theirishtimes--2020-08-15--Inside the O’Brien Fine Foods factory in lockdown Kildare

It was 6am on Monday July 27th when ‘ A ’ , the man who would become the third confirmed Covid-positive case at O ’ Brien Fine Foods in Timahoe , Co Kildare arrived to start his shift .
He had travelled to work at the remote site in rural Kildare in a car with three others , and went in through the staff entrance .
He walked along the corridor , and stood in front of the hi-tech , full-body scanner .
“ Please stand close for taking temperature .
Normal temperature , ” the machine announced .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ put his belongings away in a locker , and walked past the entrance to the canteen , which has been set up since March to allow for social distancing .
Then he donned personal protection equipment ( PPE ) before going down to the factory floor .
Fifty minutes later , he was asked to come off the floor .
He had been coughing and sneezing , and employees working near him were worried .
He was advised to get tested , and asked to share his results with management .
Before he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ questionnaire to assist with identifying close contacts in case he came back positive .
Since March , employees showing any kind of symptoms have routinely been sent for testing .
“ From March 9th up to July 27th , we tested over 50 people sporadically , ” says John O ’ Brien , who now runs the family owned business bought by his father , Bill .
The O ’ Brien family have tended to keep out of the spotlight .
Before two weeks ago , few people would even have associated the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Brady Family Ham , the brand that sponsors of Kildare GAA , camogie and women ’ s football – and is nationally known for a memorable 2019 TV ad , featuring the lyric ‘ Come out you other hams , come and face me ham-to-ham ’ to the tune of ‘ Come Out Ye Black and Tans ’ .
But the events of the last two weeks changed all that .
Before July 27th , there had been two confirmed positive cases among O ’ Brien ’ s staff , both of whom @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of work .
They were contained immediately , and the employees ’ close contacts taken off the factory floor .
Nobody else got infected .
We are in the empty PPE room , donning the same heavy-duty PPE that employees wear : white rubber boots , which are washed before we walk onto the factory floor ; blue overcoat ; hairnet ; visor .
The only difference between what I put on and the protective gear worn by employees since March is that we also wear face masks .
HSE advice was to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the recent cases , O ’ Brien ’ s has introduced both .
Signage on the walls in English , Russian , Polish , Lithuanian and Moldovan reminds employees to practice social distancing .
It ’ s immediately obvious why wearing both visor and mask might make life difficult for people operating machinery in a factory environment .
As we move through different parts of the now mostly-empty factory – from a room kept at 10 degrees to an oven room next door – the visor keeps fogging up , and it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of machinery .
O ’ Brien points out that if you ’ re not wearing a facemask under your visor , it doesn ’ t fog – which means it ’ s not keeping your breath in .
“ In hindsight these , ” he says , pointing to the facemask , “ are more important.
” The experience of wearing heavy boots and a condensation-covered visor , unable to see or hear properly , is disconcerting .
More than once , I have to resist the urge to lift the visor , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ here might feel the same .
By the time A ’ s positive test results came back at lunchtime on Thursday , July 30th , Covid-19 had already begun its silent creep through the factory floor , into the management offices upstairs , infecting people who worked in the warehouse building nearby , and even someone who worked alone in the brine make-up room .
O ’ Brien had no idea about any of this yet , but the alarm bells starting ringing when A ’ s test results came back .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other two .
He had been on site .
We immediately took his close contacts off the floor .
But , ” he says , candidly , “ that was our first mistake .
We should have taken them off the floor on Monday.
” The man who tested positive had five close contacts , between those he worked with and those he car-pooled with .
One suggestion about outbreaks in meat plants is that people who work in them are poorly paid , live together in crowded conditions and travel to work @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sick pay , and even when they are entitled to , it ’ s suggested that they do not always trust they will get it , so they are less inclined to stay off work than people in other sectors .
On the day we meet , claims were made by Siptu before an Oireachtas committee that more than 40 migrants were sharing a house in Edenderry , Co Offaly , 17km away .
Noel Cribbin , a postman in Edenderry , who is also a councillor on Offaly County Council , told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those claims , but suggested up to 12 migrant workers would commonly share a three or four-bedroom house , even sharing beds with those on alternating shifts , in a so-called hot-bedding arrangement .
“ The Eastern European people working here … are all on good money , anything from €22,000 up to €26,000 at factory floor level .
They ’ re renting houses .
Some own houses , ” says O ’ Brien .
For employees living in house shares , it ’ s usually “ four to a house – that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ statement by the company says that “ processing team members are paid €10.85 to €12.75 per hour .
In addition , there are also benefits such as life assurance and additional holidays.
” This is borne out by redacted payslips seen by the Irish Times .
Since March , the company has offered employees full sick pay and the services of an on-site GP .
Apart from two cleaners employed through an agency , “ all our staff are on Irish law contracts , employed directly by us.
” Thirty-six per cent of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ And 17 per cent of the positive cases were Irish , ” O ’ Brien says .
They include people on the senior management team .
O ’ Brien organised the testing and contact tracing of the five close contacts of A .
Two of them – the people he had driven into work with – tested positive .
The team spent the long weekend gathering additional information from those employees .
They found that a number had attended a social event three weeks previously .
The husband of another employee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ potentially been exposed to Covid-19 in his job at Irish Dog Foods .
Two others had been routinely sharing lifts with employees of another affected plant , Kildare Chilling Company .
At that stage , “ we said , we don ’ t know how bad this is .
.
.
There are too many links here .
So we decided to test everyone.
” On Tuesday , August 4th , 243 employees were tested at the plant .
Of those , the HSE agreed to test the 70 or so people on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further 170 were tested by a private company , Code Blue , paid for by O ’ Briens .
On the morning of Wednesday , August 5th , everyone passed through the temperature scanner as normal .
Nobody had a temperature .
And then , “ on Wednesday lunchtime , we got a call from Code Blue to say… your numbers are not good.
” Out of 170 tests , there were 45 positives .
O ’ Brien was stunned .
The results from the shift tested by the HSE came that evening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to 80 .
On Wednesday , he had the identities of those who had come up positive in the Code Blue tests .
“ We didn ’ t get the names of the people tested by the HSE until the Thursday.
” At 9pm on Wednesday , processing was shut down , and everyone was sent home on full pay , except for six people who were cleared by the HSE to keep working in the warehouse , and five more I see on the factory floor .
O ’ Brien sought out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision was taken to prioritise “ facts and speed ” .
The advice he was given focused on transparency .
Four statements were issued over the subsequent days and a key questions and answers document was put up online .
The company is keen to make clear that all steps regarding closure and testing were taken proactively , prior to any requirements imposed by the HSE .
By the end of the week , another 42 tests had been done on the remaining employees , resulting in six more positives .
With processing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more employee testing would be conducted on days seven and 14 .
O ’ Brien walks me through the almost empty plant .
As he points out land owned by the company which was previously owned by John Gilligan before it was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau , a hare bounds across the deserted car park .
There are just a few employees in different areas of the building ; he seems to know them all by name .
On the factory floor , he shows me all of the places where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ working .
It ’ s hard to see any clear pattern of spread .
In some situations , the employees worked within one arm ’ s length of one other , separated by Perspex screens .
But in others , they worked alone .
A study in the British Medical Journal which looked at an outbreak at a meat factory in Gütersloh , North Rhine-Westphalia , Germany , where more than 1,500 of 7,000 workers tested positive , concluded that the “ virus thrives in lower temperatures and very high or very low @ @ @ @ @ @ @ retain live viruses for longer ” and employees shouting over the noise play a part .
It also questioned “ the possibility of airborne spread and the role of air filtration systems ” .
O ’ Brien says the question of whether the temperature in the factory and the air circulation system , which recycles 60 per cent of the air , may be playing a role “ is something we ’ re looking at.
” He is aiming to get that ratio down to 30 per cent , so that 70 per @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the factory is fresh .
The BMJ report points to factors like the insecurity of employment in the sector and “ limited or non-existent hygiene measures ” .
It ’ s fair to say that ’ s not a reflection of the infection control measures here – I am wearing more PPE than when I reported from a Covid ward in a hospital .
However , O ’ Brien admits that not doubling up with a face mask and visor from March was “ a mistake ” , even if it was in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ visit , seven days after the initial test results , and O ’ Brien is still trying to pin down the day seven tests , which have to be done by the HSE for data collection reasons .
The HSE has been “ helpful , as a whole ” .
The challenge in organising the tests today is due to strains on “ capacity from the National Ambulance Service , ” he suggests .
The HSE did not reply to a request for information on this .
The day seven tests were ultimately @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tests are due next week ; after the factory reopens on August 24th , further testing will be paid for by the company and carried out at 14-day intervals .
What are the lessons to be learned from the outbreak , as we face into winter ?
O ’ Brien believes that public health messaging needs to be communicated in languages other than English and through channels more likely to reach migrant communities .
The government has announced weekly testing by the HSE in meat factories .
O ’ Brien is waiting to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like his .
In fact , he would like to see testing happen not just in meat plants , but in “ any environment where you ’ ve got a large cohort of people working in close proximity , and also maybe living in close proximity ” .
The individual identified as A , O ’ Brien points out , “ didn ’ t catch it here ” .
“ It comes from the community into the factories , it spreads in the factories , then it goes back out into the communities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to test a large number quickly and get the results back out quickly.
” Asymptomatic spread “ is the biggest challenge heading into the winter.
” So far , only three of the 86 employees who tested positive have shown any symptoms at all .
“ They didn ’ t believe it ” when they got their results .
“ They thought it was a conspiracy .
“ A lot of our staff are taking a lot of heat in Kildare right now .
They haven ’ t done anything wrong .
We @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t intentionally bring the virus into our factory ... We ’ ve operated to the highest safety standards throughout .
This thing just happened so quickly , ” he says .
Sentiment locally towards O ’ Briens is positive , even with the mood strained in a locked-down county .
Brendan Weld , a Fine Gael councillor and farmer who lives beside the Timahoe plant , says he has “ heard nothing but good about this company.
” Locals cite their sponsorship of Kildare GAA , rugby and other initiatives like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who doesn ’ t want to be named , describes the company as “ a fantastic local employer , they really look after their workers and are very good to the community .
People feel sorry for them that this has happened because they seem to have done everything right up to this , but I suppose it just shows you never know with this virus .
”

