A NEW £5.8million investment is set to drive tourists to Ireland’s smallest city thanks to a host of exciting new attractions.

Back in April, Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority of Ireland, announced a five-year plan to revamp Kilkenny.

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Located in County Kilkenny in South-East Ireland, holidaymakers often visit the tiny Irish city on a day trip from Dublin.

However, tourists may soon be planning to stay longer in the city thanks to the multi-million-pound development project.

The revamp will look to the city’s history, pubs and ties to hurling to promote Kilkenny as a major tourist destination in Ireland.

As part of the plan, Medieval Mile, a discovery trail in the city will be reimagined, with £1.2m being used to build the Museum of Medieval Kilkenny.

The Museum of Medieval Kilkenny will become a central point for the redevelopment of Medieval Mile and a key tourist attraction in the city.

Kilkenny’s redevelopment will also make use of the River Barrow, the River Nore, and the River Suir, also known as the Three Sisters Rivers.

The Three Sisters Rivers will become a prime place for urban and rural outdoor activity experiences – although it is not yet known that these experiences will be.

Other attractions are also being considered like a world-class creative animation visitor experience.

This visitor experience will build on Kilkenny’s heritage as a home to creative artists.

The project is being funded by Fáilte Ireland and Kilkenny County Council who will pump £5.9m into the refurb.

Earlier this year, Paul Kelly, the boss of Fáilte Ireland said: “This five-year Destination and Experience Development Plan captures the unique themes that are central to Kilkenny and features key priority projects which will transform the tourism offering across the region.

“The development of the River Barrow Tourism Masterplan, reimagination of the Medieval Mile, and building on Kilkenny’s cultural and creative heritage will strengthen Kilkenny’s position as an internationally compelling destination in Ireland’s Ancient East. 

It is not yet known when any of the attractions will open to the public.

OTHER KILKENNY ATTRACTIONS

Until the revamp is completed in five years’ time, there are still plenty of things to do in Kilkenny.

One of the main tourist attractions is Kilkenny Castle, which was built in the 12th century.

The Irish castle was remodelled in the Victorian Era and was taken over by the Irish State in 1969.

Nowadays, Kilkenny Castle welcomes thousands of visitors each year who want to see the library, drawing room, nursery and bedrooms decorated in 1830s splendour

Other attractions include St. Canice’s Cathedral and Round Tower, Rothe House and Garden and the The Black Abbey.

Beer enthusiasts will want to check out Smithwick’s Experience where they can go on a brewery tour and sample some Irish ale.

Earlier this year, plans were put forward to transform London Waterloo – the third busiest train station in the UK.

The proposals detailed new entrances, increased space on the station’s concourses and new shops and restaurants.

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As the conflict across the Middle East widens, rising oil prices are being closely watched.

The cost of oil affects everything from the price of food at the supermarket to how much it costs to fill up your car.

The price of crude oil has risen almost 10% this week to around $78 a barrel as the conflict has intensified.

That may seem like a big jump, but the price of crude oil tends to be volatile, and in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a barrel of benchmark Brent crude hit almost $130.

The uptick comes as many countries, including the UK, are just beginning to recover from the sharp rise in oil prices after the Covid pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine. So how worried should we be?

Crude oil is a key ingredient in petrol and diesel, meaning higher oil prices could drive up prices at the pumps just when they’ve just hit their lowest level for three years.

If a company delivering goods, such as food, is hit by higher fuel costs, it is also likely to raise its prices. These increased costs could then be passed on by supermarkets selling the food to us, the consumer. The cost of living goes up.

“Everything we go and buy in the shop has been transported around and has been made from things that have been transported around. The increase in fuel costs tends to filter into everything,” Callum Macpherson, head of commodities at Investec, tells the BBC.

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, which sets interest rates, has warned the conflict in the Middle East has the potential to have a “very serious” impact on the UK.

Mr Bailey said he was watching developments “extremely closely”. This comes as he signalled interest rates are on the path downwards, and the UK’s prospects on inflation – which has come down after being driven up by high oil and gas prices in 2022 – are looking brighter.

Yet so far a rise to about $78 a barrel is not the time for alarm bells.

If the “worst-case scenario” of further escalation does not materialise, oil prices are likely to “ease back quite quickly”, says Caroline Bain, chief commodities economist at Capital Economics.

