute little top for the next day that’s what I would want. It is nice to be able to pop into a boutique rather than go out and spend €1,000 on a silk shirt just because it has a label name,” Jodi added.

Kian, Jodi’s husband was equally enthusiastic about Jodi’s new venture in Sligo and was full of praise for businesses here.

“When you look at this shop, I think it is quite different for Sligo. Everyone involved in getting this shop going is from Sligo. The designers are from Sligo, the guys who put it together are from NOC Carpentry from Sligo. I feel Sligo has got a wave of young people who are trendy that have gone and seen how it works in big cities. You have cool places like Shells, McGarrigles, Knox, places that are trying something new. There are clothes shops popping up and sushi restaurants all of a sudden and it feels like we have a modern kick coming in. You look at something like the surf summit coming to Sligo and it is amazing,” Kian said.

As well as that, being a Sligo native himself, Kian also wanted his two sons to experience what he had in Sligo growing up.

“We have been coming back to Sligo on and off for the past number of years. We love life here. When Jodi’s mum passed we were hit with a decision of where we are going to send our kids to school and what life is right for us. Jodi and myself both loved it here more and more,” he said.

Jodi’s Boutique is now open at the Quayside Shopping Centre.

Black holes in space, dragons, flying eagles, the Mad Professor, live theatre performances and stand-up comedy will be just some of the highlights at IT Sligo’s Science Week 2015 which takes place next week.

The Institute’s week-long celebration of Science runs from November 8 – 15. It will begin with the annual Science Fair on Sunday, November 8, from 12 to 5pm.

The day will include a wide range of performances, interactive displays and demonstrations for all the family to enjoy.

This will be followed by a series of lectures on scientific topics of public interest each evening of the week.

Renowned astrophysicist, Professor Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who has helped the world expand its understanding of the universe, will be one of the guest speakers.

The visiting professor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford, will speak on Thursday evening at 7.30pm in Room A0006. Entitled “Black Holes in Space”, the talk will actually be recorded by BBC Radio 4 for broadcast later this year.

Other highlights include:
– Comedian and writer Helen Keen will be giving a lunchtime performing of her show ‘It is Rocket Science’ on Monday in the Institute’s main canteen (at 1pm).

– ‘Honey: the oldest known medicine to mankind’ – a talk given by Philip McCabe, who is one of Ireland’s best known beekeepers, and a regular contributor to the ‘Mooney Goes Wild’ programme on RTÉ Radio 1 (Room A0006, Tuesday, 7.30pm).

– Dr Donal Coveney Managing Director Top Chem Pharmaceuticals Ltd. ‘Jumping through hoops and chasing our tails – challenges in securing market approval of pharmaceutical products.’ Dr Coveney is receiving the Institute of Chemistry of Ireland Industrial Chemist award sponsored by Henkel Ireland for 2015 (Room A0004, Wednesday, 12noon).

– Ms Shirley Markley will host an international conference for EBUKI (Earth Building UK and Ireland) – the first conference to be held in Ireland since its entry to the organisation in June 2015. This conference will take place in Room A00006 (9am-4.45pm on Friday).

One of Sligo’s best known hotels has been put up for sale by a receiver.

The Clarion Hotel, which is the biggest hotel in Sligo town, is being offered at a guide price of €7 million.

That’s a lot less than the €35 million it took to transform the landmark building from a psychiatric hospital to a 4 star hotel.

It comes just three weeks after the Diamond Coast Hotel in Enniscrone was offered for sale for €3m and the recent sale of Sligo Retail Park at Carraroe to a US group.

Estate agents Savills, announced yesterday, Wednesday, that they were bringing the Clarion building to the market on behalf of receiver, Aiden Murphy of Crowe Howarth.

The 162 bedroom hotel has being operating since 2005 in a building which dates from the late 1840s.

The Clarion is described as “one of the largest and most profitable hotels in the North-West of Ireland”, by Tom Barrett, Head of Hotels & Leisure at Savills.
“The hotel will attract serious interest from both Irish and international hoteliers. The property is available free from the current management agreement and represents a rare opportunity to acquire a unique landmark property and highly profitable trading hotel”, he said.

The hotel also features a range of food and beverage offerings such as Synergy Restaurant, Kudos Restaurant and Savour Lounge.

It is also a popular wedding venue with capacity for up to 350 guests and features extensive conference facilities.

