Lifestyle

LOCALS are being asked to make a “wheel” effort in supporting the upcoming Cycle Against Suicide, by opening up their homes to 300 participants. The cycle will be making its way through Ennis on Saturday, May 3 and organisers need homestays for the cyclists who have taken on the challenge to raise suicide awareness. Fr Jerry Carey, who is working towards finding places for the participants, along with training to take part in the cycle himself, said he is “absolutely confident” that the generous people of Ennis will answer the call. He explained, “Cycle Against Suicide is a national initiative that was started by Irish entrepreneur, Jim Breen, as a result of his appearance on The Secret Millionaire. The main objective of the cycle is to raise awareness of the considerable help and supports that are available for anyone battling depression, self harm, at risk of suicide or those bereaved by suicide. The cycle is more about promoting awareness than …

EASTER Saturday, April 19, is the date that one lucky Banner lass will become the 2014 Clare Rose at a gala selection event in the Inn at Dromoland and it’s not too late to take part. The 2013 Clare Rose, Marie Donnellan, urged, “I have had the most wonderful year of my life and I would encourage women from across the county to fill-in an online entry form at www.roseoftralee.ie as soon as possible. I have made so many wonderful friends and enjoyed my travels to Belarus and New York City. The Clare Rose Selection event in itself is a life-changing experience while being selected to go forward to the Regional Festival in Portlaoise and ultimately the International Festival in Tralee were a bonus.” Deputy general manager of The Inn at Dromoland, Claire Coughlan, commented, “We are delighted to welcome the Clare Rose Centre to the hotel for the first time ever. It is a testament to the quality of …

REVENUE received about 10,000 calls to the LPT helpline this Monday morning, a huge proportion of which related to arrears of the Household Charge. Property owners seem now to be acting on the fact that the Household Charge, which was initially €100 and increased to €200 last July, will only increase further to €213 by the end of April if it is ignored. Given the significant number of property owners who have not complied with the 2012 Household Charge and the volume of calls received this morning, the Revenue Commissioners have decided to extend the deadline until close of business Wednesday evening The LPT helpline (1890 200 255) is open from 8am to 8pm today and tomorrow and 8am to 5pm on Wednesday. Any property owner that has submitted a genuine query – whether by email, letter or voicemail to the helpline – in respect of their obligations in advance of Wednesday evening will be treated as having complied with their …

SPRING is finally here and our wildlife needs a bit of help as they prepare for the mating season and raising their young. Our small birds are busy at this time of year so here are a few tips to help them. Check your bird feeders condition. Feeders need replaced so they don’t injure or make the birds sick. Check them regularly to ensure the rain isn’t making the seeds mouldy; mould means death to a small bird trying to survive and care for young. There are many diseases such as  salmonella and conjunctivitis and an unclean feeder may be inadvertently doing birds more harm than good. Birds are messy things so make sure the paving and areas around their feeders is kept clean, this will prevent unwanted wildlife such as rats sharing the feast you put out for the birds. Birds like to come back to the same feeders that have the food they want. Many people buy the …

KILCOLGAN Educate Together National School unveiled its new website this week. The school, which opened in September 2008, launched the new website (www.kilcolganetns.com), which promises greater input from pupils and teachers alike, according to principal Anna Eagleton. “With the rapid growth of our school, it is becoming increasingly important to have a wide-reaching and easily accessible and easily manageable platform to keep our parent body and community up to date. “A school website is, for many, the first contact they will have with a school and our hope is that any visitors to our site will enjoy the virtual experience as much as the real one,” said Ms Eagleton, who paid tribute to third-class teacher, Clare Lucey, who designed and built the site. “The most genuine and sincere thanks are due to Aidan McCarthy and Clare Lucey for developing the new website,” she stated. When the school first opened, there were just 20 children and two teachers. Now, in the …

FOTA Wildlife Park in Cork have just unveiled their latest arrivals, the yet to be named, 5ft tall male and female giraffes born at the end of January. The first born was the female calf on January 25 to mother, Bláithín and father, Walder.Two days later, a male calf was born to mother, Sapphire and father Tadhg. They now become the youngest of a herd of Rothschild giraffe at Fota, which are one of nine races of giraffe found in Africa. To celebrate the births Fota Wildlife Park has set up a competition inviting the public and schools to come up with an Irish name for the calves, which has become a tradition The competition to name the giraffe calves is open to everyone via the education section on Fotawildlife.ie. The winning name suggestion by a class will result in a class tour behind the scenes at the park, including some of the giraffes inside their house.  

RUAN kidney dialysis patient, Mary Griffin was “shocked” when she was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at the age of 57. The mother of six, who will be on dialysis five years at the end of April, is still waiting for that all-important call for a new kidney, which would utterly transform her quality of life. Urging people to support the annual Organ Donor Awareness Week campaign, which runs from March 29 to April 5, she also requested support for all fundraising activities undertaken by the Clare branch of the Irish Kidney Association (IKA). Two years before Ms Griffin was officially diagnosed, she wasn’t feeling, sleeping or eating well and was complaining about discomfort in her stomach. She underwent a number of tests  but they didn’t detect any stomach problems. In October 2008, she went into hospital and was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease at St John’s Hospital, Limerick, due to getting kidney infections. Her kidneys were functioning at 33% …

A BAREFIELD mother has revealed how her family has gained some comfort following the sudden tragic death of her husband, after his two kidneys were donated to a mother of six children. Bridie Purcell, of Ballyduff, Barefield, her son and three daughters were left devastated when Michael Purcell (67) died suddenly following an aneurysm in the brain on January 3, 2012. Affectionately known as Buddy, the father-of-four was  sorting a bale of silage with his friend, John Whelan, when he collapsed suddenly. Within an hour of babysitting her grandchildren, Bridie, who was 57 at the time, got a call to  leave the house, as Michael had been taken by ambulance. “I met him on the side of the road in an ambulance. I knew when I got into the ambulance that his eyes were dilated. Technically, he was on life support until they decided he was going downhill. “A team was waiting on standby at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin after …