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Tag Archives: lockdown

Doolin dancer Tess is ‘Immersed in Blue’

AN INSPIRING video essay has been released by a Doolin dancer, urging people to use creativity and the natural world to support them in these challenging times. In the piece, filmed by Clem McInerney, Tess McGovern, an Irish dancer and teacher, relates how her world came to a stop last March and how she found solace in her native Doolin. The script, which Tess spent several months perfecting, describes the onset of the pandemic and how “waves of worry rose and the darkness set in, like a wild Atlantic storm the challenges grew, under siege by the westerly winds”. “Last March, I was working with the Milwaukee Irish Dance Company who, like all Irish dancers in America would be really busy around St Patrick’s Day,” Tess told The Champion. “It’s a time I would normally be teaching, gigging and lecturing. Then stuff started getting cancelled. The States were slower to go into lockdown but I got back on March 19 …

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‘Shocking’ rise in domestic abuse in second lockdown last year

NEW figures reveal that three Clare children were forced to spend Christmas Day in a refuge because of domestic abuse in their home. The data, which highlights the added pressure on the refuge operated by Clare Haven during the second lockdown last year, have been described by the service manager as “shocking”. Figures contained in the national report ‘Tracking the Shadow Pandemic – Lockdown 2,’ show that ten women and 17 children were given refuge, safety and security at Clare Haven in the month of November. A further 72 helpline calls were received to the service in that month alone, where we gave emotional support and information to women living with domestic abuse. A total of four women and 13 children were given refuge in December. Over the course of 2020, 88 women were in refuge in Clare up from the 79 in 2019 and 81 in 2018. “Even in an extraordinary time of crisis, these numbers are shocking,” said …

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Concern Over Impact Of Lockdown On Mental Health

DEPUTY Michael McNamara has criticised the lack of comprehensive information on self-harm presentations and suicide in Ireland during the current “oppressive” lockdown. The East Clare deputy has described the lack of empirical evidence on the impact of the lockdowns for people with mental health difficulties as an insult to these patients. The Independent deputy has expressed frustration about receiving self-harm information from only 24 out of 36 acute hospitals who are collecting this data. Speaking in the Dáil recently, Deputy McNamara stated nothing visibly has happened since he raised this issue recently. Acknowledging Minister of State, Mary Butler is working hard behind the scenes to advance mental health issues, he stressed everyone is living in an “incredibly oppressive society at present”. “The feeling is entirely oppressive and it is largely driven by elements in the media. I questioned whether there was sufficient coverage of mental health and I was attacked by some public health doctors for doing that and told …

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No new deaths notified as Clare records 16 new cases of Covid-19

THERE have been 16 new cases of Covid-19 notified in Clare, while there have been no new deaths reported to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre today. There has been a total of 3,948 Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Sunday, February 14, the HPSC has been notified of 821 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 210,402* confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 430 are male/ 389 are Female 70% are under 45 years of age The median age is 31 years old 333 in Dublin, 91 in Galway, 53 in Limerick, 41 in Kildare, 38 in Meath and the remaining 265 cases are spread across all other counties. As of 8am today, 916 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 157 are in ICU. 40 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours. As of Friday, February 12, 265,237 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in Ireland: 175,238 people have …

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12 new cases of Covid-19 recorded in County Clare

The Health Protection Surveillance Centre has today been notified of 12 new cases of Covid-19 in County Clare, while there have been 23 additional deaths related to Covid-19. 21 of these deaths occurred in February and two occurred in January. The median age of those who died was 84 years and the age range was 57 – 95 years. There has been a total of 3,865* Covid-19 related deaths in Ireland. As of midnight, Thursday, February 11, the HPSC has been notified of 921 confirmed cases of Covid-19. There is now a total of 207,720** confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland. Of the cases notified today: 453 are men / 466 are women 66% are under 45 years of age The median age is 34 years old 414 in Dublin, 87 in Cork, 51 in Kildare, 48 in Limerick, 47 in Meath and the remaining 274 cases are spread across all other counties. As of 8am today, 959 Covid-19 patients …

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Scariff protesters reject ‘anti-mask’ label

A MEMBER of a small group, who engage in weekly demonstrations in Scariff, has taken issue with the characterisation of their protests as ‘anti-mask’. In a letter to The Champion, Seán MacLeod denied the group are showing disregard for frontline workers and rejected suggestions that they are an intimidating presence for older people. The letter follows widespread condemnation of the group’s activities by the local community, a furious debate on social media, and a counter-demonstration highlighting the importance of the public health guidelines. While the protests have been peaceful, The Champion understands that local Gardaí are keeping the situation under review and have advised people that they must not breach the Covid-19 restrictions. In an email, Mr MacLeod said: “I would like to assure you that it is not the intention of anyone standing in the square to upset or intimidate anyone and also to say that many of us standing in the square are in the ‘vulnerable’ group of …

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McNamara warns ‘Zero Covid’ strategy would devastate Clare economy

ZERO Covid is strategy that would be unworkable and herald the end of tourism and aviation in Clare, according to Deputy Michael McNamara. The approach has been mooted by a growing number of opposition TDs and members of the medical profession and would involve reducing coronavirus cases to an absolute minimum, through a combination of lockdown and tight border controls. “Zero Covid sounds fine,” the Independent TD said, “but even if it was achievable, and I don’t believe that it is, when we can’t decide where we are going to have our border, what then? If we get to zero Covid cases, how are we to maintain that situation without more or less permanent quarantining of people arriving into the country? If that’s to be the system, we can forget about tourism and aviation in Clare, permanently.” The Scariff-based deputy also rejected the narrative that the response to the pandemic involves a trade-off between public health and the economy. “I …

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Clarity amid the chaos for McEvoy

Confirmation last week that the re-arranged Olympic Games will go ahead in Tokyo this summer has provided a timely boost to Ennis swimmer Rory McEvoy, he spoke to Ronan Judge. 22-year-old Rory McEvoy is at the start of an intensive block of training at the Sports Ireland campus in Dublin as he bids to to book a place on the plane to Japan.  The postponed Irish Olympic Trials are just around the corner and after the uncertainty of the last 12 months, McEvoy is fully focused on the task at hand. After a welcome visit home to see family at Christmas, McEvoy is back in the pool with fellow members of Swim Ireland’s high performance unit as Olympic preparations step up a notch. “Since we came back last week, it’s full steam ahead for the next two weeks. I’m based in Dublin and training out of the Sports Ireland campus in Blanchardstown. We’re in the thick of one of the …

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