Gardaí have issued a warning about the dangers of illegal fireworks to both people and property after a seizure in Headford in the past week.
The annual Operation Tombola has seen Gardaí tackling the sale or supply of illegal fireworks in recent weeks in the run up to Halloween.
“This past week Gardaí in Galway have seized fireworks from a property in Headford and an investigation is ongoing,” a statement from the Garda Western Region said.
“Each year many children and young people suffer terrible injuries caused by fireworks, including burns, loss of limbs and serious eye injuries.”
They can also cause great “distress and annoyance” to the elderly, gardaí said, as well as wasting Garda resources by setting off intruder alarms, necessitating a callout.
“There is always the possibility of outbreaks of fire at a property if fireworks such as ‘rockets’ continue to burn after landing.”
Any kind of medical condition can be irritating, but the irritation that comes with having some part of the natural world conspiring to sicken or kill you is a more serious issue. I am of course talking about allergies, which can range from being an irritant, to potentially life threatening.
An allergy is essentially an overreaction by your body to what should be considered a harmless substance. But instead your immune system views it as a hostile invader, producing antibodies that can cause the symptoms we associate with an allergic reaction.
The Allergy Clinic in Galway specialises in reliable testing for allergies among the wide array of things people are exposed to on a daily basis in the air we breathe, foods that we eat, and more.
Based in the Galway Clinic in Doughiska, the Allergy Clinic is easily accessible. The clinic guarantees that in almost all cases patients can walk in the front door, and within an hour not only will they have been seen, but they’ll have the results of their tests in hand on their way home.
The Galway Clinic
While the clinic takes referrals from GPs and hospitals, there’s no need to go see your doctor to get an appointment. The clinic is happy to take self-referrals, with no lengthy waiting lists to be seen.
If you’re considering whether it’s worth getting tested for an allergy, consider if you have a family history of allergies or asthma, either of which make it more likely that you either have an allergy, or could develop one.
For parents, it is also worth considering taking your child to be tested for allergies. If they have an allergy, then they’ll thank you for catching it earlier in their life.
For some allergies, managing them in your lifestyle may be a simple matter, as easy as avoiding certain specific foods. But other allergens may be more difficult to avoid in your environment or in your diet.
This can be an overwhelming amount of information for people to take in, let alone to then try and figure out what kind of lifestyle adjustments they need to make.
“Here in The Allergy Clinic we support our patients through their allergy diagnosis by creating a full management and treatment plan for each patient,£ explains Joyce Clegg, Managing Director of The Allergy Clinic.
“For instance, following a skin prick allergy test if we find you have an allergy that needs specialist attention, we can make that referral directly for our patients on the same day.
“We work alongside highly revered specialist in the field of Respiratory, Dermatology, and Dietary in Galway. We also update our patients GP’s with their results for their medical records.”
The Allergy Clinic remains open despite the current Level 5 lockdown, and patients are still welcome and encouraged to make an appointment.
Testing for Allergies
Part of the difficulty in diagnosing and treating allergies is first of all figuring out what it is a person is allergic to. In some cases it may be obvious, but often there could be many different environmental factors responsible for an allergy.
There are multiple ways of testing for an allergy, but it’s not a case of needing a different specialist procedure for every possible allergen.
The Skin Prick Test is the gold standard for allergy testing, capable of testing a wide range of substances quickly and easily.
Skin Prick testing at The Allergy Clinic
The Skin Prick Test is as simple as a test could be, involving controlled exposure to potential allergens at a small scratch on the skin of a person’s arms.
The benefit of this test is that it allows multiple different potential allergens to be tested at once, with visible results within 20 minutes.
While this is the most broadly applicable test, other specialist methods are also available, such as the Patch Test. This detects allergies for substances that commonly come in contact with a person’s skin, such as cosmetics, sun screen, metals, and more.
Patch testing at The Allergy Clinic
On top of these environmental factors, the Allergy Clinic is also the only facility in Ireland that commonly tests for allergic reactions to penicillin. The importance of this simply cannot be overstated, as penicillin is the most widely used antibiotic in the field of medicine.
Finding out if you are allergic to penicillin before getting treatment for a serious infection could be the difference between life and death in that scenario. And for the remainder of your life it is important information to have in case of a medical emergency.
Symptoms and Medical Issues
There are a wide range of symptoms from allergic reactions that can vary from being an irritation in your daily life, to serious medical complications that can potentially cost someone their life.