Iran is the world’s seventh largest oil exporter, with half of its exports going to China. If supplies were disrupted, China could turn to Russia.

But Ms Bain warns markets are “finely balanced”, and if the conflict escalates, “taking out a medium-sized supplier like Iran would lead to a spike in prices”.

She says there is “more than enough capacity” globally to cover the gap if Iranian production is lost, but there is the question of where Saudi Arabia’s “loyalty will lie” as the world’s second largest oil producer and whether it will increase or restrict further production.

Mr Macpherson says if Israel did decide to attack Iran’s oil sector, a rise in the price of Brent crude could increase the cost of filling up at the pumps “quite quickly”.

He explains that this scenario could threaten general inflation in the UK, which could in turn influence any decision from the Bank of England to lower interest rates.

However, he also points out “there might not ultimately be any disruption to supply” at all.

The direct impact of Iran’s oil production is not the only concern.

There is a risk that any escalation in the region could block the Strait of Hormuz, a relatively narrow channel through which a huge amount of oil tanker traffic passes -about a third of total seaborne-traded oil.

It is also the path through which a fifth of liquefied natural gas (LNG) is transported, a commodity that the world has become more dependent on since sanctions were imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Asia is most physically dependent on the flow of oil and gas out of the Persian Gulf, and the immediate impact of an escalation would be significant.

Disruption to LNG shipments from one of the world’s biggest exporters in Qatar would lead to higher gas prices – which could in turn lead to a rise in household gas and electricity bills. As with oil, gas prices filter down supply chains, affecting the cost of virtually all goods.

UK energy bills have risen 10% for this winter, but are currently predicted to fall slightly in January. This forecast could change of course, if an escalation to the conflict in the Middle East affects global gas supplies, and leads to higher prices.

But Ms Bain says the risk of strait being blocked as a result of the conflict is small.

And if it does transpire, Mr Macpherson adds the effect on the UK would be minimal, given that most of Europe’s gas is supplied mainly from Norway.

There are a lot of possible outcomes, but in terms of what will happen with oil prices in the coming weeks and months, “nobody knows”, Mr Macpherson admits.

There’s a “wide spectrum” of what could come next, he adds, but “there is really no way of telling where we will be this time next week”.

WETHERSPOONS has confirmed that 26 of its pubs have closed for good since July 2023, with five more at risk.

Pubs have closed in locations across the UK, including Stafford, London, Halifax and Penarth.

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A further five pubs have also been put up for sale, four of which are already under offer.

The Ivor Davies in Cardiff is up for sale, while the four pubs under offer are the Sir Daniel Arms in Swindon, the Hain Line in St Ives, the Foot of the Walk in Leith and the Quay in Poole.

Under offer may mean that a bid is being considered or has been accepted.

But as the sale has not been finalised the pub remains on the market.

Wetherspoons regularly reviews the branches it has up for sale and has often taken venues off the market to continue operating as part of the pub chain.

In its annual report published today the pub giant said the disposal of the 27 pubs it has closed gave rise to a cash inflow of £8.9 million.

Wetherspoons has sold the freehold of premises it owned outright and returned others to their landlords.

The pub sites sold may reopen to welcome drinkers under their new owners.

Landlords could also find new tenants, so Wetherspoons’ departure doesn’t necessarily mean the loss of a pub for locals.

The sites closed are:

• The Saltoun Inn, Fraserburgh – sold
• Widow Frost, Mansfield – sold
• General Sir Redvers Buller, Crediton – sold
• Butler’s Bell, Stafford – sold
• Coronet, Holloway Road, London – sold
• White Hart, Todmorden – sold
• Asparagus, Battersea – sold
• Mock Beggar Hall, Moreton – sold
• Sir Norman Rae, Shipley – sold
• Lord Arthur Lee, Fareham – sold
• Market Cross, Holywell – sold
• The Cross Keys, Peebles – sold
• The Regent, Kirkby in Ashfield – sold
• An Geata Arundel, Waterford – sold
• Jolly Sailor, Hanham – sold
• Millers Well, Purley, Halifax – sold
• The London & Rye in Rushey Green, Catford – sold
• Bankers Draft, Eltham – returned to landlord
• Sir John Arderne, Newark – returned to landlord
• Night Jar, Ferndown – returned to landlord
• Moon and Bell, Loughborough – returned to landlord
• Capitol, Forest Hill – returned to landlord
• Hart and Spool, Borehamwood – returned to landlord
• Alfred Herring, Palmers Green – returned to landlord
• Tichenham Inn, Ickenham – returned to landlord
• Bears Head, Penarth – returned to landlord

Wetherspoons has also opened two new sites in the last 12 months – The Captain Flinders near Euston Station and the Star Light at Heathrow Airport, and The Grand Assembly in Marlow.

