By Pat Brosnan
Recent Death
The death has occurred of Ita Vaughan (nee O’Meara) of Templeathea, Athea in the presence of her loving family at her residence. Beloved daughter of the late Kit and Danny Meara, Templeathea. Sincere sympathy is extended to her husband Joe Joe, son Joseph, daughters Jenny and Lorraine, brother Mike, sisters Peg and Rose, sons-in-law Joe Triggs and Jamie O’Rourke, grandchildren Iarlaith, Dan and Tiernan, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, cousins, kind neighbours and friends. May her gentle soul rest in peace.
Discretionary Medical Card System will be Overhauled
The Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, plans to reform the controversial discretionary medical card system. Speaking on RTE radio 1 he said that in future, the impact of a disease will be taken into account in the granting of medical cards, but that the income threshold will not be increased. Following public outrage earlier this year about the removal of medical cards from children and vulnerable people, the government set up a panel to examine how they are granted. At present most cards are granted based on income but a “discretionary” can sometimes be granted. People with terminal illnesses are also entitled to a medical card.
Recent Wedding
Congratulations to Norma Brouder, daughter of Noreen and Gene Brouder, Templeathea and John Paul Riordan, son of Willie and Joan, Dirreen who were married recently. Bridesmaids were Aoife Brouder, Gráinne Brouder and Elaine Collins. The best men were Conor Brouder, Francis O’Riordan and Timmy Sheehy. The wedding ceremony was performed by Fr. Michael Cussen and the reception was held in the Malton Hotel in Killarney. Wishing Norma and John Paul every happiness and best wishes in their married life together.
Rambling House
Listowel Rambling House will take place in the Seanchaí Literary Centre on Thursday, October 30th at 9.15pm. Admission free, tea and coffee served.
Senior Citizens
As the clocks have gone back over the weekend, the evenings have closed in and it’s dark very early now. Please call to our senior citizens, especially those living alone. They love a visit, a cup of tea and a chat.
Arthritis Ireland
Arthritis Ireland will be running a Living well with Arthritis course in Newcastle West this Autumn. The course consists of a 2.5 hour workshop given once a week for 6 weeks for people with Arthritis and Fibromyalgia who want to learn self management skills and techniques to live healthily with their condition. The cost of participating: online booking €30 (medical card holders €22) offline €36 (medical card holders €26).
Limerick Volunteer Management Conference
Limerick Volunteer Centre will host a conference entitled “Rising to the Challenge” The Community and Voluntary Sector, in a changing Ireland, on Friday November 14th from 9am-2pm in the South Court Hotel, Limerick. The charity sector in Ireland is changing rapidly and it is vital to become acquainted with the changes and understand exactly how they will affect your organization. This conference will be of key importance to any group in a community, voluntary, sports or charity setting in the region. It is very likely that the content will have legal ramifications for your organization. Topics to be covered include: 1. Code of Governance for community and voluntary organizations. 2. National Vetting Bureau Act 2014. 3. Best use of Social Media Volunteer Centre.
The cost is €10 (plus booking fee) lunch included. For further information see www.volunteerlimerick.ie or call 087-7387481.
Organ Donation
Most people wouldn’t think twice about donating a kidney to a loved one, but to donate to someone you don’t know is an entirely different prospect. After seeing a documentary on TV, 27 year old Johnny Paradise decided to do just that. Johnny, a financial analyst from Corbally in Limerick, made the decision to altruistically donate a kidney after seeing GAA pundit Joe Brolly do the same thing. After a process that took almost a year Mr. Paradise went through with the donation in recent weeks and has changed someone’s life forever. Once Mr. Paradise had established that you can and will live a healthy life with one functioning kidney he was happy to donate his kidney to someone who needed it. Organ donation is a wonderful and brave thing to do as you may save a person’s life and bring happiness to some family.