It was 6am on Monday July 27th when 'A', the man who would become the third confirmed Covid-positive case at O'Brien Fine Foods in Timahoe, Co Kildare arrived to start his shift.
He had travelled to work at the remote site in rural Kildare in a car with three others, and went in through the staff entrance. He walked along the corridor, and stood in front of the hi-tech, full-body scanner. “Please stand close for taking temperature. Normal temperature,” the machine announced. He was cleared to start work.
He put his belongings away in a locker, and walked past the entrance to the canteen, which has been set up since March to allow for social distancing. Then he donned personal protection equipment (PPE) before going down to the factory floor.
Fifty minutes later, he was asked to come off the floor. He had been coughing and sneezing, and employees working near him were worried. He was advised to get tested, and asked to share his results with management. Before he went home, he completed the company questionnaire to assist with identifying close contacts in case he came back positive.
READ MORE
Since March, employees showing any kind of symptoms have routinely been sent for testing. “From March 9th up to July 27th, we tested over 50 people sporadically,” says John O’Brien, who now runs the family owned business bought by his father, Bill.
It comes from the community into the factories, it spreads in the factories, then it goes back out into the communities
The O’Brien family have tended to keep out of the spotlight. Before two weeks ago, few people would even have associated the O’Brien Fine Foods name with Brady Family Ham, the brand that sponsors of Kildare GAA, camogie and women’s football – and is nationally known for a memorable 2019 TV ad, featuring the lyric ‘Come out you other hams, come and face me ham-to-ham’ to the tune of ‘Come Out Ye Black and Tans’.
But the events of the last two weeks changed all that.
Before July 27th, there had been two confirmed positive cases among O’Brien’s staff, both of whom had been exposed to the virus outside of work. They were contained immediately, and the employees’ close contacts taken off the factory floor. Nobody else got infected.
Then A got sick.
Visors and masks
We are in the empty PPE room, donning the same heavy-duty PPE that employees wear: white rubber boots, which are washed before we walk onto the factory floor; blue overcoat; hairnet; visor. The only difference between what I put on and the protective gear worn by employees since March is that we also wear face masks. HSE advice was to wear either visors or masks; since the recent cases, O’Brien’s has introduced both. Signage on the walls in English, Russian, Polish, Lithuanian and Moldovan reminds employees to practice social distancing.
It’s immediately obvious why wearing both visor and mask might make life difficult for people operating machinery in a factory environment. As we move through different parts of the now mostly-empty factory – from a room kept at 10 degrees to an oven room next door – the visor keeps fogging up, and it is even harder to hear over the roar of machinery.
O’Brien points out that if you’re not wearing a facemask under your visor, it doesn’t fog – which means it’s not keeping your breath in. “In hindsight these,” he says, pointing to the facemask, “are more important.”
An O’Brien Fine Foods employee putting on PPE at the processing facility in Timahoe, Co Kildare. Photograph: Naoise Culhane
The experience of wearing heavy boots and a condensation-covered visor, unable to see or hear properly, is disconcerting. More than once, I have to resist the urge to lift the visor, and I can imagine how people working here might feel the same.
By the time A’s positive test results came back at lunchtime on Thursday, July 30th, Covid-19 had already begun its silent creep through the factory floor, into the management offices upstairs, infecting people who worked in the warehouse building nearby, and even someone who worked alone in the brine make-up room.
O’Brien had no idea about any of this yet, but the alarm bells starting ringing when A’s test results came back. “It felt a bit different to the other two. He had been on site. We immediately took his close contacts off the floor. But,” he says, candidly, “that was our first mistake. We should have taken them off the floor on Monday.”
The man who tested positive had five close contacts, between those he worked with and those he car-pooled with.
One suggestion about outbreaks in meat plants is that people who work in them are poorly paid, live together in crowded conditions and travel to work together. They do not always get sick pay, and even when they are entitled to, it’s suggested that they do not always trust they will get it, so they are less inclined to stay off work than people in other sectors.
On the day we meet, claims were made by Siptu before an Oireachtas committee that more than 40 migrants were sharing a house in Edenderry, Co Offaly, 17km away.
Noel Cribbin, a postman in Edenderry, who is also a councillor on Offaly County Council, told the Irish Times he was sceptical about those claims, but suggested up to 12 migrant workers would commonly share a three or four-bedroom house, even sharing beds with those on alternating shifts, in a so-called hot-bedding arrangement.
“The Eastern European people working here … are all on good money, anything from €22,000 up to €26,000 at factory floor level. They’re renting houses. Some own houses,” says O’Brien. For employees living in house shares, it’s usually “four to a house – that’s the norm”.
A statement by the company says that “processing team members are paid €10.85 to €12.75 per hour. In addition, there are also benefits such as life assurance and additional holidays.”
This is borne out by redacted payslips seen by the Irish Times.
A lot of our staff are taking a lot of heat in Kildare right now. They haven't done anything wrong.
Since March, the company has offered employees full sick pay and the services of an on-site GP. Apart from two cleaners employed through an agency, “all our staff are on Irish law contracts, employed directly by us.”
Thirty-six per cent of the 306 employees in Timahoe are Irish. “And 17 per cent of the positive cases were Irish,” O’Brien says.
They include people on the senior management team.
‘Too many links’
O’Brien organised the testing and contact tracing of the five close contacts of A. Two of them – the people he had driven into work with – tested positive.
The team spent the long weekend gathering additional information from those employees. They found that a number had attended a social event three weeks previously. The husband of another employee was discovered to be self-isolating, having potentially been exposed to Covid-19 in his job at Irish Dog Foods.
Two others had been routinely sharing lifts with employees of another affected plant, Kildare Chilling Company. At that stage, "we said, we don't know how bad this is . . . There are too many links here. So we decided to test everyone."
On Tuesday, August 4th, 243 employees were tested at the plant. Of those, the HSE agreed to test the 70 or so people on A's immediate shift. A further 170 were tested by a private company, Code Blue, paid for by O'Briens.
On the morning of Wednesday, August 5th, everyone passed through the temperature scanner as normal. Nobody had a temperature. And then, “on Wednesday lunchtime, we got a call from Code Blue to say… your numbers are not good.”
Out of 170 tests, there were 45 positives. O’Brien was stunned. The results from the shift tested by the HSE came that evening, bring the total number of positives to 80. On Wednesday, he had the identities of those who had come up positive in the Code Blue tests. “We didn’t get the names of the people tested by the HSE until the Thursday.”
At 9pm on Wednesday, processing was shut down, and everyone was sent home on full pay, except for six people who were cleared by the HSE to keep working in the warehouse, and five more I see on the factory floor.
O’Brien sought out expert PR advice that evening. The decision was taken to prioritise “facts and speed”. The advice he was given focused on transparency. Four statements were issued over the subsequent days and a key questions and answers document was put up online. The company is keen to make clear that all steps regarding closure and testing were taken proactively, prior to any requirements imposed by the HSE.
By the end of the week, another 42 tests had been done on the remaining employees, resulting in six more positives. With processing now stopped, the company announced that more employee testing would be conducted on days seven and 14.
O'Brien walks me through the almost empty plant. As he points out land owned by the company which was previously owned by John Gilligan before it was seized by the Criminal Assets Bureau, a hare bounds across the deserted car park. There are just a few employees in different areas of the building; he seems to know them all by name.
On the factory floor, he shows me all of the places where the employees who later tested positive were working. It’s hard to see any clear pattern of spread. In some situations, the employees worked within one arm’s length of one other, separated by Perspex screens. But in others, they worked alone.
A study in the British Medical Journal which looked at an outbreak at a meat factory in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, where more than 1,500 of 7,000 workers tested positive, concluded that the "virus thrives in lower temperatures and very high or very low relative humidity"; "metallic surfaces retain live viruses for longer" and employees shouting over the noise play a part.
It also questioned “the possibility of airborne spread and the role of air filtration systems”. O’Brien says the question of whether the temperature in the factory and the air circulation system, which recycles 60 per cent of the air, may be playing a role “is something we’re looking at.”
The Brady Family Ham factory in Timahoe, Co Kildare. Photograph: Tom Honan
He is aiming to get that ratio down to 30 per cent, so that 70 per cent of the air being circulated in the factory is fresh.
The BMJ report points to factors like the insecurity of employment in the sector and “limited or non-existent hygiene measures”. It’s fair to say that’s not a reflection of the infection control measures here – I am wearing more PPE than when I reported from a Covid ward in a hospital. However, O’Brien admits that not doubling up with a face mask and visor from March was “a mistake”, even if it was in line with HSE advice.
Test challenges
When I visit, seven days after the initial test results, and O’Brien is still trying to pin down the day seven tests, which have to be done by the HSE for data collection reasons. The HSE has been “helpful, as a whole”. The challenge in organising the tests today is due to strains on “capacity from the National Ambulance Service,” he suggests. The HSE did not reply to a request for information on this.
we didn't intentionally bring the virus into our factory ... We've operated to the highest safety standards throughout. This thing just happened so quickly
The day seven tests were ultimately carried out last Thursday. Day 14 tests are due next week; after the factory reopens on August 24th, further testing will be paid for by the company and carried out at 14-day intervals.
What are the lessons to be learned from the outbreak, as we face into winter? O’Brien believes that public health messaging needs to be communicated in languages other than English and through channels more likely to reach migrant communities.
The government has announced weekly testing by the HSE in meat factories. O’Brien is waiting to hear whether this will include secondary processors like his. In fact, he would like to see testing happen not just in meat plants, but in “any environment where you’ve got a large cohort of people working in close proximity, and also maybe living in close proximity”.
The individual identified as A, O’Brien points out, “didn’t catch it here”.
“It comes from the community into the factories, it spreads in the factories, then it goes back out into the communities. So you have to be able to test a large number quickly and get the results back out quickly.”
Asymptomatic
Asymptomatic spread “is the biggest challenge heading into the winter.” So far, only three of the 86 employees who tested positive have shown any symptoms at all.
“They didn’t believe it” when they got their results. “They thought it was a conspiracy.
“A lot of our staff are taking a lot of heat in Kildare right now. They haven’t done anything wrong. We’ve made mistakes. But we didn’t intentionally bring the virus into our factory ... We’ve operated to the highest safety standards throughout. This thing just happened so quickly,” he says.
Sentiment locally towards O'Briens is positive, even with the mood strained in a locked-down county. Brendan Weld, a Fine Gael councillor and farmer who lives beside the Timahoe plant, says he has "heard nothing but good about this company." Locals cite their sponsorship of Kildare GAA, rugby and other initiatives like Tidy Towns committees.
One woman, who doesn’t want to be named, describes the company as “a fantastic local employer, they really look after their workers and are very good to the community. People feel sorry for them that this has happened because they seem to have done everything right up to this, but I suppose it just shows you never know with this virus.”
- Additional reporting by Brian Hutton and Senan Hogan