A number of sites have also been expanded including the Red Lion,
Skegness; the Talk of the Town, Paignton; the Albany Palace, Trowbridge and the Mile Castle, Newcastle.

Wetherspoons, which has around 800 pubs across the UK, continues to draw crowds with ambitions openings.

A huge new £3.5million pub opened in the countryside town of Marlow, in Buckinghamshire, on September 24.

Plus, Wetherspoon opened its first pub at a holiday park at Haven’s Primrose Valley in Filey, North Yorkshire in March.

In an exclusive interview with The Sun, Wetherspoons boss Sir Tim Martin he is planning to ramp up plans to launch “Super Spoons” pubs – making existing sites even bigger.

It has recently made a big bet on giant pubs, such as its one in Ramsgate which can cater up to 1,400 punters.

And work on its “Super Spoons” in Newcastle is now underway which will include a 26-bedroom hotel and 3,000 sq ft beer garden.

Martin also exclusively revealed to The Sun that he would not be putting up prices this year in good news for drinkers.

In its annual report to for FY24 Wetherspoons reported sales of £2,036million – an increase of 5.7% on the previous year.

Like-for-like sales were up 7.6%, driven by an 8.9% increase in bar sales and a 5.6% increase in food sales.

Profit before tax saw a dramatic uptick from £42.6m in FY23 to £73.9, in FY24.

Martin has previously said he aims to have 1,000 pubs.

What is happening to the hospitality industry?

Many food and drink chains have been struggling in recent years as the cost of living has led to fewer people eating out.

Businesses had been struggling to bounce back after the pandemic, only to be hit with soaring energy bills and inflation.

Multiple chains have been affected, resulting in big-name brands like Wetherspoons and Frankie & Benny’s closing branches.

Some chains have not survived. Byron Burger fell into administration last year, with owners saying it would result in the loss of over 200 jobs.

Pizza giant Papa Johns is shutting down 43 of its stores soon.

Tasty, the owner of Wildwood, said it will shut sites as part of major restructuring plans.

How can I save money at Wetherspoons?

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FREE refills – Buy a £1.50 tea, coffee or hot chocolate and you can get free refills. The deal is available all day, every day.

Check a map – Prices can vary from one location the next, even those close to each other.

So if you’re planning a pint at a Spoons, it’s worth popping in nearby pubs to see if you’re settling in at the cheapest.

Choose your day – Each night the pub chain runs certain food theme nights.

For instance, every Thursday night is curry club, where diners can get a main meal and a drink for a set price cheaper than usual.

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Pick-up vouchers – Students can often pick up voucher books in their local near universities, which offer discounts on food and drink, so keep your eyes peeled.

Get appy – The Wetherspoons app allows you to order and pay for your drink and food from your table – but you don’t need to be in the pub to use it. 

Taking full advantage of this, cheeky customers have used social media to ask their friends and family to order them drinks. The app is free to download on the App Store or Google Play.

Check the date – Every year, Spoons holds its Tax Equality Day to highlight the benefits of a permanently reduced tax bill for the pub industry.

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It usually takes place in September, and last year it fell on Thursday, September 14.

As well as its 12-day Real Ale Festival every Autumn, Wetherspoons also holds a Spring Festival.

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The Middle East was set to change from the moment Hamas militants broke through the security barrier around Gaza on October 7, crossed into Israel and killed more Jews than on any day since the Holocaust. A nation’s worst nightmare was realised in the most brutal fashion. Its enemy rampaged through homes, murdering and maiming. About 1,200 people were slain; another 250 dragged back to Gaza.

