TURNING ANGER INTO ACTION

Two Clondalkin resident’s concerns about the housing crisis lead them to forming “Clondalkin and Lucan Housing Action Network”

  

Seán Phelan from Ashfield and Darren Corrigan from Dunawley, were so angered by the increasing numbers of people sleeping homeless in their area, they decided to do something about it.
Both have been active in the “Clondalkin Helping Homeless Campaign”, which seeks to provide hot food and essentials such as sleeping bags to those living rough in the area.
While both commended the actions of the homeless campaign, they told me it is akin to “sticking a plaster on a leaking pipe”, and a short term cure.
Both felt something needed to be done to tackle the causes of homelessness, and prevent it happening to others in the future.
 

Photo (c) Seán Heffernan

Seán Phelan explained the catalyst for setting up the campaign -  “After hearing of the tragic death of Jonathan Corrie just yards from the Dail, and the horrific tragedy at the halting site in Carrickmines, we felt enough was enough, and sought about doing what we could on the issue of homelessness, direct provision and traveller accommodation”.

The interview took place shortly after the first action of the campaign, a protest they co-organised outside the Council offices in Clondalkin Village.
Both were delighted at the turnout, and view it as a great springboard that they hope will lead to the campaign gaining in numbers and strength in the  future.

I asked Darren Corrigan as to how we felt the protest went.
“I was delighted with the turnout, especially seeing so many ordinary non- political people present.
While we welcome and thank Eoin o’ Brien TD, and Councillors Ruth Nolan, Madeline Johansson and Francis Timmons for supporting us, we wish for the Housing Action Campaign to be a grassroots led initiative, the people of Clondalkin and Lucan fighting for the homeless in Clondalkin and Lucan”.

Photo (c) Seán Heffernan

They also raised concerns as to how the people in the Direct Provision Centre in Clondalkin where being treated, which to their minds was “akin to a prison camp.”

As for where they go from here Mr Phelan replied:
“We will be having a discussion with others who have joined the campaign as to what we will do in the future, but at the very least I can see us holding information stalls at various shopping centres, and getting leaflets into peoples doors on the issue of the housing crisis in the Dublin Mid-West area.”

Last but not least Mr Corrigan expressed “a strong hope that people from elsewhere will see what is happening in Clondalkin, and as a result similar campaigns might spring up all over the place be it Coolock, Clonmel or Crossmalina”.

What has Dark Chocolate ever done to you?

Image from: Recipies Wika

I love dark chocolate, I mean LOVE it.
Watching Googlebox Ireland just isn't the same without a bar of the Dark stuff to accompany your viewing.
The higher the Coca content the better as far as I'm concerned.
Be it Aine's chocolate from Cavan,Godiva from Belgium, or a box of Borders Dark Chocolate Gingers from Scotland; if my football team loses heavily, or Trump goes on another insane twitter rant, I console myself with the bark of the Dark Stuff.

Yet what I can't seem to properly get my head around, is the hatred many people have of this confection par Excellence.
When I offer a square to some people they look at me like I've offered them a Donald Trump badge to affix to their jacket.
They will then proceeed to go on a rant about how they HATE dark chocolate, ask me in bewildered tones as to how on earth I could like the stuff, and other unprintable statements.

Image from: Behance.net

As far as I'm concerned, it is very much their loss.
As well as tasting great, dark chocolate also has genuine health benefits.particularly for lowering blood pressure and helping to improve ones blood flow (That that utterly useless coconut water!)

Image from: Chocolcates.ie

So will you majority of ye milk chocolate munchers, too chicken to embrace the dark side, please give us who love a bit of 72% Cocoa on our tongues, a break?

Bring back Glenroe.

Image from Dailyedge.ie (C) RTE Archives

Recently I was watching "Reelling in The Years" on RTE 1, and it played the opening scenes from the very first episode of Glenroe every broadcast.
Talk about getting a hit of nostalgia!
Every Sunday night in our house it was compulsory viewing; right after the excellent Where in the World presented by Theresa Lowe.

Image from RTE (GlenroeFarm.ie)

The writers of the very popular Sunday night drama set in north Wicklow were not afraid to push the boundries, be it stories about infidelity, or the Travelling community.
It made household names of the people that starred in it.
I can still remember how excited my Nanna had been after the actor Joe Lynch - who played Dinny in the show - visited her active age group in Dundrum.
Whenever I mention Glenroe to people it elicits a very warm response from people, who remember it fondly.
One can only imagine the chatter in the hairdressers the morning Miley and Fidelma rolled in the hay!