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--Covid-19: Almost 50,000 more people waiting for outpatient appointments since start of year

Almost 50,000 additional people are waiting for an outpatient appointment since the start of the year , largely as a result of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic .
The number of outpatients on the waiting list has surpassed the 600,000 mark for the first time , the latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund ( NTPF ) show .
Some 233,445 of these patients have been waiting more than 12 months for their appointment .
The stark figures prompted Labour to warn last night that more patients would end up dying of causes other than Covid-19 if the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the “ tsunami ” of non-coronavirus healthcare needs .
There were 601,362 people on the outpatient waiting list at the end of July , up a substantial 17,000 over the previous month .
At the start of the year , just over 553,000 patients were on the list .
“ Never before in the history of the State has there been so many people on hospital waiting lists and unless the Minister [ for Health Stephen Donnelly ] takes action , this will spiral further out of control .
It is also clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for non-Covid healthcare is inadequate and needs to be significantly beefed-up , ” Labour leader Alan Kelly said .
The Mater hospital in Dublin , University Hospital Waterford , Galway University Hospitals and University Hospital Limerick each have more than 40,000 people on their outpatient waiting lists , while more than 46,000 children are also waiting for an appointment .
The inpatient waiting list has also grown substantially since the start of the year , despite heavy investment by the NTPF in privately sourced procedures , though July ’ s figures are slightly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ total of 819,037 patients are on some form of waiting list monitored by the fund .
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all non-urgent hospital work in the spring and , although activities have resumed in many parts of the health service , capacity is reduced to about 80 per cent or less due to the requirement for infection control .
The Irish Hospital Consultants ’ Association highlighted the impact on individual specialities , estimating a 25 per cent rise in general surgery lists since the start of the year , 12.4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cent in urology .
Another 67 new cases of Covid-19 , and no new deaths , were reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team on Friday .
Eighteen of the new cases are in Dublin , 17 are in Kildare , nine in Clare and five in Limerick .
The remaining cases were reported in Carlow , Cork , Donegal , Laois , Longford , Offaly , Tipperary , Wexford and Wicklow .
Sixteen of the cases have been identified as involving community transmission , meaning the cause of the infection is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has also been an increase in the number of contacts per confirmed case to six , according to acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn , who urged people to keep their social contacts low in order to limit the spread of the disease .
Meanwhile , Walsh ’ s Mushrooms in Golden , Co Tipperary , suspended operations after a number of workers tested positive for Covid-19 .
In Kilkenny , a member of staff at St Luke ’ s Hospital is recovering at home after contracting the virus .
A restaurant @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tested positive .
Northern Ireland recorded another 74 cases of the virus , while the death of a 32-year-old woman was reported in Co Antrim .
Two of the four midlands meat-processing plants hit by Covid-19 outbreaks are reopening .
Irish Dog Foods , which had 53 cases , and Carroll Cuisine , which had nine , said this would happen on a phased basis .

Labour Party leader Alan Kelly: “It is clear from these figures that the reopening plan for non-Covid healthcare is inadequate and needs to be significantly beefed-up.” Photograph: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Almost 50,000 additional people are waiting for an outpatient appointment since the start of the year, largely as a result of delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The number of outpatients on the waiting list has surpassed the 600,000 mark for the first time, the latest figures from the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) show.
Some 233,445 of these patients have been waiting more than 12 months for their appointment.
The stark figures prompted Labour to warn last night that more patients would end up dying of causes other than Covid-19 if the Government did not take action to address the “tsunami” of non-coronavirus healthcare needs.
READ MORE
There were 601,362 people on the outpatient waiting list at the end of July, up a substantial 17,000 over the previous month. At the start of the year, just over 553,000 patients were on the list.
“Never before in the history of the State has there been so many people on hospital waiting lists and unless the Minister [for Health Stephen Donnelly] takes action, this will spiral further out of control. It is also clear from these figures that the reopening plan for non-Covid healthcare is inadequate and needs to be significantly beefed-up,” Labour leader Alan Kelly said.
Children’s appointments
The Mater hospital in Dublin, University Hospital Waterford, Galway University Hospitals and University Hospital Limerick each have more than 40,000 people on their outpatient waiting lists, while more than 46,000 children are also waiting for an appointment.
The inpatient waiting list has also grown substantially since the start of the year, despite heavy investment by the NTPF in privately sourced procedures, though July’s figures are slightly down on the previous month.
A total of 819,037 patients are on some form of waiting list monitored by the fund.
The Covid-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of all non-urgent hospital work in the spring and, although activities have resumed in many parts of the health service, capacity is reduced to about 80 per cent or less due to the requirement for infection control.
The Irish Hospital Consultants’ Association highlighted the impact on individual specialities, estimating a 25 per cent rise in general surgery lists since the start of the year, 12.4 per cent in orthopaedics and 10.4 per cent in urology.
67 more infections
Another 67 new cases of Covid-19, and no new deaths, were reported by the National Public Health Emergency Team on Friday.
Eighteen of the new cases are in Dublin, 17 are in Kildare, nine in Clare and five in Limerick. The remaining cases were reported in Carlow, Cork, Donegal, Laois, Longford, Offaly, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow.
Sixteen of the cases have been identified as involving community transmission, meaning the cause of the infection is not known at this point.
There has also been an increase in the number of contacts per confirmed case to six, according to acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn, who urged people to keep their social contacts low in order to limit the spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, Walsh’s Mushrooms in Golden, Co Tipperary, suspended operations after a number of workers tested positive for Covid-19.
In Kilkenny, a member of staff at St Luke’s Hospital is recovering at home after contracting the virus. A restaurant in the city closed when a worker tested positive.
Northern Ireland recorded another 74 cases of the virus, while the death of a 32-year-old woman was reported in Co Antrim.
Two of the four midlands meat-processing plants hit by Covid-19 outbreaks are reopening. Irish Dog Foods, which had 53 cases, and Carroll Cuisine, which had nine, said this would happen on a phased basis.


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--One ticket scoops €7.3 million win in Lotto draw

One ticket has scooped a jackpot of over €7 million in Saturday night ’ s Lotto draw .
The winning @ @ @ @ @ , 18 , 36 , 40 and 42 while the bonus number was 16 .
@ @ @ @ @ ticket for the total jackpot of €7,337,744 have not yet been released .

There was just one winning ticket in Saturday night’s draw
The winning ticket which scooped a jackpot of over €7 million in Saturday night’s Lotto draw was sold in Co Galway.
The National Lottery said it will reveal the name of the store which sold the winning ticket in coming days.
“With a jackpot win of this magnitude, it is important that we inform the winning retailer and of course to give the winning ticketholder the time and space they need to let this €7.3 million win sink in,” it said.
The winning numbers were 3, 7, 18, 36, 40 and 42 while the bonus number was 16.


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--Fingal County Council lifts bathing ban for Loughshinny beach

Fingal County Council has lifted a “ do not swim ” noticed from a popular north Dublin beach .
The @ @ @ @ @ bathing ban at Loughshinny for six days from Wednesday after visual reports of sewage pollution @ @ @ @ @ from the wastewater network .
The beach had remained open to uses but the notice @ @ @ @ @ ensure the health of bathers was not compromised .
However , following results received on @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday , the ban was lifted .
The water quality was rated as “ @ @ @

Fingal County Council has lifted a “do not swim” noticed from a popular north Dublin beach.
The local authority had imposed the bathing ban at Loughshinny for six days from Wednesday after visual reports of sewage pollution, likely caused by discharge from the wastewater network.
The beach had remained open to uses but the notice was put in place to ensure the health of bathers was not compromised.
However, following results received on Saturday from a sample taken on Thursday, the ban was lifted.
READ MORE
The water quality was rated as “excellent”.