Allergic reactions can vary depending on what it is you are allergic to. Sneezing, itching of the eyes and nose, or a runny nose are common symptoms of hay fever for instance.
If you’re allergic to certain types of food this puts you at risk of swelling in the face, throat, or mouth, hives, along with possible breathing problems and severe localised swelling.
Many allergies can be treated with antihistamines, Joyce explains, depending on the substances that you are allergic to, and the severity of your allergic reaction to it.
“The body’s a very funny thing. When it decides that it doesn’t like something, trying to change its mind can be tricky,” Joyce acknowledges.
“But the goal is that there is always a treatment. You don’t have to live with the symptoms, you can treat them like any other illness, the important thing is knowing what to treat.”
However, while many allergies and their symptoms can be considered manageable, one life threatening allergic reaction that can never be set aside is anaphylaxis, which can be commonly caused by a severe food, insect sting, or medicine allergies.
Anaphylaxis can cause nausea and vomiting, a dangerous swelling of the airway, lightheadedness, a weak pulse or a drop in blood pressure, or a loss of consciousness. In the worst cases, anaphylaxis can cause a person to go into shock.
Working alongside Dr.Harry Beauchamp, The Allergy Clinic also specializes in Urticaria – intense body itch or rash, Immunotherapy, Rhinitis, Sinusitis and chronic cough.
If any of that litany of nasty conditions sounds like something you would like to avoid in your life, then consider making an appointment with the Allergy Clinic in Doughiska. To get in touch call 091 720277, or email info@theallergyclinic.ie.
For people who might be leery of coming into a medical setting in the current circumstances due to COVID-19, Joyce is clear that they are very stringent in following all the guidelines and recommendations of the HSE.
Firstly, they can provide support and consultation over the phone, “So if we have someone that’s nervous about coming in, we would give them support over the lockdown period.”
And for people who do come in, The Allergy Clinic enforces mask wearing for patients and staff, and all of the treatment rooms are sanitised before and after consultations. “Patient and staff safety is always our top priority at The Allergy Clinic.
“People should not continue to suffer with undiagnosed allergies when a medical practitioner can help them,” Joyce finishes.
Minister of State Damien English has defended the current government restricitons on retail outlets, saying ‘clothes are not essential’ items.
In a debate with Clare TD Michael McNamara on Prime Time last night, the Minister of State for Employment Affairs and Retail Businesses outlined the reasons behind the current restricitons on retailers.
Asked by Miriam O’Callaghan if socks for your child are essential, Minister English said: “Clothes are not essential. But again, there’s still, of course, in all situations there’s a bit of common sense and the gardaí are reinforcing the public health message.”
“They’re engaging with the retail sector, they’re encouraging them to do the right thing, and to be fair, I recognise, the retail sector – they’re doing their best to get it right, and if changes are needed there’s been the changes made.”
Clarifying the situation, Miriam asked the Fine Gael TD: “So I can buy a bottle of wine but I cannot buy socks for my son?”
“Socks come under clothes,” said Minister English. “To be clear, the whole aim is to discourage the movement of people as much as we can.”
Michael McNamara TD said that he understands that the purpose of the restrictions across the board is to avoid the unintended consequences of the first lockdown when all retail activity was pushed into the big chain retailers.
But the Independent TD said that his concern in this lockdown is that retail activity will move online – and people will be shopping at large companies and conglomerates not based in Ireland.
“It’s a loss of jobs in Ireland and it’s a loss of taxes in Ireland,” said Deputy McNamara.
Galway United will be heading to the First Division play-offs this weekend after all, as a result of Wexford winning their arbitration appeal.
The Tribesmen are replacing Cabinteely in the semi-finals of the play-offs, and will be headed to Carlisle Grounds again to face the Bray Wanderers on Saturday.
United narrowly missed out on qualifying for the play-offs earlier this week after a 2-2 against UCD, when they needed a win.
However other matters worked out in their favour, after Wexford appealed a punishing decision made against them for fielding an ineligible player for multiple games, including against Cabinteely.
That decision resulted in the results of all those games being marked as a 3-0 defeat for Wexford, handing Cabinteely 2 extra points, just edging out United for the fifth spot on the League.
Wexford successfully appealed that decision, putting United back in 5th place, and eligible for the play-offs.
The appeal decision was announced yesterday, and the fixture has been set for the SSE Airtricity League play-offs, with kick off for Galway United v Bray Wanderers at 3pm in Wicklow.