This week we are hearing a lot about the financial woes in R.T.E., and how they are going to have to implement severe cutbacks to cut costs.
Well one simple idea I have that would save sojme money is this -
Lets cancel the drama 'Doctors' which people can also easily see on BBC 1 anyways, and replace it by repeating Glenroe in it's time slot instead.

Image From: RTE (Dailyage.ie)

I can see many more people tuning into the stattion than tune do presently for 'Doctors', and this would enable RTE to pitch for higher advertising rates during that time slot, as well as saving on not having to pay the BBC for the rights to show the programme.



I remember UTV showing Glenroe in the early 90's, after it had finished on R.T.E. so the tapes are presumably still around, and it could be repeated if the powers that be in montrose consented to that happening.

Image from: RTE (Evokie.ie)

And they could also scrap some of that brain numbing U.S. Childrens TV content too, by replacing it with the brilliant Bosco, while they are at it!


I would put money on it, that had R.T.E. released a box set of Glenroe on DVD this Christmas, it would be high up in the sales charts for sure,l and inn fact it could very well have got to Number 1.

Thus I hope some day to turn on my T.V. and utter those immortal words "Well holy god" as the theme music rachets up, and the bus passes as the cement mixer whilrls upon the Glenroe title appearing on the screen.

Image from: RTE

PAIN SPECIALIST GIVES EVIDENCE IN CASE AGAINST HOSPITAL AND HSE

 

Image from Archiseek

Seán Heffernan HNDJ1

The case of alleged medical negligence taken by Thomas Hill against Tullamore Hospital and the HSE, continued today in the Four Courts.
Evidence was given by Doctor Camillus Kevin Power, a specialist in Anaesthesia and pain management at Tallaght Hospital, whom Mr. Hill attended from 2001 to 2003.
Doctor Power gave evidence as to the areas of the body where Mr Hill’s pain was most acute; that being from around the ribs down as far as the left groin area.
On questioning from the defence, the specialist said it was incorrect to label chronic and acute pain as one and the same, in fact they were two very different things.
The court also heard that Mr. Hill only gets about 2 hours of sleep a night due to the severe pain he suffers, and had visited psychiatrist Jennifer Power in relation to this.

The case continues in the High Court.

Christmas Music in shops

Image Dcinno/Shutterstock

I love Christmas, having all my family around, meeting relations you haven't seen a while, and gorging on all the chocolate and fancy biscuits.
But even though I super love Christmas time, I too realise there is a time and place for it.

Thus I come to the crux of my latest blog post - Christmas Music in shops.



Yet again whilst walking around a shop mere day after Halloween I was greeted by the blaring tones of John Lennon telling war is over if we wanted it to be.
It got me worked up into a rage.
It was too early, WAY too early in my view to be playing such songs; It would have still been feasible to play "The Monster Mash" or "Thriller" as Halloween was still very much in our psyche, but Christmas songs on November 2nd? NO.



It is now November 27th, the first Advent Candle was lit by Father Larry yesterday in my local church, and I am spending many hours watching the "MTV XMAS" Channel, as it is now appropriate tom play such songs.

Image from BBC

So I would like to propose the following to put us out of our yearly misery.
We could start in Dublin, and if it works, expand it elsewhere in the country.
So one oif the groups, be it "Dublin Town" or the "City Centre Business Association" would put up a list on it's website, and also link it to their Social Media accounts.
On this list is the names of the companies who have signed a pledge agreeing to hold off on playing Christmas Music in their store(s) until, say November 25th at the earliest.
So we could then avoid the shops who wreck our heads every year by playing Christmas songs from November 2nd every year.
 

Image from Evening Herald

 So what do people think? 
Would ye make it your business to purposely shop in those shops that signed up to the pledge?

And last but not least - check out this brilliant Lego video of Chris De Burgh's Christmas Classic 

Re-open Rosslare-Waterford Line, and join routes in a loop

Image from: Newstalk

This week the Phoenix Park tunnel reopened, which now means trains that used to only be able to travel to Heuston Station, can now travel to Connolly Station and beyond.

Over the years I have oft taken the train to Rosslare, which starts at Connolly Station, and this got me thinking.
A few years ago the line that linked Rosslare Harbour Train Station to Plunkett Station Waterford was disgracefully closed.
With Iarnroid Eireann having to cut back even more due to a shamefully low subvention from the government (A mere fraction of what state train companies in Germany Holland etc get), so any area where efficiencies can be found, should of course be grasped.

