Lifestyle

A research programme, aimed at improving the health of people aged over 50 in the county, was launched today (Monday) by Minister of State for Health Promotion, Catherine Byrne. University of Limerick’s Move For Life research study is encouraging people in Clare and Limerick, who are aged over 50 and who would like to be more active, to join the programme. Minister Byrne said, “This programme not only encourages people to become more active, it also empowers them to become influencers within their own communities, something which could lead to considerable positive public health implications. “Being active has so many benefits both for physical and mental health and we in Healthy Ireland are very happy to support University of Limerick in this project which, as our population ages, targets a very important demographic. As a hub of research and expertise in the areas of health and physical activity in the region, UL is well placed to lead this programme. I …

A Kilmihil-based cancer support night nurse says she is “humbled” by the welcome she receives from families while she is caring for their loved ones. Working with the Irish Cancer Society (ICS) since June 2002 as a night nurse, Anne Normoyle is one of the night nurses who are the link between the living and the dying. Speaking at the launch of the ICS’s Relay for Life, Anne admitted there is a huge trust issue when by families let a total stranger into their home to look after a loved one at a very vulnerable stage in their lives. “Night nurses are humbled by the fact we are accepted into peoples’ homes at such a delicate time for the patient and their family. “A person may be all dressed up the first night but, by night two, generally, they are in their pyjamas ready to go to bed. It is a good sign that they have their trust in us …

CLICKING on an email, Ennis man Anthony Galvin was met with these simple words: “If you do this trip, you will die.” This piece of advice was in response to plans by Anthony and his good friend, Henk van der Klok, to take on the coldest journey in the northern hemisphere, a 1,400km trek across Siberia. The pair had made contact with a local person to get some inside knowledge about the area, ahead of their plans to set off next January. However, if the sender of the email had intended to deter Anthony and Henk, he was mistaken. “We reckoned that it was the green light we were waiting for. If you get an email like that, you have to go for it,” Anthony laughs. He and his Dutch-born companion are now busy preparing for the mammoth trek, the second coldest march ever, behind Bowers, Wilson and Cherry-Gerrard’s six-week trek in search of penguin eggs in Antarctica in 1911, …

ON April 6, 2016, Dr Jim Bradley woke up to a new reality. During the night, the Ennis-based business consultant had suffered a stroke and he faced a major challenge. The stroke had affected the functioning of his right side and his arm and leg were not working properly. Dealing with the situation brought all the skills he had developed as a highly-experienced scientist, educator, facilitator and martial artist into sharp focus. As part of his healing, Jim has written a book, outlining the steps that he developed and applied to help himelf to a full recovery. RISE UP! Revolution You is a six-step guide to personal change, which launched in the De Valera Library in Ennis this week. “I have learned that when you are faced with a challenge, or a desire to make a personal change, you need to be realistic. You need to draw on all the resources that you have and focus on what you can …

YOU don’t have to have sight to have vision. Those are the words of Lahinch woman Aine Mae O’Mahony, whose determination never to quit in the face of adversity provided inspiration to others at the national launch of the Irish Kidney Association’s Organ Donor Awareness Week. Aine Mae, who lost her sight in her twenties, was among those invited to speak about their health experiences at the launch, having undergone a double transplant last year. She received a kidney and pancreas and is enjoying a life without diabetes and dialysis, as a result of the gift of life given to her through organ donation. At the age of eight, Aine Mae was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. “There was not much known about diabetes at the time, nor any new developments in terms of its management and it was quite terrifying holding that syringe for the first time preparing to inject myself,” she recalled. At 25, she lost her eyesight …

BUDDING photographers are being encouraged to showcase their skills by taking part in a photography competition, run by Ennis Rotary Club, with the support of The Clare Champion. Young people, aged between seven and 18, have the chance to win some picture-perfect prizes, while the overall winner will compete in the Rotary International All-Ireland final. Participants are being asked to submit an image based on the theme ‘My Best Friend’. Judging the competition will be award-winning Clare Champion photographer John Kelly, commercial and wedding photographer Paul Corey and Chris Copley, a member of the committee of Ennis Camera Club. The competition is now open, with April 6 the closing date for submissions. According to organisers, they have already been blown away with some of the entries that have been received. However, it is not too late to get involved. Photographs for the competition must be entered in digital format and winners will be printed and presented at an awards night …

IMAGES of Lahinch were beamed into the homes of some one million people in Sweden recently, in an episode of a popular TV show called Go’kväll. The show aired on Sveriges Television, the national public broadcaster in Sweden, and focused on seaweed-foraging and locally-produced beer. It also featured the spectacular County Clare landscape. Filming took place last summer and was supported by Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. Viewers of Go’kväll saw reporter Joachim Vogel interview local seaweed forager Oonagh O’Dwyer, from Wild Kitchen, as well as Birgitta and Peter Curtin from The Burren Brewery. A separate episode featuring County Clare also aired at the end January, featuring Lisdoonvarna matchmaker Willie Daly and The Burren. “Tourism Ireland was delighted that Go’kväll chose to film in Clare. With an audience of more than one million viewers per episode, it was a fantastic opportunity to showcase County Clare and the Wild Atlantic Way,” said Julie McLaughlin, Tourism Ireland’s manager for the Nordic Region. …

WITH Leaving Certificate students across the county preparing for the next stage of their lives, they would do well to listen to the advice of one Ennis-based woman who certainly knows a thing or two about studying. Christina Larkin has become the first Doctor of Nursing to graduate from University College Dublin. As she says herself, she was “a very average student” while in secondary school; however, at 46, she has gone on to graduate with the highest educational honour. Dr Larkin hopes that by sharing her story, it will show people that there are many ways of achieving what you want and that it is never too late to follow your dreams. “I am also quite excited to be speaking about my study at the Horatio Congress for European Psychiatric Nurses in the Faroe Islands in May. I have become a member of the European Violence in Psychiatry Research Group so I am looking forward to meeting other researchers …