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--Gardaí investigate after woman pushed into Royal Canal following alleged racial abuse

Gardaí are investigating after a woman was reportedly racially abused before being pushed into the Royal Canal while walking near Ashtown in Dublin on Friday evening .
Xuedan ( Shirley ) Xiong , who lives in Castleknock , says she feels too nervous to go out alone after she was pushed into the canal while confronting a group of teenage boys who shouted racial abuse at her .
Ms Xiong was walking between Castleknock and Ashtown at around 7pm on Friday when she says a group of teenage boys rushed at her on bikes to make it seem like they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ canal .
“ I screamed and they laughed and then imitated my scream .
They left me terrified.
” A few moments later a second group of boys passed by .
“ One of them looked me straight in the eyes and said ‘ coronavirus ’ , ” Ms Xiong told The Irish Times .
“ I didn ’ t say anything , I was stunned and they winked at each other.
” A third group , which included some of the teenage boys who had previously walked and cycled by , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and “ fried noodles ” at Ms Xiong .
She ran after the boys until she caught up with the group which now included some older teenagers .
“ I told them it was racial discrimination to speak like that .
I wasn ’ t frightened anymore , all I felt was anger .
There were lots of lone women walking along the canal at that time but they targeted me .
I think there ’ s a reason behind that.
” A video posted on TikTok shows two members of the group @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The video has since been removed from the social media site .
Ms Xiong was not physically hurt and pulled herself back onto the path as the boys ran off .
Three passers by stopped to help while she called gardaí to report the incident .
“ We could still see the group of young men , they were about 200 metres away .
Without those three kind people who stopped I ’ m pretty sure they would have come back and pushed me again.
” Ms Xiong says she waited about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the nearby station but decided to return home because her clothes were soaking .
She later went to Blanchardstown to make a formal report .
She says gardaí told her it was unlikely the teenagers involved would be found .
“ The Garda asked if I had phone numbers for any witnesses .
I had asked the people by the canal to be witnesses for when the Garda arrived but I didn ’ t think to ask for their numbers .
I was too upset by what had happened .
His question @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a complete dossier prepared before reporting to the gardaí .
“ I understand the gardaí are busy because they ’ re under-resourced but I believe if I ’ d arrived in with a broken leg they would have treated me differently .
I was still hurt .
But he made it sound like nothing could be done.
” A Garda spokesman told the Irish Times it was investigating “ an alleged racially motivated incident ” which occurred on August 14th in Dublin 15 .
“ An Garda Síochána takes hate crime seriously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to us is professionally investigated and victims supported during the criminal justice process , ” he said , adding that gardaí were taking actions to “ improve internal recording and encourage more reporting by the public ” .
“ The Garda Diversity and Integration Strategy 2019 – 2021 has a significant focus on enhancing the identification , reporting , investigation and prosecution of hate crimes , ” he added .
Gardaí would encourage anyone who feels they have been the victim of a hate crime to report the matter directly gardaí and not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he said .
Racial abuse is not a new occurrence for Ms Xiong who has lived in Ireland for 14 years and has a 10-year-old son .
She says she purposely avoids groups of teenage boys while out walking because of the verbal abuse she has suffered in the past .
In this case , however , she decided to confront them .
“ The reason I went after them to talk was because I also felt sorry for them .
I was trying to speak to them as a mother , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t talk to people like that.
” Ms Xiong believes there ’ s “ some element missing in our education ” if teenagers are abusing people of different ethnicities in this way .
“ Every human being is born noble but people go on to behave in stupid ways because of a lack of education .
We have to address this and provide help for these kids.
” Ms Xiong says she has received huge support from friends since Friday but is still very shaken by what happened .
She usually walks or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is now nervous about leaving the house alone .
“ I wouldn ’ t feel comfortable going to the local park now because I ’ ve seen teenagers there as well .
I don ’ t know how long it will take me to get that courage back .
”

Gardaí are investigating after a woman was reportedly racially abused before being pushed into the Royal Canal while walking near Ashtown in Dublin
Gardaí are investigating after a woman was reportedly racially abused before being pushed into the Royal Canal while walking near Ashtown in Dublin on Friday evening.
Xuedan (Shelly) Xiong, who lives in Castleknock, says she feels too nervous to go out alone after she was pushed into the canal while confronting a group of teenage boys who shouted racial abuse at her.
Ms Xiong was walking between Castleknock and Ashtown at around 7pm on Friday when she says a group of teenage boys rushed at her on bikes to make it seem like they were going to run her into the canal. “I screamed and they laughed and then imitated my scream. They left me terrified.”
A few moments later a second group of boys passed by. “One of them looked me straight in the eyes and said ‘coronavirus’,” Ms Xiong told The Irish Times. “I didn’t say anything, I was stunned and they winked at each other.”
READ MORE
A third group, which included some of the teenage boys who had previously walked and cycled by, then passed by shouting “Chinese noodles” and “fried noodles” at Ms Xiong. She ran after the boys until she caught up with the group which now included some older teenagers.
“I told them it was racial discrimination to speak like that. I wasn’t frightened anymore, all I felt was anger. There were lots of lone women walking along the canal at that time but they targeted me. I think there’s a reason behind that.”
A video posted on TikTok shows two members of the group pushing Ms Xiong backwards into the water. The video has since been removed from the social media site.
Ms Xiong was not physically hurt and pulled herself back onto the path as the boys ran off.
Three passers by stopped to help while she called gardaí to report the incident. “We could still see the group of young men, they were about 200 metres away. Without those three kind people who stopped I’m pretty sure they would have come back and pushed me again.”
Ms Xiong says she waited about ten minutes for a Garda to arrive from the nearby station but decided to return home because her clothes were soaking.
She later went to Blanchardstown to make a formal report. She says gardaí told her it was unlikely the teenagers involved would be found.
“The Garda asked if I had phone numbers for any witnesses. I had asked the people by the canal to be witnesses for when the Garda arrived but I didn’t think to ask for their numbers. I was too upset by what had happened. His question made me feel like I needed to have a complete dossier prepared before reporting to the gardaí.
“I understand the gardaí are busy because they’re under-resourced but I believe if I’d arrived in with a broken leg they would have treated me differently. I was still hurt. But he made it sound like nothing could be done.”
A Garda spokesman told the Irish Times it was investigating “an alleged racially motivated incident” which occurred on August 14th in Dublin 15.
"An Garda Síochána takes hate crime seriously and each and every hate crime reported to us is professionally investigated and victims supported during the criminal justice process," he said, adding that gardaí were taking actions to "improve internal recording and encourage more reporting by the public".
“The Garda Diversity and Integration Strategy 2019 – 2021 has a significant focus on enhancing the identification, reporting, investigation and prosecution of hate crimes,” he added.
Gardaí would encourage anyone who feels they have been the victim of a hate crime to report the matter directly gardaí and not to third parties or on social media, he said.
Racial abuse is not a new occurrence for Ms Xiong who has lived in Ireland for 14 years and has a 10-year-old son. She says she purposely avoids groups of teenage boys while out walking because of the verbal abuse she has suffered in the past. In this case, however, she decided to confront them.
“The reason I went after them to talk was because I also felt sorry for them. I was trying to speak to them as a mother, trying to explain why they shouldn’t talk to people like that.”
Ms Xiong believes there’s “some element missing in our education” if teenagers are abusing people of different ethnicities in this way. “Every human being is born noble but people go on to behave in stupid ways because of a lack of education. We have to address this and provide help for these kids.”
Ms Xiong says she has received huge support from friends since Friday but is still very shaken by what happened. She usually walks or jogs every day but admits that she is now nervous about leaving the house alone.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable going to the local park now because I’ve seen teenagers there as well. I don’t know how long it will take me to get that courage back.”


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--Coronavirus: 200 new cases reported in largest daily total since May

There have been 200 new cases of Covid-19 reported on Saturday , the Department of Health has confirmed .
It brings to 27,191 the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the State .
No new deaths were reported .
A total of 1,774 people have died of the disease .
It is the largest number of cases reported in a single day since the beginning of May .
Dr Ronan Glynn , the acting chief medical officer , said the situation facing the country is “ deeply concerning ” .
The Republic now has “ multiple clusters with secondary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cases in many parts of the country , ” he said , adding the National Public Health Emergency Team ( Nphet ) will “ monitor this extremely closely over the coming days ” .
Some 25 cases have been identified as community transmission , with 68 per cent of cases among those under 45 years of age .
Sixty-eight of the cases are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case .
Of the new cases , 81 are in Kildare , 56 are in Dublin , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a mushroom facility was closed on Friday following an outbreak among staff at Walsh ’ s mushrooms in Golden , near Cashel .
The HSE has set up a testing facility in the town .
“ This virus is still out there and has not gone away .
Covid-19 seeks to capitalise on complacency and is just waiting for the opportunity to spread .
I am asking everyone , especially those who are over 70 or medically vulnerable , to limit your contacts , keep your distance from other people and take extra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” Dr Glynn said .
Eight cases were recorded in Limerick , six in Laois and Galway , and five each in Meath and Kilkenny .
The remaining 20 cases are in Carlow , Clare , Cork , Donegal , Louth , Mayo , Offaly , Roscommon , Waterford and Wicklow .
Validation of data has led to the denotification of four confirmed cases .
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said a number of our EU neighbours are also experiencing an uptick in cases .
“ The virus capitalises on complacency .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ physical distancing and reduce your contacts , ” he urged in a message on Twitter .
He said the spike in cases in young people is a real concern .
“ They can get very sick , but do so less frequently than older people .
But young people can transmit the virus to anyone .
The decisions you make about who you meet and where you go are hugely important , ” he said .
“ It may not be your life but your choices could be the difference between life and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ love .
Remember that most people are susceptible to this virus , ” he added .
The HSE ’ s CEO Paul Reid said the number of cases on Saturday was a concern but people should hold firm .
Meanwhile the number of confirmed and suspected cases of Covid-19 in the hospital system continued to remain steady at the end of the week , new figures released by the Health Service Executive ( HSE ) show .
As of 8pm on Friday evening , there was a total of 14 confirmed cases admitted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ suspected cases across 29 acute hospitals monitored by the health service .
This is an increase of one confirmed case and a decrease of two suspected cases when compared to the same time the previous day .
When compared with the same time last week , it is an increase of two confirmed cases and 24 suspected cases .
There are currently 308 vacant general beds , excluding critical care beds , across the hospital system .
Some 33 adult critical care beds are available , in addition to six paediatric beds and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ system .
A total of 284 critical care beds are occupied , including eight occupied by Covid-19 patients .
A further nine patients with suspected cases of Covid-19 are in critical care beds .
Five confirmed cases are ventilated , as well as three suspected cases .
The latest data on contact tracing shows the average time taken from referral for a test to obtaining a lab result is two days .
This is a slight increase on the same day last week , when the process was being completed in 1.8 days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tracing calls is 1.8 days , an increase on last week ’ s figure of 1.2 days .
Earlier , the Department of Health in Northern Ireland reported a further 65 diagnoses of Covid-19 there on Saturday .
The total number of cases in the region is now 6,364 ; there were no further deaths linked to the disease , with the toll remaining at 558 .
Some 173,227 individuals have been tested in the six counties , with 289 positive tests in the last seven days .