This will be a tough run for United, marking their fourth match in a week and half. But the Tribesmen should be buoyed by the fact that their last trip to Carlisle Grounds last weekend resulted in a 1-0 win for Galway.
A Status Orange weather warning has been issued for Galway for tomorrow as Storm Aiden is expected to bring “severe and damaging” winds.
Storm Aiden is expected to bring gusts of wind reaching up to 130km/hr this weekend when it hits the west coast through Saturday morning and afternoon
The Status Orange wind warning for Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Clare will be in effect from 8am to 4pm on Saturday.
During that time strong southwest to west winds associated with Storm Aiden will reach mean speeds of 65 to 80km/hr.
Winds will at times reach even stronger speeds on Saturday, with gusts of up to 130km/hr forecast during Storm Aiden.
A separate Orange warning has been issued for Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Wicklow, Cork, Kerry and Waterford, which will end earlier in the day.
Met Eireann has also issued a Status Yellow wind warning for all of Ireland from 1am to 3pm on Saturday.
This entire Halloween weekend has been predicted by Met Eireann to bring stormy weather due to a series of “vigorous Atlantic weather systems” passing close to Ireland.
A weather advisory for possible river and coastal flooding due to heavy wind, rain, and high seas will be in force from 9pm tonight until 8am on Monday, with more weather warnings possible throughout the weekend.
Galway City Council is inviting community, voluntary, and sports organisations to apply for newly available grants for projects that promote mental health and wellbeing.
The funding is available under the Healthy Ireland Community Mental Health Fund Small Grants Scheme 2020.
The Healthy Ireland Fund, which is now in its third year, provides funding to local organisations to deliver actions which will improve health and wellbeing in line with Healthy Ireland, A Framework for Improved Health and Wellbeing 2013 – 2025.
The Grant Scheme is available to local community, voluntary and sporting organisations within the Galway City administrative area to deliver on actions or projects which are in line with the Mental Health theme of Heathy Ireland Round 3.
The proposed projects must meet with the eligibility requirements of Healthy Ireland, some of examples of which include:
Wellbeing activities
Creative arts programmes
Play programmes / Infant and children’s health initiatives
Family support projects
Educational initiatives / Mental Health training through partnerships
The Scheme offers small grants for projects with a minimum spend of €2,000 and up to a maximum of €5,000 per project.
In an online event at 1.00 pm today, President Michael D. Higgins will officially launch the new Concise English-Irish Dictionary, featuring over 30,000 new words like selfie, fake news and Brexit.
Among those in a attendance at the event will be household names such as Dara Ó Briain, Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh and Mary McAleese, as they share their grá for our national language.
Produced by Foras na Gaeilge, the dictionary is the first major English-Irish Dictionary to be published in over sixty years and contains contains 1,800 pages, 85,000 word senses and 1.8 million words in contemporary English and Irish.
The entries are derived from the hugely popular New English-Irish Dictionary website, www.focloir.ie, which attracts over two million visitors a year.
The aim of the dictionary project is to produce a comprehensive modern dictionary which would represent current usage not only in Irish but also in English as it is spoken in Ireland, the main dialects of contemporary Irish, and a broad range of language from the most technical to the most informal.
“It was a privilege to launch the New English-Irish Dictionary website in 2013 and I’m delighted to be able to celebrate the final stage of the project today, the Concise English-Irish Dictionary,” said President Michael D. Higgins.
“This dictionary follows on in a proud tradition of Irish-language lexicography, including famous works by Niall Ó Dónaill, Tomás de Bhaldraithe and Pádraig Ó Duinnín.
“Dictionaries are critical tools for any language community. They allow communities to express themselves confidently and effectively in their own language, while also preserving the richness – the saibhreas – of a language.
“I congratulate Foras na Gaeilge, the dictionary team, and everyone who was involved in this historic achievement.”