Israel received wide sympathy as it reeled from its darkest day. Allies supported its right to hold those responsible to account as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war and launched a thunderous offensive against Hamas in Gaza. But there were also words of caution. President Joe Biden warned the traumatised nation to avoid Washington’s mistakes after the 9/11 attacks, when it invaded Afghanistan and Iraq. As the death toll soared in Gaza, US defence secretary Lloyd Austin cautioned that Israel risked replacing “a tactical victory with a strategic defeat” if it did not do more to protect civilians.

These friendly words of advice at a perilous moment for Israel and the region appear to have fallen on deaf ears. Traditional red lines between age-old foes have been repeatedly crossed, historical precedents rendered useless. A year of catastrophic death and destruction has followed, with tragedy layered upon tragedy.

On Monday, Israelis will mark the grim anniversary of October 7 with their country at war not just in Gaza, but on multiple fronts. Hamas is severely depleted. But it has not disappeared. Israel’s offensive has wrought unimaginable suffering, killing more than 41,000 people, mostly women and children, according to Palestinian health officials. Most Gazans have been driven from their homes as Israeli bombs have reduced swaths of the enclave to rubble. Disease and hunger stalk the population as Israel lays siege to the strip.

Dozens of Israeli hostages are still trapped in a hellish existence, their agonised families not knowing their fate. Repeated efforts to broker a ceasefire and hostage deal have failed. Israel still has no viable postwar plan as Netanyahu vows “total victory”.

The occupied West Bank, meanwhile, has endured one of its bloodiest years in decades under a barrage of Israeli military raids. Israel has dramatically escalated its offensive against Hizbollah, launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon, while wreaking havoc across the country with waves of air strikes. More than a 1,000 Lebanese have been killed and 1mn displaced.

Hizbollah erred in beginning to fire rockets into the Jewish state from October 8, ostensibly in solidarity with Hamas. Its attacks forced 60,000 Israelis from their homes and fed Israeli fears that it faced an existential threat from Iran and groups it arms and backs. There was, however, no evidence that Tehran — long a malign force in the region — was involved in Hamas’s attack. Today, Israel’s escalation against Hizbollah, including assassinating its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, and Iran’s retaliatory missile barrage at Israel, have pushed the region to the brink of a long-feared all-out war.

The Biden administration has repeatedly called for de-escalation, the crisis underling its position as the only power with the diplomatic heft to douse the flames. But it has also exposed its impotence in reining in Netanyahu and his far-right allies. He remains defiant, but his country looks increasingly isolated, its government facing accusations of committing genocide in Gaza.

Twelve months of conflict have left Israel no more secure, its people still traumatised, and the region around it in pain and in flames. Israel’s allies have long understood that the path to lasting security for the Jewish state involves a peaceful settlement with the Palestinians, rather than a forever war. Sadly, Israel, under Netanyahu, has lost faith in the promise of coexistence and in the counsel of its friends.

DISCOUNT retailer B&M has slashed the price on tubs of sweets that are perfect for Halloween.

The popular confectionery is flying off the shelves as shoppers get wind of the amazing offer.

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Just £1 buys a 1kg drum of Haribo Supermix when you shop in store.

Usually you would pay a lot more for the sweet treats, for example, Iceland is currently selling 1kg tubs for £6m while Sainsbury’s has the 400g size on sale at £3.

Details of the fiendishly fab offer were posted on the Latest Deals website and quickly attracted lots of comments.

“Well this is Halloween sorted. A great offer! Thanks for sharing,” said one shopper.

Another posted: “Wow!!, fantastic price perfect for Halloween for when the little ones come knocking in their great costumes.”

And another commented: “Amazing price. What can you get for £1 nowadays. Will keep my eyes peeled.”

The offer is available in store on Haribo Supermix – the one with the milk bottles and tangy mini figures.

We have also found the same offer at B&M on 1kg tubs of Haribo Giant Strawbs, though sadly not on Starmix or Tangfastics. 

As well as Halloween the tubs should come in handy for the festive season.

“I love Haribo and at this price may have to treat the family.  Perfect for keeping for Christmas as well,” said one happy commenter.

“Now that’s a price for everyone, even if you don’t like sweets. Great for Christmas as well as Halloween,” posted another.

It’s always worth shopping around to find the best deals before buying.