Some 25 cases have been identified as community transmission, with 68 per cent of cases among those under 45 years of age. File photograph: Alan Betson
There have been 200 new cases of Covid-19 reported on Saturday , the Department of Health has confirmed.
It brings to 27,191 the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the State.
No new deaths were reported. A total of 1,774 people have died of the disease.
It is the largest number of cases reported in a single day since the beginning of May.
READ MORE
Dr Ronan Glynn, the acting chief medical officer, said the situation facing the country is “deeply concerning”.
The Republic now has “multiple clusters with secondary spread of disease and rising numbers of cases in many parts of the country,” he said, adding the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) will “monitor this extremely closely over the coming days”.
Some 25 cases have been identified as community transmission, with 68 per cent of cases among those under 45 years of age. Sixty-eight of the cases are confirmed to be associated with outbreaks or are close contacts of a confirmed case.
Of the new cases, 81 are in Kildare, 56 are in Dublin, and 13 are in Tipperary, where a mushroom facility was closed on Friday following an outbreak among staff at Walsh’s mushrooms in Golden, near Cashel.
The HSE has set up a testing facility in the town.
“This virus is still out there and has not gone away. Covid-19 seeks to capitalise on complacency and is just waiting for the opportunity to spread. I am asking everyone, especially those who are over 70 or medically vulnerable, to limit your contacts, keep your distance from other people and take extra care to heed public health advice,” Dr Glynn said.
Eight cases were recorded in Limerick, six in Laois and Galway, and five each in Meath and Kilkenny. The remaining 20 cases are in Carlow, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Louth, Mayo, Offaly, Roscommon, Waterford and Wicklow.
Validation of data has led to the denotification of four confirmed cases.
Redouble
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said a number of our EU neighbours are also experiencing an uptick in cases. “The virus capitalises on complacency. Please redouble your efforts on handwashing, physical distancing and reduce your contacts,” he urged in a message on Twitter.
He said the spike in cases in young people is a real concern. “They can get very sick, but do so less frequently than older people. But young people can transmit the virus to anyone. The decisions you make about who you meet and where you go are hugely important,” he said.
“It may not be your life but your choices could be the difference between life and death for someone else - someone you love. Remember that most people are susceptible to this virus,” he added.
The HSE’s CEO Paul Reid said the number of cases on Saturday was a concern but people should hold firm.
Hospital
Meanwhile the number of confirmed and suspected cases of Covid-19 in the hospital system continued to remain steady at the end of the week, new figures released by the Health Service Executive (HSE) show.
As of 8pm on Friday evening, there was a total of 14 confirmed cases admitted to hospitals, and a further 136 suspected cases across 29 acute hospitals monitored by the health service. This is an increase of one confirmed case and a decrease of two suspected cases when compared to the same time the previous day.
When compared with the same time last week, it is an increase of two confirmed cases and 24 suspected cases.
There are currently 308 vacant general beds, excluding critical care beds, across the hospital system. Some 33 adult critical care beds are available, in addition to six paediatric beds and 15 critical care beds in the private system.
A total of 284 critical care beds are occupied, including eight occupied by Covid-19 patients. A further nine patients with suspected cases of Covid-19 are in critical care beds. Five confirmed cases are ventilated, as well as three suspected cases.
The latest data on contact tracing shows the average time taken from referral for a test to obtaining a lab result is two days. This is a slight increase on the same day last week, when the process was being completed in 1.8 days.
The average time to complete contact tracing calls is 1.8 days, an increase on last week’s figure of 1.2 days.
North
Earlier, the Department of Health in Northern Ireland reported a further 65 diagnoses of Covid-19 there on Saturday. The total number of cases in the region is now 6,364; there were no further deaths linked to the disease, with the toll remaining at 558.
Some 173,227 individuals have been tested in the six counties, with 289 positive tests in the last seven days.


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--‘The younger people are fearless’: Belarusians protest in Dublin

A small group of protesters gathered in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin on Saturday afternoon , to bring attention to the ongoing civil unrest in Belarus .
After 26 years in power , Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the victor in the country ’ s presidential election last Sunday .
His opponents accuse his regime of rigging the election , at which he took an unlikely 80 per cent of votes according to the state count , and then coercing his main challenger , Svetlana Tikhanovskaya , to flee the country for neighbouring Lithuania on Tuesday In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Council of the European Union and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo have said the elections were not free or fair .
Protests broke out across Belarus , with demonstrators calling for Mr Lukashenko to leave .
Riot police responded with a violent crackdown , detaining up to 7,000 people .
The EU condemned the state ’ s response , saying it “ deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence ” .
Katia Lysionak ( 34 ) , originally from Belarus but living in Ireland for the past three years , organised the demonstration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ never organised a protest before , or been to one before , ” she explains , dressed in white , with flowers in her hair – the symbols adopted by the movement to signify a peaceful protest .
“ This is a march in solidarity with Belarus .
The people exercised their right to peacefully protest , to express their political opinions .
And in return the police used excessive force .
“ They detained 7,000 people in four days .
Two nights ago , the torture reports were released .
Hundreds of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
Amnesty International , along with local Belarusian human rights groups , have collected testimonies from protesters in the country , who have described being tortured in detention centres .
The accounts include allegations of being stripped naked , beaten and threatened with rape .
Ms Lysionak echoes this saying she has also been told of children being held and beaten by police forces , after being separated from their parents .
“ Protests still take place .
It ’ s been six days .
But there ’ s been no more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the peaceful protests continued but the police took a step back .
They apologised but nobody resigned .
The president hasn ’ t addressed it .
He currently ignores what ’ s going on .
“ We support Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya as our real president ; who ’ s believed to have won in actual numbers , if they were counted in the right kind of way.
” In the initial days of the protests , Belarus ’ s government disabled the country ’ s internet .
However , Telegram , an encrypted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ms Lysionak says this is how protesters have organised the movement , and communicated with the rest of the world about what was happening to them .
“ This change of power , that some call a revolution , is happening thanks to social media and the free flow of information .
[ Telegram ] was the bridge between Belarus and the world , under the block out , until the world turned their eyes to Belarus .
“ The younger people are fearless .
They ’ re spearheading this .
But there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s been instilled in us for 26 years .
We were taught to keep quiet , keep silent , to not have a political opinion .
But the world changed .
While [ Lukashenko ] remained in power , the world changed around him .
He ’ s becoming obsolete .
”

A small group of protesters gathered in front of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Dublin on Saturday afternoon, to bring attention to the ongoing civil unrest in Belarus.
After 26 years in power, Alexander Lukashenko declared himself the victor in the country's presidential election last Sunday. His opponents accuse his regime of rigging the election, at which he took an unlikely 80 per cent of votes according to the state count, and then coercing his main challenger, Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, to flee the country for neighbouring Lithuania on Tuesday
In the week since the election, both the Council of the European Union and US secretary of state Mike Pompeo have said the elections were not free or fair.
Protests broke out across Belarus, with demonstrators calling for Mr Lukashenko to leave. Riot police responded with a violent crackdown, detaining up to 7,000 people. The EU condemned the state’s response, saying it “deployed disproportionate and unacceptable violence”.
READ MORE
Katia Lysionak (34), originally from Belarus but living in Ireland for the past three years, organised the demonstration in Dublin.
“I’ve never organised a protest before, or been to one before,” she explains, dressed in white, with flowers in her hair – the symbols adopted by the movement to signify a peaceful protest. “This is a march in solidarity with Belarus. The people exercised their right to peacefully protest, to express their political opinions. And in return the police used excessive force.
Katia Lysionak organised the protest at the Department of Foreign Affairs. Photograph: Polly Dennison
“They detained 7,000 people in four days. Two nights ago, the torture reports were released. Hundreds of people have been tortured,” she said.
Amnesty International, along with local Belarusian human rights groups, have collected testimonies from protesters in the country, who have described being tortured in detention centres. The accounts include allegations of being stripped naked, beaten and threatened with rape.
Ms Lysionak echoes this saying she has also been told of children being held and beaten by police forces, after being separated from their parents.
Protesters on the steps of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Photograph: Polly Dennison
“Protests still take place. It’s been six days. But there’s been no more violence. After those reports were released, the peaceful protests continued but the police took a step back. They apologised but nobody resigned. The president hasn’t addressed it. He currently ignores what’s going on.
"We support Svetlana Tsikhanouskaya as our real president; who's believed to have won in actual numbers, if they were counted in the right kind of way."
In the initial days of the protests, Belarus’s government disabled the country’s internet. However, Telegram, an encrypted messaging service, still worked, and Ms Lysionak says this is how protesters have organised the movement, and communicated with the rest of the world about what was happening to them.
“This change of power, that some call a revolution, is happening thanks to social media and the free flow of information. [Telegram] was the bridge between Belarus and the world, under the block out, until the world turned their eyes to Belarus.
“The younger people are fearless. They’re spearheading this. But there is a lot of fear in Belarus. It’s been instilled in us for 26 years. We were taught to keep quiet, keep silent, to not have a political opinion. But the world changed. While [Lukashenko] remained in power, the world changed around him. He’s becoming obsolete.”