Interesting Entries and Translations
To celebrate this milestone, Foras na Gaeilge are highlighting some of the newer and more interesting entries and translations, including some that have recently come to prominence during the coronavirus pandemic:
home office – oifig bhaile
fake news – bréagnuacht
selfie – féinín
he’s a savage player – is imreoir den scoth é
banana bread – arán banana
social distancing – scaradh sóisialta
pandemic – paindéim
coronavirus – coróinvíreas
cyberbullying – cibearbhulaíocht
online banking – baincéireacht ar líne
Brexit – Breatimeacht
the latest political wrangle – an t-aighneas polaitiúil is déanaí
to make a hames of something – praiseach a dhéanamh de rud
it’s at your own risk – ar do phriacal féin atá sé
it was nothing to write home about – bhí sé cuibheasach gan a bheith maíteach
I wouldn’t hold it against her – ní bheinn anuas uirthi mar gheall air
to make a laughing stock of somebody – ceap magaidh a dhéanamh de dhuine
to rest on your laurels – do mhaidí a ligean le sruth
“The New English-Irish Dictionary brings Irish-language lexicography into the third millennium with its emphasis on currency in both Irish and English and its coverage of all levels of language use, from formal to informal and from written to spoken,” said Chief Editor Pádraig Ó Mianáin.
“The New English-Irish Dictionary has been online since 2013 and now attracts over 2 million users worldwide annually, with over a quarter of them from overseas.
“When the online version was completed, production of a printed version began. In order to produce a one-volume dictionary, over a third of the content in the online dictionary (which contains 48k entries and 145k word senses) had to be left out and the remaining content had to undergo significant editing and reformatting.
“We are delighted that the dictionary is now available, and to have this opportunity to launch it with the President today.”
The printed dictionary also contains a substantial Language and Grammar section with essays and tables covering topics such as style, translation and grammar information.
It is available in bookshops and online now with an RRP of €30.
The Galway based medtech startup Venari Medical has raised €4.5 million in seed investment for the development of its device for treating chronic venous disease.
Venari, a spinout of NUI Galway’s BioInnovate Ireland fellowship programme, is developing a device to provide a less invasive treatment for CVD which can take place in the physician’s office.
The BioVena medtech device utilises a catheter system to effect “mechanical vein disruption” at a cellular level to treat the symptoms of CVD.
The €4.5 million funding was raised investment round was led by Nipro Corporation, a world-leading medical product manufacturer based in Osaka, Japan.
The Western Development Commission and Enterprise Ireland also contributed to the investment, in addition to international medical device experts and vascular surgeons.
“This seed investment accelerates a huge opportunity to improve the quality of life of sufferers of chronic venous disease across the globe,” said Venari CEO and co-founder Stephen Cox.
He added that he believes widespread adoption of the device as a treatment could result in “significant cost saving potential” for healthcare systems.
The money raised in this investment round will be used to enable the clinical validation of the BioVena device.
Toshiaki Masuda, Managing Director at Nipro Corporation said that the “high prevalence internationally” of CVD, and the impact it has on patients’ quality of life, makes it an area of great patient need.
“The Venari Medical team have impressed us greatly with this cutting-edge approach to venous disease treatment, from their novel pre-clinical research in vein biology, to collaborations with internationally recognised experts in venous disease treatment.”
Chronic venous disease occurs when venous wall and/or valves in the leg veins aren’t working properly, causing blood to pool in the legs when it should be returning to the heart.
This results in tiredness and swelling in the legs, and in advanced cases the development of venous leg ulcers.
CVD affects up to 30% of adults across the globe resulting in a significant deterioration in quality of life for sufferers.
Tomás Ó Síocháin, CEO of the Western Development Commission commented “This technology will improve the lives of a huge number of people, and that has been the primary focus of Stephen Cox and the team at Venari since the outset.
“Equally, however, this investment, underlines the importance of supporting innovation driven enterprises, building on the success of the existing medtech ecosystem in Ireland’s western region.”
Venari expects to create 20 new jobs in both senior management and technical, quality and regulatory roles over the next 3 years as a result of this investment.
Galway City Central’s 14-day Covid incidence rate was the third highest in the country last week, and data released this evening shows that the rate has risen there once again.
There were 272 cases in Galway City Central in the two weeks to 26 October, taking its 14-day incidence rate per 100,000 people to 1,018.7 – still the third highest in the Republic.
In Conamara South, the 14-day rate is now 726.3, the eighth highest incidence rate in the State. The electoral area, with a population of just over 21,000, had 155 cases in 14 days.
Ballinasloe LEA saw a huge increase in its incidence rate, after 88 people there tested positive for Covid-19 in two weeks. The rate in Ballinasloe is now 313.1 cases per 100,000 people.
In Galway City West, the rate is now 303.5 and in Galway City East there were 451.2 cases per 100,000 people over the past fortnight.
All of the other local electoral areas in the county have 14-day incidence rates of 276 or less, lower than the national average of 307.6.