The health and fitness club, with approximately 800 members, includes a fully equipped gym and a 20m heated indoor swimming pool and spa.

The beautiful cut-stone building was originally known as the Sligo & Leitrim District Lunatic Asylum and later as St. Columba’s Hospital. The foundation stone was laid on November 7, 1847 and the building was completed in 1852 at a cost of £35,199 (the equivalent of around €4.5m today). It opened in 1854 with a capacity for 250 patients and that capacity was increased to near 500 by later extensions.

It closed as a psychiatric hospital in 1992 and was bought by the late former Fine Gael TD Jim White from Ballyshannon with the aim of turning it into a hotel.

However, he later sold it on to Galway based developer Tom Coyle, who developed the building as a hotel and the Clarion Village student accommodation.

A student from Sligo is set to blag, beg and steal his way to Germany in the name of charity.

Ryan Feehily, who currently attends Dublin City University, is taking on the ‘Race to Berlin’ challenge, a now annual event which requires students to travel to a certain location by any means necessary.

“There is an Enterprise Society here in DCU and they run this event every year. This is the third year they are doing it and it has just gotten bigger and bigger. The first year they were in Cork, last year it was Edinburgh and now it is going to Berlin this year,” Ryan explained.

Ryan, along with fellow student Hugh Lennon, have seen their upcoming adventure met with mixed responses, but the Sligo native emphasised that it was an experience they could not pass up.

“I have never done anything like this. This is a completely new experience to me. I am just taking a risk and going for it. My mum nearly started crying when I said I would be winging it to Berlin next month, a lot of people think I am crazy, but the point of it is that it is supposed to be an experience that you are going to remember for the rest of your life and you won’t get the chance to do something like this again.”

The pair will not be banking on finding a direct route to the German capital and are willing to get there by taking even the most inconvenient scenic routes.
“We have booked flights in advance to get back from Berlin but the thing is we could end up anywhere. We are encouraged to take whatever flight we can possibly get, even if it is to Istanbul. They don’t want us waiting around at an airport for seven hours, if there is a flight available in two hours we have to take it wherever it is going once it gets you to Berlin.”

For the full interview with Ryan, pick up a copy of this week’s Sligo Weekender newspaper. In shops now!

Online donations are currently being accepted for this venture and can be made by visiting http://begborrowsteal.ie/ and choosing Yunting Berlin, Ryan and Hugh’s team name. All proceeds will go towards the Irish Cancer Society for ‘Movember’.

You can also track their progress by following them on Twitter (@RyanAndHughBBS) and Instagram (@YuntingBerlin).

Sligo has a unique attachment to the tragedy of the SS Arandora Star.

The passenger ship turned prisoner of war container was torpedoed while off the Irish coast by German U-Boat.

We have an in-depth report on the four men from very different backgrounds who washed up on Sligo’s shores and one crew man from Sligo who survived the ordeal- on in this week’s paper…….

Sligo Racecourse has plans in place for a series of upgrades costing in excess of €1.9 million.

Horse Racing Ireland has announced that it has approved grant aid of close to €800,000 for the developments.

The most ambitious part of the development plans at the racecourse is the construction of a new two-storey hospitality building overlooking the parade ring and track.

This will house a public restaurant on the ground and hospitality facilities on the first floor with an extensive viewing area.

It is envisaged work will start in 2018 and be completed in 2019.

Prior to that, the upgrading and remodelling of the first floor bar in the main grandstand, which will see customer capacity increased by 40% will get underway in 2016.

This will be in addition to the extension of the existing balcony, giving improved views of the racecourse.

Other significant works include the renovation of the bar and restaurant, the creation of an outdoor play area, upgrades to the weigh room, a new presentation podium, upgrading of the Owners and Trainers room, a new entrance building with turnstiles and toilets and the installation of glass canopies to provide shelter.

Kathryn Foley, Manager of Sligo Racecourse said: “The plans we have in place for Sligo Racecourse are a continuation of the investment in customer facilities that we have been making over the last number of years.

“Our core aim is to ensure the comfort and enjoyment of our racegoers and all participants in the sport and part of our focus is to ensure that everyone is afforded great views of the track.”

Brian Kavanagh, CEO of HRI said: “It is great to see Sligo building on the extensive improvements they carried out in 2014, with plans to continue the architecturally designed theme throughout.”