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--‘Our fear is we will be forgotten’: Flooding hits west Cork for second time this week

West Cork has been hit again for a second time this week with flooding and damaged roads after a night of torrential rain .
Motorists are being asked to avoid affected areas .
Overflowing streams led to the closure of the main N71 artery road at a number of locations as well as damage to some back roads on Saturday .
Cork County Council said its roads department and fire service staff worked through Friday night to try and stop flooding of properties around Rosscarbery and Coonanagh .
Staff put out sandbags to try and protect a number of properties @ @ @ @ @ @ @ saturated from heavy rain on Thursday morning when over an inch fell in parts of Cork and Saturday morning ’ s heavy rain led to further flooding .
Met Éireann issued thunderstorm and heavy rain warnings on Saturday for several counties .
A status yellow rainfall warning is in place for Wexford , Cork and Waterford until 6am on Sunday while a status yellow thunder warning is in place for Munster , and counties Carlow , Kilkenny , Laois , Wexford , Offaly , Galway , Mayo and Roscommon until 9pm on Saturday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ present a risk of flooding .
Cork County Council said they were not able to protect all the affected properties or the N71 from further flooding .
“ Unfortunately , the flooding has impacted some properties in the area .
The N71 has now reopened at Connonagh , but will remain closed at Rosscarbery until later today , traffic diversions are in place , ” it said .
“ The heavy rain has caused additional damage to the Rosscarbery to Glandore road , R597 at Roury Bridge and roads around Clonakilty , Dunmanway @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have also been affected.
” Local Cork South West TD Christopher O ’ Sullivan ( FF ) said a stream bursting its banks and eroding the road surface on the back road to Rathbarry had caused the damage .
He said the road had been badly damaged by flooding in 2012 but no remedial work had been carried out on the stream and it again caused similar damage in the most recent floods .
The council has indicated it would be applying for emergency funding to repair the damage caused to roads in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ urged the council to move quickly .
Local farmer Denis O ’ Donovan , who lives near the badly damaged Rosscarbery to Glandore Road , told Cork ’ s 96FM that repair work needed to be carried out to the road as a matter of urgency .
“ This repair work needs to be done now , it needs to be ASAP but again the worry we have as locals , is that it will be another patch up job done to get the road opened quickly , ” Mr O ’ Donovan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will be forgotten about again when this all dies down and then with the next flood of water , we are back to square one – it needs to be done right and it needs to be done now.
” Senator Tim Lombard , who ran for Fine Gael in Cork South West in this year ’ s general election , told the same radio station it was important the authorities did all they could to help those flooded in Rosscarbery .
“ Just 48 hours after Rosscarbery was flooded , another major @ @ @ @ @ @ @ very disheartening for the local community who have done so much clean up work over the last few days , ” he said .
“ I think it is appropriate now for local government , for Cork County Council to work with the OPW to find solutions as a matter of urgency to prevent any repeat of these flooding events .
”

After a night of torrential rain the river Roury broke its banks and also caused flooding in Rosscarbery earlier this week. Photograph: Andy Gibson
West Cork has been hit again for a second time this week with flooding and damaged roads after a night of torrential rain. Motorists are being asked to avoid affected areas.
Overflowing streams led to the closure of the main N71 artery road at a number of locations as well as damage to some back roads on Saturday.
Cork County Council said its roads department and fire service staff worked through Friday night to try and stop flooding of properties around Rosscarbery and Coonanagh.
Staff put out sandbags to try and protect a number of properties in Rosscarbery.
READ MORE
The ground was still saturated from heavy rain on Thursday morning when over an inch fell in parts of Cork and Saturday morning’s heavy rain led to further flooding.
Met Éireann issued thunderstorm and heavy rain warnings on Saturday for several counties. A status yellow rainfall warning is in place for Wexford, Cork and Waterford until 6am on Sunday while a status yellow thunder warning is in place for Munster, and counties Carlow, Kilkenny, Laois, Wexford, Offaly, Galway, Mayo and Roscommon until 9pm on Saturday
These could bring localised heavy downpours and present a risk of flooding.
Cork County Council said they were not able to protect all the affected properties or the N71 from further flooding.
“Unfortunately, the flooding has impacted some properties in the area. The N71 has now reopened at Connonagh, but will remain closed at Rosscarbery until later today, traffic diversions are in place,” it said.
"The heavy rain has caused additional damage to the Rosscarbery to Glandore road, R597 at Roury Bridge and roads around Clonakilty, Dunmanway, Bantry and Sheep's Head have also been affected."
Local Cork South West TD Christopher O’Sullivan (FF) said a stream bursting its banks and eroding the road surface on the back road to Rathbarry had caused the damage.
He said the road had been badly damaged by flooding in 2012 but no remedial work had been carried out on the stream and it again caused similar damage in the most recent floods.
The council has indicated it would be applying for emergency funding to repair the damage caused to roads in west Cork this week and locals have urged the council to move quickly.
Local farmer Denis O’Donovan, who lives near the badly damaged Rosscarbery to Glandore Road, told Cork’s 96FM that repair work needed to be carried out to the road as a matter of urgency.
“This repair work needs to be done now, it needs to be ASAP but again the worry we have as locals, is that it will be another patch up job done to get the road opened quickly,” Mr O’Donovan said.
“Our fear is we will be forgotten about again when this all dies down and then with the next flood of water, we are back to square one – it needs to be done right and it needs to be done now.”
Senator Tim Lombard, who ran for Fine Gael in Cork South West in this year's general election, told the same radio station it was important the authorities did all they could to help those flooded in Rosscarbery.
“Just 48 hours after Rosscarbery was flooded, another major flood has happened – it must be very disheartening for the local community who have done so much clean up work over the last few days,” he said.
“I think it is appropriate now for local government, for Cork County Council to work with the OPW to find solutions as a matter of urgency to prevent any repeat of these flooding events.”


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--Families of two women saved on Galway Bay to fundraise for rescue services

The families of the two cousins rescued on Galway Bay are to launch a fundraising drive to help the RNLI .
They want to give something back in recognition of the vast search which was launched to find Sara Feeney ( 23 ) and her 17-year old cousin Ellen Glynn , who were picked up after spending over 15 hours on their paddleboards overnight after being blown out to sea .
Fisherman Patrick Oliver , a member of the Galway lifeboat crew , and his 18-year old son Morgan found the two young women clinging to a lobster pot buoy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Thursday morning .
They had been blown almost 20 miles across the bay from where they entered the water in Furbo .
On Saturday President Michael D Higgins said he was just one among many who were absolutely delighted there was a happy outcome .
“ Their families are people who have given a lot to their communities , and John Glynn ( father of Ellen ) has given an enormous amount of support to sport , and to soccer in particular , ” he said .
He was “ lost in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he said represented generations of wisdom in relation to the sea .
“ When opportunity allows , I look forward to paying tribute to Patrick and Morgan Oliver , ” he said on Twitter .
A massive search involving three Coastguard helicopters , lifeboat crews from Galway , Doolin , Aran and Costelloe Bay , were joined by dozens of fishing boats , leisure craft and kayaks in the search for the missing women , while hundreds of people combed the shore in south Connemara , Galway and north Clare .
Sara was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ evening while Ellen is expected to be discharged this weekend after being monitored for minor issues .
Their relieved families are anxious for life to return to normal as quickly as possible but are also keen to acknowledge the goodwill and effort they have received from so many people .
And they stressed they are anxious to help the rescue services in a meaningful way , mindful of the fact that for a lot of families these sort of searches end in tragedy and heartbreak .
Sara is recovering quietly at home in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Deirdre and Johnny Glynn and their other three daughters Hannah , Clara and Alice , were busy on Saturday afternoon preparing for the return home of their eldest child .
A string of welcome home balloons are hanging inside the porch of the house at Binn Bhán for when Ellen is discharged and mum Deirdre said that while it will be a relief for some degree of normality to return , they are anxious to assist the emergency services who came to their aid .
“ It is so hard when you are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what to do , but a neighbour had the great idea that we should do a GoFundMe page for the RNLI , so we are going to do that as soon as possible and strike while the iron is hot , ” she said .
“ We are just so grateful to everyone who has helped and we are aware that for a lot of families they don ’ t have the outcome that we have had .
We want to express our gratitude in a meaningful way and do what we can.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Galway United captain who scored the only goal which won them the 1991 FAI Cup , said that he met the fishermen for the first time on Friday evening who had rescued them .
Holding one of the woollen hats which Patrick and Morgan Oliver had put on each of the young women when they found them , he said they would be grateful to everyone who searched for them and , of course , to the Olivers for finding them .
The hats have logos on them urging everyone to wear a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fisherman last night .
I had spoken to Patrick on the phone for about ten minutes and I just wanted to meet them and thank them ” .
Earlier it emerged the cousins had only gone out to sea in Furbo because their usual location was closed off due to Covid-19 restrictions .
They usually went paddle boarding at the sheltered Rusheen Bay or Silverstrand , both of which are close to their homes in Knocknacarra .
But massive crowds over last weekend , especially at Silverstrand , led to the road @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opted to head further out the Connemara road to Furbo beach six kilometres away .
Ellen ’ s dad said it was the first time the pair had paddle boarded from Furbo but that both were experienced water users .
And Ellen said it was probably the first time she had headed out on the paddle board without having her mobile phone with her wrapped in plastic .
“ If I had my phone I could have called and just said ‘ this is exactly where we are ’ .
But I didn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she said .
But she said they never panicked .
They tied their boards together and while the initial arrival of a helicopter and a couple of boats failed to spot them , they did not panic .
“ We weren ’ t really scared .
I think that we were quite sure that we were going to be found .
The only thing I was worried was how cold we were .
We were shaking like leaves and frozen and everything .
“ The wind out at sea was just getting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and heavy rain and stuff so we were absolutely frozen , ” she told RTÉ on Friday .
They dosed off several times after nightfall but kept each other ’ s spirits up , firmly believing it was only a matter of time before somebody came to rescue them .
“ We were trying to stay awake , but we ’ d fall asleep for a few seconds .
It started to get bright , the sun came out and it got a bit brighter and we could see where we were ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Olivers coming in their boat to rescue them that in the excitement Ellen ended up knocking Sara into the water as they tried to board the Johnny O , the seven-metre potting boat belonging to the father and son team who came to their aid .
“ I felt when I was in the water on the paddle board I felt completely fine .
I stood up to get on the boat and my legs collapsed from under me , I knocked Sara off her board as well !
Just complete shock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legs in so long .
Then we were very shaky getting on to the boat but they wrapped us up and tucked us down in a corner and gave us drinks and everything .
They were really good to us .
We are so grateful to them , ” added Ellen .
Sara , an only child , has just completed her psychology degree at NUI Galway , while Ellen is heading into fifth year at Colaiste Iognaid in the city .