14-day incidence rate by Co. Galway LEA
Galway City Central: 1,018.7 cases per 100k (+37.7) | 272 cases in past 14 days (+10)
Conamara South: 726.3 (+187.4) | 155 cases (+40)
3. Galway City East: 451.2 (+11.8) | 120 cases (+18)
There have been 6 additional deaths related to COVID-19 reported today, along with 866 new confirmed cases.
Of today’s cases, 54 are in Galway, the fourth highest figure in the country. This is a sharp jump back up after just 13 cases were confirmed here on Wednesday.
But Dublin and Cork still make up almost half of the cases reported today, with 242 in Dublin and 166 in Cork.
As of 2pm today, 328 COVID-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 43 are in ICU. There have been 15 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
There have now been a total of 60,297 confirmed cases in Ireland, and the pandemic has claimed 1,902 lives in the state.
“It is vitally important that if you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 that you self-isolate and phone your GP for further advice,” said Dr Tony Holohan, Chief Medical Officer.
“Self-isolate means stay in your room and avoid contact with other members of your household. Doing this will protect those you live with by interrupting the chain of transmission.”
“I again appeal to everyone to behave as though you are a close contact. Stay at home, other than for essential reasons.”
Of the cases notified today:
428 are men and 438 are women
63% are under 45 years of age
the median age is 35 years old
242 in Dublin, 166 in Cork, 56 in Donegal, 54 in Galway, 44 in Meath and the remaining 304 cases are spread across another 20 counties
The COVID-19 Dashboard provides up-to-date information on the key indicators of COVID-19 in the community.
The importance of shopping local in order to support businesses through the COVID crisis has been driven home many times in recent months.
ShopBallinasloe has been a highly successful initiative to support businesses in the town, creating an online marketplace so people can shop local for goods and services from the comfort and safety of their homes.
ShopBallinasloe was created by marketing agency Araya Marketing Support Services and Kickstart Web Design back in April, as the country went into lockdown for the first time.
Now, in the run up to the Christmas season, which is always important for businesses, they has launched a new Town Voucher for ShopBallinasloe which can be used in any of the over 100 businesses taking part.
“We are so fortunate to have the support and backing of Galway County Council, Ballinasloe Area Development Association, and Ballinasloe Credit Union helping us with funding to launch the voucher, so we can keep our community in business and in turn ensuring local activities are supported,” said Niamh and Honoria of Araya.
“It’s shop local at its very best, with over 100 businesses participating across a wide selection of different categories, there is something for everyone in the town and there is no need to shop elsewhere.”
The team are also encouraging employers who operate performance related payment and bonuses for their staff to consider gifting them Town Vouchers.
Under the Small Benefits Exemptions Scheme, employers can reward employees up to €500 in Town Vouchers, completely tax-free and saving them and their employees money.
Currently available through Salmons Department Store, Dolans Centra and www.ShopBallinasloe.ie. the vouchers come in denominations of €10, €20 and €50.
They are available all year round, making them the ideal gift option for any occasion as well as ideal prizes for Raffles, Draws, Golf Classics and Table Quiz’s.
The Health Service Executive has confirmed that there has been an outbreak of COVID-19 at a nursing home in South Galway.
The HSE has said that it is working to support management of the nursing home in delivering care to residents during the outbreak.
Public Health HSE West are conducting a daily outbreak teleconference with the facility and Community Healthcare West,” a statement from the HSE said.
“The HSE continues to provide a range of supports to all Long Term Residential Facilities across the country, including Private Nursing Homes.
“This support is primarily managed through area Covid Response Teams and includes management support, provision of free PPE and other necessary supplies, Public Health and other clinical inputs, accommodation arrangements for certain staff, support with sourcing staffing and, in some cases, the reassignment of HSE staff to support nursing homes.”
This is the second reported outbreak of COVID-19 at a residential facility in Galway in recent days after the majority of staff and residents tested positive at Nightingale Nursing Home in Ahascragh.
Met Éireann has warned that Halloween Weekend will see very unsettled weather as a series of Atlantic weather systems pass close to Ireland.
A status yellow weather warning will come into effect on Saturday at 1.00am and last until 3.00 pm.
It will be very windy and stormy at times, with some severe and damaging gusts possible as well as very high seas.
Spells of heavy rain will lead to surface and river flooding, and coastal flooding is possible also due to the combination of low pressure, high tides and onshore winds.
The weather chiefs also issued a weather advisory which lasts from Friday evening to Monday evening.
