Year in Review: Looking back on the news across Louth in December 2025

December 9th

St Louis student Carla McDonnell told how she was “over the moon” to have been crowned the first Irish winner of the World Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.

The talented 16-year-old, who was selected to represent Ireland at the prestigious competition in New York after winning an award for innovation at the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) Youth Entrepreneurship Awards earlier this year, beat stiff competition from 13 other countries to win the top global award.

Carla from Darver, was inspired to come up with her invention from working on her family farm and started working on her product in TY with the support of business teacher Roisin Mallon.
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An independent review into the State’s dealings with the family of missing Dundalk schoolboy Kyran Durnin found that what happened “could not have been anticipated”.

Children’s Minister Norma Foley said that the report pointed to “policy and practice weaknesses” in relation to the child and family agency Tusla and other departments and state agencies.

She said the report could not be published in full due to legal advice from the Attorney General that it “may prejudice any potential or future prosecutions that might take place”.

Gardai launched a murder investigation last October into the disappearance of Kyran, who was potentially missing for two years unknown to authorities.

Gardai suspect that Kyran may have died in 2022 when he was six.

Tusla said it raised a “significant” concern about the missing child to police last August and launched an internal review about its engagement with Kyran and his family.

The outcome of that review, completed last November, prompted then children’s minister Roderic O’Gorman to say there were “elements that are of concern in terms of the overall state response”.

The case was then referred to the independent National Review Panel (NRP), which conducts reviews of child deaths and serious incidents with the aim of improving services.

December 16th

Louth bore the brunt of Storm Bram as strong winds and unusually high tides battered Dundalk, Blackrock, and the Cooley Peninsula. Forecasters described the event as a “multi-hazard” storm, combining tidal surges with heavy coastal winds that caused widespread flooding and disruption.

In anticipation of the storm, Louth County Council distributed sandbags and activated flood barriers along vulnerable coastal areas. Despite these measures, flood levels exceeded predictions by roughly 200mm, leading to road closures and significant damage in parts of the county. Residents and businesses were forced to contend with sudden surges of water, leaving some roads submerged and homes and shops at risk.

Blackrock Main Street was also badly affected, seawalls overtopped, and Christmas decorations were toppled by the storm.
Meanwhile, roads across Cooley and Omeath were rendered impassable, while out-of-hours council crews worked to clear debris and restore access.
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Dundalk Municipal District has voted to send a request for clarification to Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) and have also requested a meeting with senior government figures regarding the proposed Dundalk Bay–Carlingford Greenway, following a lengthy and sometimes tense debate at its December meeting.

The amended motion passed only after Cathaoirleach Cllr Robert Nash (FG) exercised his casting vote, bringing a close to a sitting that saw councillors adjourn for twenty minutes in an attempt to agree amended wording.

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The original motion, brought jointly by Fianna Fáil’s Cllr Andrea McKevitt and Fine Gael’s Cllr John Reilly, sought to pause the Greenway project pending both the review of the County Development Plan and TII’s national review of the Code of Best Practice for Greenways.

In a written response to councillors, David Jones, Director of Services for Major Capital Projects, stated:

“The project is being developed in accordance with TII's Code of Best Practice for Greenways, inclusive of public consultation, landowner engagement and land acquisition, TII's funding approval process, and within the overarching context of the Council's County Development Plan 2021-2027.”