Safe and sound: Ellen Glynn is expected to be discharged from University Hospital Galway this weekend.
The families of the two cousins rescued on Galway Bay are to launch a fundraising drive to help the RNLI.
They want to give something back in recognition of the vast search which was launched to find Sara Feeney (23) and her 17-year old cousin Ellen Glynn, who were picked up after spending over 15 hours on their paddleboards overnight after being blown out to sea.
Fisherman Patrick Oliver, a member of the Galway lifeboat crew, and his 18-year old son Morgan found the two young women clinging to a lobster pot buoy two miles south of the Aran Islands on Thursday morning.
They had been blown almost 20 miles across the bay from where they entered the water in Furbo.
READ MORE
On Saturday President Michael D Higgins said he was just one among many who were absolutely delighted there was a happy outcome.
“Their families are people who have given a lot to their communities, and John Glynn (father of Ellen) has given an enormous amount of support to sport, and to soccer in particular,” he said.
He was “lost in admiration for the Oliver family” who he said represented generations of wisdom in relation to the sea.
“When opportunity allows, I look forward to paying tribute to Patrick and Morgan Oliver,” he said on Twitter.
A massive search involving three Coastguard helicopters, lifeboat crews from Galway, Doolin, Aran and Costelloe Bay, were joined by dozens of fishing boats, leisure craft and kayaks in the search for the missing women, while hundreds of people combed the shore in south Connemara, Galway and north Clare.
Sara was discharged from University College Hospital on Thursday evening while Ellen is expected to be discharged this weekend after being monitored for minor issues.
Their relieved families are anxious for life to return to normal as quickly as possible but are also keen to acknowledge the goodwill and effort they have received from so many people.
And they stressed they are anxious to help the rescue services in a meaningful way, mindful of the fact that for a lot of families these sort of searches end in tragedy and heartbreak.
Balloons
Sara is recovering quietly at home in Knocknacarra, while a short distance away Deirdre and Johnny Glynn and their other three daughters Hannah, Clara and Alice, were busy on Saturday afternoon preparing for the return home of their eldest child.
A string of welcome home balloons are hanging inside the porch of the house at Binn Bhán for when Ellen is discharged and mum Deirdre said that while it will be a relief for some degree of normality to return, they are anxious to assist the emergency services who came to their aid.
“It is so hard when you are in the middle of it to think what to do, but a neighbour had the great idea that we should do a GoFundMe page for the RNLI, so we are going to do that as soon as possible and strike while the iron is hot,” she said.
“We are just so grateful to everyone who has helped and we are aware that for a lot of families they don’t have the outcome that we have had. We want to express our gratitude in a meaningful way and do what we can.”
Her husband Johnny, the former Galway United captain who scored the only goal which won them the 1991 FAI Cup, said that he met the fishermen for the first time on Friday evening who had rescued them.
Holding one of the woollen hats which Patrick and Morgan Oliver had put on each of the young women when they found them, he said they would be grateful to everyone who searched for them and, of course, to the Olivers for finding them. The hats have logos on them urging everyone to wear a lifejacket.
“I called down to the fisherman last night. I had spoken to Patrick on the phone for about ten minutes and I just wanted to meet them and thank them”.
Closed
Earlier it emerged the cousins had only gone out to sea in Furbo because their usual location was closed off due to Covid-19 restrictions.
They usually went paddle boarding at the sheltered Rusheen Bay or Silverstrand, both of which are close to their homes in Knocknacarra.
But massive crowds over last weekend, especially at Silverstrand, led to the road to the beach being closed and they opted to head further out the Connemara road to Furbo beach six kilometres away.
Ellen’s dad said it was the first time the pair had paddle boarded from Furbo but that both were experienced water users.
And Ellen said it was probably the first time she had headed out on the paddle board without having her mobile phone with her wrapped in plastic.
“If I had my phone I could have called and just said ‘this is exactly where we are’. But I didn’t have it with me,” she said.
But she said they never panicked. They tied their boards together and while the initial arrival of a helicopter and a couple of boats failed to spot them, they did not panic.
“We weren’t really scared. I think that we were quite sure that we were going to be found. The only thing I was worried was how cold we were. We were shaking like leaves and frozen and everything.
“The wind out at sea was just getting heavier. There was thunder and lightning and heavy rain and stuff so we were absolutely frozen,” she told RTÉ on Friday.
They dosed off several times after nightfall but kept each other’s spirits up, firmly believing it was only a matter of time before somebody came to rescue them.
“We were trying to stay awake, but we’d fall asleep for a few seconds. It started to get bright, the sun came out and it got a bit brighter and we could see where we were”.
Excitement
They were so relieved to see the Olivers coming in their boat to rescue them that in the excitement Ellen ended up knocking Sara into the water as they tried to board the Johnny O, the seven-metre potting boat belonging to the father and son team who came to their aid.
“I felt when I was in the water on the paddle board I felt completely fine. I stood up to get on the boat and my legs collapsed from under me, I knocked Sara off her board as well! Just complete shock, I hadn’t used my legs in so long. Then we were very shaky getting on to the boat but they wrapped us up and tucked us down in a corner and gave us drinks and everything. They were really good to us. We are so grateful to them,” added Ellen.
Sara, an only child, has just completed her psychology degree at NUI Galway, while Ellen is heading into fifth year at Colaiste Iognaid in the city.


theirishtimes--2020-08-16--Restaurant and pub bodies condemn Dublin bar for appearing to flout Covid-19 rules

The chief executive of the Restaurants Association of Ireland has described as “ deplorable and despicable ” scenes from a Dublin bar which appeared to contravene coronavirus guidelines .
Videos shared on social media claim to show a brunch event which took place at Berlin D2 on Dame Lane in Dublin ’ s south inner city on Saturday afternoon .
Customers are shown crowding around a bar as a man dancing on the bar , while wearing a mask , pours drink into their mouths .
Restaurants association chief executive Adrian Cummins said the scenes were a “ slap in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were adhering to Covid-19 guidelines .
“ The scenes inside this bar were deplorable and despicable .
It is a slap in the face to front line workers and a slap in the face to businesses in the hospitality sector who are adhering to the guidelines.
” Gardaí needed to take action against businesses who were not complying with the rules Mr Cummins said .
“ Gardaí need to implement the guidelines across the board because some businesses are not complying , not just in Dublin but across the country .
Yes they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in September , but what happens after that until the following September ?
” The Licensed Vintners Association ( LVA ) , which represents Dublin publicans , said the business was “ not a pub ” and should be “ immediately ” shut .
“ This is outrageous and appalling , ” the LVA said in a statement .
“ That business should be shut down immediately .
It is not a pub and does not hold a pub licence.
” The LVA said there was a “ clear need for inspections across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ guidelines and licensing conditions.
” The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the vast majority of Irish people have sacrificed a huge amount to help suppress this virus .
“ They ’ ve shown huge solidarity .
People are rightly sickened by these scenes .
The reckless actions of a small few can have huge repercussions on everyone else , ” he wrote on Twitter .
An Garda Síochána said it would not be providing details on individual incidents involving suspected breaches of the public health regulations .
“ Where potential breaches of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where a person does not come into compliance with the regulations , a file is submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a direction as to how to proceed , ” a spokesman said .
Berlin D2 could not be contacted for comment on Sunday morning .