Tomorrow, Friday, will be mostly dry though, with sunny spells developing and just the risk of an isolated shower. The highest afternoon temperatures will reach just 9 to 11 degrees, in light to moderate westerly or variable breezes.
Connacht will meet Heineken Champions Cup finalists Racing 92 and Challenge Cup winners Bristol Bears at home in this season’s Champions Cup.
The draws for the coming season was made in Switzerland on Wednesday
Andy Friend’s side were drawn in Pool ‘B’ with 11 other teams, but as a Tier 3 side will only face the Tier 2 teams home and away, meaning it’s Racing and Bristol who will make trips to The Sportsground.
The other Pool B teams that Connacht will compete against for a spot in quarter-finals are Exeter Chiefs, Harlequins and Gloucester from the Premiership, Top 14 sides Lyon, Clermont and Toulouse, and fellow PRO14 teams Ulster, Munster and Glasgow.
Confirmed fixture details including dates and kick-off times will be announced in the coming days, however the games will take place on the weekends of December 11 & 18, and January 15 & 22.
An Garda Síochána has appealed to motorists to slow down when approaching checkpoints which have been introcuced to enforce Level 5 rules.
The guards are asking people to reduce their speed and make sure they move into the correct lane when they still have enough time to do so.
Drivers must also obey all road signs on the lead up to the checkpoint – this includes both motorway VMS signs and Garda signs.
“The performance of Garda checkpoints as part of Operation Fanacht has been an essential part of Ireland’s response to reducing the spread of COVID-19 within our communities,” said An Garda Síochána in a statement today.
“As the number of people infected has increased, these checkpoints have become even more important in ensuring the safety of us all.
“An Garda Síochána would like to thank all of those who have listened to the safety messages and have eliminated unnecessary travel.
“For those who must make essential journeys, we are asking them to be mindful that there is a good possibility they will have to go through a checkpoint during the course of their journey.”
The checkpoints are in operation on main routes and motorways.
In particular, Gardaí are urging drivers of heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) to reduce speed when approaching checkpoints and prepare to stop. They say that by following these simple guidelines, Garda checkpoints can be conducted safely and it will reduce delays.
Traffic levels on one of the busiest routes in Galway City have plummeted since the introduction of Level 5 lockdown restrictions.
Data gathered by Transport Infrastructure Ireland shows that there were 2,903 cars travelling on Bothar na dTreabh in the city between 7-10am on Wednesday.
That represents a 24% decline in traffic levels on the same day the week beforehand. It is also 36% lower than the same day in 2019.
Under Level 5 restrictions, not only is inter-county travel off the table, but people are not supposed to go further than 5km from their homes except for essential purposes.
Many businesses are also closed under the lockdown, and where they are not people are encouraged to work from home as much as possible.
TII has been monitoring car numbers on ten busy roads around the country since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Overall, they have found that traffic levels are down between 32% and 63% compared with last year.
The biggest drop over the past week has been on the M1 south of the border at Jonesbro, where traffic numbers on Wednesday were 39% lower than the week before.
During the latest Covid-19 restrictions, Galway Rural Development (GRD) and its army of SICAP, Tús, RSS and CE staff have turned their focus to providing companionship and keeping-up the spirits of those cocooning.
Galway Rural Development remains at the forefront of the county’s efforts in the latest phase of the nation’s Community Response to the pandemic and GRD is now focusing on wellbeing initiatives and mental health supports.
“This remains a mental health challenge as much as a physical health challenge,” said CEO Steve Dolan.
“The pandemic has been experienced differently by us all but we must ensure no one is left behind from a mental health perspective.
“Through its SICAP grants, GRD provided almost €100,000 county-wide to organisations for essentials and resource packs since the start of the Summer, however the focus of mental health initiatives and supports is now central to GRD’s mission.”
Steve said that they know that many of the people they work with through different programmes are struggling with isolation or depression. And his message is that the team is there to help.
“Our entire team have been working to pinpoint and assist isolated and vulnerable persons, provide companionship, and signpost supports,” he said.
Aware of the pressure and stress that people are experiencing, Galway Rural Development has an information booklet available, a guide to supports and services which promote positive mental health in County Galway.
“The booklet is available on our (Galway Rural Development) website as a PDF to download and there is also as a handy A5 booklet available which can be posted out,” added Steve.
Those interested can email info@grd.ie or ring 087 9170904 if they would like a copy.
