Liam Coates

Ireland

Reporter at Cronkite News

Journalist at Freelance

Environmentalist, bike nerd and online journalist with @businessposthq [email protected]

Articles

Michael Gaine case: Rallying community in Kerry remembers missing man

1 week ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

All of Kerry felt the sting of loss when gregarious farmer Michael Gaine disappeared more than six weeks ago, but for the rallying community, his absence is now a gaping wound. “The best way I could describe it to you is if you can imagine me holding up my hand to you, there’s five digits and one of them is gone now,” said Brian Hickey, a close rallying friend of Mr Gaine’s for decades.
Why did two Kerry politicians fight to protect Airbnb in the Kingdom?

2 weeks ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

“Another cup of tea?” asks Toni Sheehan from her spick and span kitchen at the back of her Killarney B&B. Sitting alongside her husband Danny, she smiles warmly and tells a story about how one of her guests looked and sounded exactly like Bing Crosby. “He was fabulous. Ninety-three years old and every morning he sang a song for the two of us,” she said. “We had to close the door on everyone else and I’d tell them: ‘Listen outside the door, Bing Crosby is at it inside’”.
Signs urge Drury Street revellers to curb their enthusiasm

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

As the sun beat down on the eve of another sunny weekend in Drury Street in Dublin, revellers on the street were in high spirits. Beaming from ear to ear, they danced to live music and clutched tote bags filled with drinks of every persuasion. But while Drury Street has become quite the destination for the young socialite – seen as a buzzy oasis in the concrete jungle of the capital – the throngs congregating have caused issues for some long-standing retailers on the street.
Gardaí renew appeal for information on disappearance of Michael Gaine

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

Gardaí have issued a renewed appeal for information that could help locate missing sheep farmer Michael Gaine, three weeks on from his disappearance. Speaking to media outside Kenmare Garda station on Friday, Supt Dave Callaghan said the ongoing search effort had been comprehensive but investigators remained on the hunt for any new information.
Hoopoe hoopla: ‘In my 40 years of birding, I’ve never seen anything like this spring’

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

The Irish birding world is abuzz with talk of the hoopoe. This striking springtime visitor is having a moment in the spotlight along the south coast, where sightings this year are the highest they have ever been. “In my 40 years of birding, I’ve never seen anything like this spring,” said Paul Connaughton, an ornithologist who sits on the Irish Rare Birds Committee, on a weekend hunt for the usually little-seen hoopoe.
Motorcyclist (20s) dies in Galway crash

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

We value your privacyWe and our 84 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting I ACCEPT enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Settings link on the bottom of the webpage .
Where is Michael Gaine? The mysterious case of the missing Kerry farmer

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

A shift in mood is taking place in Kenmare. When Defence Forces vehicles full of soldiers rolled into the picturesque Kerry town to join the search on Tuesday, the shock felt by locals in the wake of Michael Gaine’s disappearance was giving way to an air of sober resignation. “It might have been April Fool’s, but there’s nobody joking in this town,” said local councillor Dan McCarthy, sitting in the canteen of the cattle mart he manages.
‘If we flood again, we’re homeless’: Midleton homeowners in crisis without flood insurance after storms

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

Much has been written about the scale of damages experienced in Midleton and other east Cork towns as a result of Storm Babet in October 2023. Estimates put the damage at almost €200 million. The personal toll on the town’s residents is harder to quantify. “It doesn’t turn off. You don’t get more than 30 minutes without thinking about the flood,” says Midleton resident Caroline Leahy. “It’s the F-word that’s barred in our house. You don’t mention the F-word”.
‘Hope is all we have now’: Shock in Kenmare as search for farmer continues a week on from disappearance

1 month ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

Shock is the great unifier in Kenmare at the moment. That, and a fondness for Michael Gaine, the local sheep farmer who has been missing for the past week. Walking the streets of the bustling and colourful town, it is hard to find a bad word to be said about the 56-year-old. People in every street, pub and shop knew of him and had plenty of warm words.
Tallest tree in Co Donegal castle gardens among casualties of Storm Éowyn

2 months ago | irishtimes.com | Liam Coates

Nature trails in the west and northwest of Ireland were worst hit by Storm Éowyn, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has said as its clean-up operation continues more than three weeks after the record-breaking weather event. A spokesperson for the agency said “significant impacts” were seen across Connemara and Glenveagh national parks, with the Donegal park’s native oak woodland losing hundreds of trees, including mature oaks, birch and holly.