Irish Rail Network Map Image from Irish Rail

With the re-opening of the tunnel, it has poppede one such efficiency measure into my mind.
 Why don't we combine the current Heuston-Kildare-Athy-Carlow-Bagenalstown-Kilkenny-Thomastown-Waterford line, with the Dublin Connolly/Tara Street/Pearse Street - Dun Laoghaire - Bray - Greystones - Wicklow - Rathdrum - Arkloow - Gorey - Enniscorthy - Wexford town - Rosslare lines?

For this to happen, as well as using the newly reopened Phoenix Park Tunnel, now closed stations in Wexford would have to be reopened.
These would be: Bridgetown, Wellingtonbridge, Ballycullane, and Campile stations.

So A train would leave Connolly, travel the existing route to Rosslare Harbour, but THEN travel the old Rosslare-Waterford line, whereupon it would continue on what is the current Heuston Waterford route, but instead it would turn off before Heuston, onto the Pheonix Park Tunnel and onto Connolly.
there would also be trains heading the other direction - Dublin(Connolly)-Kildare-Carlow-Waterford-Wexford-Wicklow-Dublin.

Plunkett Station Waterford Image from: Architecture Ireland

This will allow greater connectivity on the rail line. Though of course it would be a quite longer roundabout way of getting there by car, you would now be ablle to get from Wicklow town to Carlow by train without having to take two trains and a LUAS.
It will also mean greater capacity on both the exisiting routes, with twice as many train stopping at Wexford en route to Dublin than is now the case.
A lot of people in Wexford have to go to Waterford hospital for appointments, and this too will help them greatly.

Wexford Town level crossing Image from: Youtube

I know people will come straight back to me and say "Who's going to pay for it? It will lose Irish Rail more money as not enough will use it to make it viable!" etc.
The simple answer is NO efficiently run train service makes a profit, Deutsche Bahn in Germany, SNCB in Belgium are heavily subsidised by the state.
But this means goods and people can be transported efficiently from A to B, and overall leads to greater revenue for the country, as the positive spin off of more companies choosing to setup there because of the excellent rail links.

Wellingtonbridge Station Image from: Munster Express

Thus it is long past time that the government started properly funding our rail network, so we can have more and speedier trains running, which WILL see many more people ditching their cars, which can only be good for Ireland trying to meeting it's obligatory carbon emissions targets!

TO MY DA JIMMY

In 1945 as Europe was still in shock and war torn,
in Dublin a new Irish citizen was born,
in the maternity ward were cries of waaaa!
that wailing babby was my Da.

To the suburb of Dundrum he was ferried,
to the house his parents moved into when they got married,
soon to be wheeled through many lanes,
was their son they christened James.

An intellect in him the Christian Brothers did sow,
as he attended school in Westland Row,
by the time his schooling did end,
he had made many a life long friend.

Then one night all hail and hearty,
he headed along to a 21^st party,
little did he know as to the birthday girl the band did sing,
she’d be the one he’d buy an engagement ring.

In the glare of the September sun in 1971,
a right crowd to Saint Joseph’s East Wall had come,
Jimmy Heffernan’s eyes glistened with pride,
as down the aisle walked Doreen Slater his bride.

As Pope John Paul was was packing his cases for Dublin,
down the road from the suburb of Crumlin,
nurses hurried about in a hospital called the Coombe,
Keeping an eye on twins in the emergency room.

The twins eventually left hospital and arrived home,
to the warmest loveliest abode anyone could have ever known,
the greatest love and care was shown to all 4 children.
by a mammy and daddy who were/are one in a million.

My Da took us on many trips to Wexford, but my god was the traffic hell,
though it was soothed somewhat by the songs of Bagatelle,
how I long for those warm summer nights,
when my father would enthral me with tales as we witnessed the skies delights.

Though he was a man of high intellect,
his persona it did not affect,
as humble and ordinary as can be,
often coaxed to sing a song or three!

I will forever cherish his words of encouragement and wisdom,
which to this day enables me to meet life’s challenges wherever they come,
little did he know when chatting to all those years ago,
how far his words would enable me to go.

Then 18 years ago the unthinkable occurred,
My Da, Jimmy Heffernan, suddenly departed this world,
the man who everyone regarded as their best friend,
had sadly met his physical end.

Yes a long time may have past, but by god do the memories last,
there is not a single day that goes by, that I don’t think of you and form a tear in my eye,
your name now adorns a headstone in Bohernabreena,
thanks for everything you did for me, my one in a million Da.