Lifestyle

A public campaign is underway inviting patients, carers and families to share stories about their experiences of care to help improve services for people with non-curable and serious illnesses. During the month of April, across the country, the Let’s Talk About Care campaign is calling on people to share their experiences by completing an open survey at www.caresurvey.org. The survey is being led by All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care (AIIHPC) and open to people (or their carers or families on their behalf) with serious conditions such as advanced respiratory disease, chronic kidney disease, motor neuron disease, cancer, heart failure, dementia and so on. AIIHPC director, Paddie Blaney said, “For people with conditions that cannot be cured¨, the goal of care is the best possible quality of life. They may need help with pain and other symptoms but also practical, social, emotional and spiritual support and they may need that care for weeks, months and years up to …

Tuesday March 24th Breakfast 7:15 30g of porridge with skimmed milk and water and green tea. Mid morning 10:30 A mandarin and pear. Lunch 13:00 Two slices of Be Good bread and a banana and a weight watchers yoghurt with a glass of water. Dinner 15:30 A scoop of mash with vegetables and a gammon steak with a pint of water. Snack 20:00 A bowl of sugar free jelly with two tablespoons of natural yoghurt and a green tea. Wednesday March 25th Breakfast 7:15 Two crumpets with a teaspoon of sugar free jam and a green tea. Mid morning 12:00 A coffee and two Weightwatchers cookies. Lunch 2:30 A wrap with spicy chicken and salad with two glasses of water and a green tea. Dinner 18:00 Two baby potatoes with vegetables and a gammon steak with a pint of water. Snack 20:00 A green tea. Thursday March 26th Breakfast 7:15 Two poached eggs with two slices of Be Good bread …

A new television series on the Wild Atlantic Way is expected to have an audience of 15 million British viewers when it airs on ITV in the coming weeks. Wild Ireland is fronted by renowned TV personality, Christine Bleakley, who explores the highlights of the world’s longest continuous coastal route by driving, cycling, hiking, swimming and kayaking her way from Malin Head in Donegal to Mizen Head in Cork. The first of six 30-minute episodes will premier on British TV screens on Monday, April 13. Viewers in Ireland can tune in on UTV Ireland weekly from Wednesday, April 15 at 9pm. Behind the project is Louth-based Big Mountain Productions, run by husband and wife team, Philip McGovern and Jane Kelly, who specialise in creating original format TV series. At the launch, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said, “The Wild Atlantic Way is 2,500 kilometres of the most captivating coastal scenery you will ever lay eyes on, which is why it is attracting …

AN Ennis champion athlete has revealed how running helped him to overcome bouts of depression. Ultra-marathon runner, Keith Whyte, who recently won the 100km ice-marathon in the Antartic, has lauded the work of Pieta House, the self-harm and suicide prevention service. Speaking at the Clare launch of the 2015 events, Mr Whyte urged people to attend the fundraiser in huge numbers. While the 35-year-old athlete never experienced suicidal tendencies, he did suffer from depression in his early 20s and found running helped to lift his mood. In addition to raising vital funds for the charity, he said the Darkness into Light walk would help raise public awareness and general debate about depression, which is still considered something of a taboo subject. “Depression can happen to anyone at any time. I think deep down most people have suffered from depression in some form. A lot depends on a person’s coping skills and having the right people around them to prevent it …

A large number of criminal activities including incidents of attempted murder, drug dealing and cybercrime were successfully tackled during 2014 with information provided by calls to the confidential Crimestoppers service. In Munster and Connacht, information given to Crimestoppers led to cannabis seizures and arrests. In Leinster, drugs including heroin, cocaine and cannabis herb with a combined street value of over €25,000 were seized and arrests were made. According to a new Crimestoppers report, the service received an average of 138 calls every month during 2014. The most common calls requiring action include drug dealing, sexual offences, cybercrime and road traffic offences. The Crimestoppers’ freephone number 1800 250025 provides a confidential means for every citizen to report crime, without fear of recrimination and is open from 9am until 9pm daily. Calls are answered by trained Gardaí and are dealt with in the strictest of confidence. Callers do not need to leave their name or address. Over 1,600 calls were made to …

A young Ennis woman now has use of a Jaguar F-TYPE coupé sports car for a year after winning Best Dressed Lady title at the Dubai World Cup Carnival racing festival over the weekend. Mary Behan from Beechpark, who works at the Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi, won the prestigous competition wearing a high street outfit, with a blue floral dress from Miss Selfridge and a hat from occasion wear specialists Coast. There were more than 1,000 online entries for the Best Dressed categories, with race-goers converging from Europe, Australia, America and Asia on Dubai’s Meydan course. A daugher of Geralding and Randel Behan, Mary was shocked but delighted to be chosen from so many ladies who worn splendid outfits. The use of the car was one of a number of prizes that goes with the accolade. Emirates flight attendant and staff trainer, Evelyn McDermott from Tralee was runner-up. She won the Best Dressed prize at the Dubai World Cup …

As part of the Change for Good campaign, Aer Lingus has this week launched a special collection on all flights to raise funds for UNICEF’s Syrian appeal. Change for Good is the UNICEF in-flight collection of unused foreign notes and coins to raise funds for vulnerable children around the world. As the conflict in Syria enters its fifth year, 14 million children are in need of humanitarian support, making this the single biggest humanitarian crisis since World War Two. The situation of more than 5.6 million children inside Syria remains the most desperate. Almost two million Syrian children have fled and are living as refugees most of them in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan. The scale of this crisis is unprecedented; the total number of Syrian children in need of assistance is 15 times what it was in 2012. UNICEF Ireland Executive Director, Peter Power said, “While visiting the Syrian-Lebanese border, I witnessed first hand the appalling and inhumane conditions in …

AN Ennis family has been lauded by a local kidney recipient for donating organs from their 19-year-old son, who died unexpectedly 10 years ago. In an interview with The Clare Champion to promote Organ Donor Awareness Week, which continues until April 4, Mary Murphy, Considine Road, explained that her youngest son, Garry died as a result of heart failure caused by a seizure in 2005. Mary says that she didn’t really think about organ donation at the time because she didn’t think anything was going to happen to Garry. “The family was called into a room in University Hospital, Limerick and were asked would we donate his organs and without even thinking, I said ‘yes’. Even though Garry was on life support, it was as if I was on the outside looking in. I brought in his clothes for going home. It hadn’t hit home. “He got a seizure on a Saturday morning and the life-support machine was turned off the …