Videos on social media of a packed Dublin bar have gone viral and the Licensed Vintners Association has called for the "business to be shut down immediately." Video: As credited
A Dublin city venue at the centre of a controversy over alleged breaches of coronavirus guidelines remained shut on Sunday after owner Jay Bourke said staff had received death threats.
Videos shared on social media claim to show a brunch event that took place at Berlin D2 on Dame Lane on Saturday. Customers are shown crowding around a bar as a man dancing on it, while wearing a mask, pours drink into their mouths.
Mr Bourke, a well-known restaurateur and publican, said he was “embarrassed and mortified” by what had been posted on social media, but said he was satisfied it was a “rogue incident” during a four hour event.
A right kick in the gut & middle finger to everyone in our country who has worked so hard & sacrificed so much, to everyone who has lost a loved one or been sick with #Covid19, to every frontline worker and to every responsible business owner who have suffered so much. Shameful https://t.co/g16bwoEn16 — Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) August 16, 2020
“I have reviewed the CCTV footage and I am happy in general that what was going on was ok. There was a rogue incident, and I am not happy about that, and that is our responsibility,” he said.
READ MORE
Restaurant and pub bodies condemned the bar for appearing to flout the Covid-19 rules, with the Licensed Vintners Association (LVA) saying Berlin D2 should be "immediately" shut.
Mr Bourke said the reaction to the incident on social media was “extreme” and very troubling and had resulted in his decision not to open the venue on Sunday.
“People are using social media to execute justice and have made death threats against my staff. I am not going to ask people to work when their lives are being threatened,” he said, adding that he had not yet decided when the venue would reopen.
Berlin D2 began trading again six weeks ago after Covid-19 restrictions were eased, Mr Bourke said. He said staff were trained and adhering to social distancing and other Covid-19 regulations, there had been no overcrowding and “the place has been sterilised to within an inch of its life”.
He said he had not been contacted by the Garda in relation to the event on Saturday, but the venue had been regularly inspected by gardaí and health authorities and found to be compliant.
“That video does not look good. I am a veteran publican and nightclub operator, I take my job seriously and have a very good safety record,” he said.
‘Slap in the face’
Restaurants Association of Ireland chief executive Adrian Cummins described the scenes from the bar which appeared on social media as "deplorable and despicable". He said the scenes were a "slap in the face" to frontline workers and other hospitality businesses.
The LVA said the footage posted online from the bar was “outrageous and appalling”. It said there was a “clear need for inspections across the hospitality sector to ensure compliance with guidelines and licensing conditions.”
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said the vast majority of Irish people have sacrificed a huge amount to help suppress this virus. “They’ve shown huge solidarity. People are rightly sickened by these scenes. The reckless actions of a small few can have huge repercussions on everyone else,” he wrote on Twitter.
An Garda Síochána said it would not be providing details on individual suspected breaches of the public health regulations.
"Where potential breaches of the Public Health Regulations are identified and where a person does not come into compliance with the regulations, a file is submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions for a direction as to how to proceed," a spokesman said.


theirishtimes--2020-08-16--Dolphins and Taylor Swift songs helped keep Galway cousins going while at sea

Singing Taylor Swift songs and watching a small pod of dolphins off the Aran Islands helped two Galway cousins keep their spirts up while waiting to be rescued after spending over 15 hours at sea , it has emerged .
Sara Feeney ( 23 ) and her 17-year old cousin Ellen Glynn , were found shortly before noon last Thursday after going missing when they were blown out to sea while paddleboarding at Furbo , a few miles west of Galway city on Wednesday evening .
A huge search operation was launched and fisherman Patrick Oliver , a member of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 18-year old son Morgan found the two young women clinging to a lobster pot buoy two miles south of the Aran Islands .
Speaking for the first time this weekend Ms Feeney , who was released from University Hospital Galway on Thursday evening , said she and her cousin had never discussed not making it home at any time during their ordeal .
Singing Taylor Swift songs helped them make it through the night at sea after they tied their paddle boards together , the eldest of the girls said .
She told @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phosphorescence on the sea had sustained them as did a small pod of dolphins off Inis Oirr .
“ We didn ’ t even verbalise what might happen , or what we might both be thinking .
I think if we had panicked at all , things could have been very different .
I know if Ellen had panicked , I would have found it very difficult , ” she said .
Ms Glynn , who spoke about their dramatic rescue on Friday , was discharged from University Hospital Galway on Saturday evening @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and their other three daughters Hannah , Clara and Alice , were busy on Saturday afternoon preparing for the return home of their eldest child .
A string of welcome home balloons were hanging inside the porch of the house at Binn Bhán and mum Deirdre said that while it will be a relief for some degree of normality to return , they are anxious to assist the emergency services who came to their aid by launching a fundraising operation .
Her husband Johnny , the former Galway United captain who scored the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ FAI Cup , met the fishermen who rescued the two women for the first time on Friday evening to thank them .
On Saturday President Michael D Higgins said he was just one among many who were absolutely delighted there was a happy outcome .
“ Their families are people who have given a lot to their communities , and John Glynn ( father of Ellen ) has given an enormous amount of support to sport , and to soccer in particular , ” he said .
He was “ lost in admiration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said represented generations of wisdom in relation to the sea .
“ When opportunity allows , I look forward to paying tribute to Patrick and Morgan Oliver , ” he said on Twitter .
Speaking of the ordeal on Friday Ellen Glynn said she and her cousin were only a few minutes in the water when they realised that they had drifted far from shore .
The wind was rising and they were finding it difficult to get back .
They shouted to attract attention on the beach , where Sara ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could not be heard .
They tied the two boards together and thought that the alarm would be raised quickly and they would be found that night .
“ We were sitting there on the boards waiting for a boat to come.
” By then it was “ pitch black ” .
When they saw a boat in the distance they started to scream but failed to attract its attention .
They also saw a rescue helicopter sweep overhead and thought it would see them because of the high-viz strips on their life @ @ @ @ @ @ @ came really close , but they couldn ’ t hear us.
” Initially the water had been warm , but when the sun went down it was very cold with heavy rain , thunder and lightning .
“ We were absolutely frozen .
We were worried about how cold it was .
We were shaking like leaves .
”

Sara Feeney spoke for the first time this weekend about the rescue.
Singing Taylor Swift songs and watching a small pod of dolphins off the Aran Islands helped two Galway cousins keep their spirts up while waiting to be rescued after spending over 15 hours at sea, it has emerged.
Sara Feeney (23) and her 17-year old cousin Ellen Glynn, were found shortly before noon last Thursday after going missing when they were blown out to sea while paddleboarding at Furbo, a few miles west of Galway city on Wednesday evening.
Sara Feeney joining her parents at the Galway Hospital after the rescue operation. Photograph: Hany Marzouk
A huge search operation was launched and fisherman Patrick Oliver, a member of the Galway lifeboat crew, and his 18-year old son Morgan found the two young women clinging to a lobster pot buoy two miles south of the Aran Islands.
Speaking for the first time this weekend Ms Feeney, who was released from University Hospital Galway on Thursday evening, said she and her cousin had never discussed not making it home at any time during their ordeal.
READ MORE
Singing Taylor Swift songs helped them make it through the night at sea after they tied their paddle boards together, the eldest of the girls said.
She told The Sunday Times seeing meteor showers and phosphorescence on the sea had sustained them as did a small pod of dolphins off Inis Oirr.
“We didn’t even verbalise what might happen, or what we might both be thinking. I think if we had panicked at all, things could have been very different. I know if Ellen had panicked, I would have found it very difficult,” she said.
Ms Glynn, who spoke about their dramatic rescue on Friday, was discharged from University Hospital Galway on Saturday evening.
Her parents Deirdre and Johnny Glynn and their other three daughters Hannah, Clara and Alice, were busy on Saturday afternoon preparing for the return home of their eldest child.
A string of welcome home balloons were hanging inside the porch of the house at Binn Bhán and mum Deirdre said that while it will be a relief for some degree of normality to return, they are anxious to assist the emergency services who came to their aid by launching a fundraising operation.
Ellen Glynn was released from hospital on Saturday evening.
Her husband Johnny, the former Galway United captain who scored the only goal which won them the 1991 FAI Cup, met the fishermen who rescued the two women for the first time on Friday evening to thank them.
On Saturday President Michael D Higgins said he was just one among many who were absolutely delighted there was a happy outcome.
"Their families are people who have given a lot to their communities, and John Glynn (father of Ellen) has given an enormous amount of support to sport, and to soccer in particular," he said.
He was “lost in admiration for the Oliver family” who he said represented generations of wisdom in relation to the sea.
“When opportunity allows, I look forward to paying tribute to Patrick and Morgan Oliver,” he said on Twitter.
Speaking of the ordeal on Friday Ellen Glynn said she and her cousin were only a few minutes in the water when they realised that they had drifted far from shore. The wind was rising and they were finding it difficult to get back. They shouted to attract attention on the beach, where Sara’s mother was waiting for them, but could not be heard.
They tied the two boards together and thought that the alarm would be raised quickly and they would be found that night. “We were sitting there on the boards waiting for a boat to come.”
By then it was “pitch black”. When they saw a boat in the distance they started to scream but failed to attract its attention. They also saw a rescue helicopter sweep overhead and thought it would see them because of the high-viz strips on their life jackets.
“Some of the boats came really close, but they couldn’t hear us.”
Initially the water had been warm, but when the sun went down it was very cold with heavy rain, thunder and lightning. “We were absolutely frozen. We were worried about how cold it was. We were shaking like leaves.”


theirishtimes--2020-08-15--One ticket bought in Co Galway scoops €7.3 million in Lotto draw

The winning ticket which scooped a jackpot of over €7 million in Saturday night ’ s Lotto draw was sold @ @ @ @ @ National Lottery said it will reveal the name of the store which sold the winning @ @ @ @ @ “ With a jackpot win of this magnitude , it is important that we inform @ @ @ @ @ course to give the winning ticketholder the time and space they need to let this @ @ @ @ @ , ” it said .
The winning numbers were 3 , 7 , 18 , @ @ @ @ @ while the bonus number was 16 .