Using websites like Latest Deals, or price comparison websites such as Trolley or PriceSpy can help you check prices and find special offers from hundreds of retailers.

Typing what you’re after into Google Shopping will also bring up a raft of prices and retailers, while joining Facebook groups such as Bargains UK and Extreme Couponing will alert you to discounts as soon as they’re spotted by members.

As 31 October approaches you may well find other great price cuts on confectionery, especially Halloween-theme sweets and chocolates because retailers won’t want to be left with stock after the event.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

I grew up in Melbourne in the early 1990s, the city’s post-punk/jazz/disco years, with the rise of all the laneway bars and cafés, which kind of set it up as Australia’s rocking, urban city. I launched Caffé e Cucina there, which was quite culturally important for Melbourne.

Then I moved to Sydney in 1999; I was giving myself a break from working, and (the late billionaire property developer) Lang Walker made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: to launch a restaurant, which eventually became Otto Ristorante at the Wharf. Sydney, I’d always felt, was the beach capital of the country, and I was really drawn to that. It still surprises me to see someone in the middle of a metropolis with a surfboard.

Being a secular punk boy from Melbourne, I did a year in Surry Hills. It was a whole other thing back then, much more powerfully gay than it is now, and I was out clubbing every night. Then I went to Bondi. There was a lot of new electronic music and a gallery opening every week back then. Now that’s all gone because it’s become expensive, and those people have moved up to Byron or wherever. But that was a powerful scene for me, and for what Icebergs was when I opened it in 2002.

Potts Point is where I live now. It feels as urban as Sydney gets, which I enjoy. I eat early these days, having two young sons, and having spent a lifetime eating at two o’clock in the morning. I like Bistrot 916 – I take the boys and we’ll have a nice steak frites or a scotch fillet. I also go to The Apollo a lot. Those guys have been on since day one; the food is real Greek, no frills, it just comes out consistently good. It’s like my home kitchen. Piccolo Bar, in Kings Cross, is nice for a drink. It opened in the ’50s as this kind of Italian café-diner; when it closed a few years back two customers reopened it as a café before bartender Dave Spanton took it over as an aperitivo/cocktail bar in 2021. And I go to Zinc (77 Macleay St) for my coffee because it’s on my run route and they know my order. 

There are places I will leave Potts Point for: Ursula’s, in Paddington, is outstanding. Phil Wood is one of my favourite chefs. On Oxford Street there’s a branch of P&V Merchants, who specialise in natural wines from smaller producers and small-batch spirits, most of them Australian. It’s always good for a discovery, and there’s a little wine bar as well.

The beaches are 100 per cent egalitarian; once you’re down there, no one cares who you are

But the good thing about my neighbourhood is how close you are to so much. The Museum of Contemporary Art is over in The Rocks; my boys’ mother [fashion designer] Lucy [Hinckfuss] takes them there almost every weekend, because there’s always something on. We go to the Art Gallery of New South Wales all the time too. I love what they did with the addition of the SANAA-designed Sydney Modern Project. You know you’re in Sydney when you’re in that space. I don’t go to galleries [here] to feel like I’m in Paris. 

I only really wear Rick Owens, so I buy most of that online. That said, there is some amazing retail here. Dion Horstmans is a dear friend who makes beautiful steel sculptures; you can visit his studio on Saturdays or by appointment. Song for the Mute is a great example of Sydney style – it started as a pop-up on King Street, with men’s and womenswear that’s really conceptual, and opened a flagship on George Street in the CBD last year. And Lucy Folk, who makes jewellery, has a little shop just off Bondi Beach. It has a lot of character.

I’m a big believer in public facilities, something Australia has always done really well. The beaches are 100 per cent egalitarian; once you’re down there, no one cares who you are. One of the most magnificent places in Sydney, for me, is Marks Park in South Bondi – this green space on a headland on one of the most beautiful coastlines, for everyone to enjoy. I remember playing with my boys there a few years ago on an amazing day and just thinking, “Fuck me, man, here we are.” I might be charging you, like, 400 bucks a head down at the Icebergs, but anyone can come here with some anchovies, salami and a nice bit of mozzarella, sit on a park bench on top of the ocean and have the picnic of all picnics. How good is that?