theirishtimes--2020-12-14--State ‘on the cusp’ of using two Covid-19 vaccines – Dr Ronan Glynn

The State is “ on the cusp ” of deploying at least two Covid-19 vaccines as part of a national vaccination programme , but concerns remain around ensuring sufficient numbers of people take up the option of getting vaccinated , deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said .
“ Our research tells us that the majority have already decided that they will definitely ( 45 per cent ) or probably ( 28 per cent ) take the vaccine when it is offered to them while , at the other end of the spectrum , a small – but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) absolutely will not take it , ” he said on Sunday .
He moved to reassure people that there were no concerns in relation to safety of the vaccine in spite of the speed at which things were happening .
“ Subject to authorisation by the European Medicines Agency , Ireland is on the cusp of deploying at least two Covid-19 vaccines as part of a national vaccination programme , ” he said .
“ Many are now asking , how has it all happened so quickly ?
After all , we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about 10 years to develop a new vaccine , to make sure it is safe and effective , and to make enough of it for everyone who needs it .
“ There are several reasons why this timeline has been really cut down for Covid-19 vaccine candidates .
First , there have been enormous levels of investment and scientific and medical research , on a scale never previously seen in vaccine development , ” he said .
Secondly , because of the high number of new cases of Covid-19 across the world , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ measure differences in disease risk between those who received the vaccine and those who got the placebo or dummy vaccine .
Many of the processes which normally take place one after the other in vaccine development have instead been running in parallel , he said .
“ For example , large-scale manufacturing of vaccines started even before the results of phase 3 trials were available .
“ Similarly , regulators and those developing the vaccines started their conversations very early in the process so that the regulators were aware of developments and so @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be as swift as possible .
“ None of these factors imply that safety , scientific or ethical integrity have been compromised , or that shortcuts have been taken , ” he added .
However , Dr Glynn said there were still “ many uncertainties and barriers to be overcome ” , including the possibility that many people will not take the vaccine .
“ First and foremost , people must be willing to get vaccinated , ” he said .
Many people will have questions , and will no doubt “ be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ online ” .
“ To counter this , transparency and trust must be the cornerstone of our approach to addressing uncertainties and building vaccine confidence .
“ Healthcare professionals – our doctors , nurses , pharmacists and allied health professionals – all across the country will have a central role to play in this process , just as they have been the foundation upon which the entire response to Covid-19 to date has been premised.
” The State ’ s vaccine taskforce report on the roll out of the vaccine is expected to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death and 429 new cases of coronavirus were reported by the Department of Health on Sunday , while there were three more deaths and 248 new cases reported on Saturday .
The Department of Health expressed concern on Sunday about the increase .
There has now been 76,185 confirmed cases of the virus and 2,124 deaths since the start of the pandemic .
Of the cases notified in the Republic on Sunday , 198 were among men and 230 among women and 66 per cent were under 45 years of age .
A @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dublin , 46 in Donegal , 30 in Limerick , 22 in Laois , 20 in Cork and the remaining 189 cases were spread across all other counties .
As of 2pm on Sunday , 193 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised , of which 31 were in ICU , with 13 more hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours .
Meanwhile , the North ’ s Department of Health reported 13 more Covid-19 deaths over Saturday and Sunday , taking the toll since the start of the pandemic in Northern Ireland to 1,124 .
There @ @ @ @ @ @ @ four on Sunday .
There were 60 deaths reported in the past seven days , which is just two fewer than the 62 in the previous week .
There were 476 new coronavirus cases reported on Saturday and 483 on Sunday bringing the total of cases to 58,216 .
Hospital bed occupancy is at 98 per cent in Northern Ireland .
There are 407 patients receiving Covid-19 treatment in Northern Ireland hospitals with 29 in intensive care and 24 on ventilators .

Dr Glynn said concerns remained around ensuring sufficient numbers of people opt to get the vaccination
The State is "on the cusp" of deploying at least two Covid-19 vaccines as part of a national vaccination programme, but concerns remain around ensuring sufficient numbers of people take up the option of getting vaccinated, deputy chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn has said.
“Our research tells us that the majority have already decided that they will definitely (45 per cent) or probably (28 per cent) take the vaccine when it is offered to them while, at the other end of the spectrum, a small – but vocal – minority (5 per cent) absolutely will not take it,” he said on Sunday.
He moved to reassure people that there were no concerns in relation to safety of the vaccine in spite of the speed at which things were happening.
Hospital Report
"Subject to authorisation by the European Medicines Agency, Ireland is on the cusp of deploying at least two Covid-19 vaccines as part of a national vaccination programme," he said.
READ MORE
“Many are now asking, how has it all happened so quickly? After all, we know that, normally, it takes about 10 years to develop a new vaccine, to make sure it is safe and effective, and to make enough of it for everyone who needs it.
“There are several reasons why this timeline has been really cut down for Covid-19 vaccine candidates. First, there have been enormous levels of investment and scientific and medical research, on a scale never previously seen in vaccine development,” he said.
Secondly, because of the high number of new cases of Covid-19 across the world, the vaccine trials were able to quickly measure differences in disease risk between those who received the vaccine and those who got the placebo or dummy vaccine.
Many of the processes which normally take place one after the other in vaccine development have instead been running in parallel, he said. “For example, large-scale manufacturing of vaccines started even before the results of phase 3 trials were available.
“Similarly, regulators and those developing the vaccines started their conversations very early in the process so that the regulators were aware of developments and so that the process of authorisation can now be as swift as possible.
“None of these factors imply that safety, scientific or ethical integrity have been compromised, or that shortcuts have been taken,” he added.
Barriers
However, Dr Glynn said there were still “many uncertainties and barriers to be overcome”, including the possibility that many people will not take the vaccine. “First and foremost, people must be willing to get vaccinated,” he said.
Many people will have questions, and will no doubt “be faced with rumour and misinformation, particularly online”.
“To counter this, transparency and trust must be the cornerstone of our approach to addressing uncertainties and building vaccine confidence.
“Healthcare professionals – our doctors, nurses, pharmacists and allied health professionals – all across the country will have a central role to play in this process, just as they have been the foundation upon which the entire response to Covid-19 to date has been premised.”
The State’s vaccine taskforce report on the roll out of the vaccine is expected to be published on Tuesday.
One further death and 429 new cases of coronavirus were reported by the Department of Health on Sunday, while there were three more deaths and 248 new cases reported on Saturday. The Department of Health expressed concern on Sunday about the increase.
There has now been 76,185 confirmed cases of the virus and 2,124 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Of the cases notified in the Republic on Sunday, 198 were among men and 230 among women and 66 per cent were under 45 years of age.
A total of 122 cases were reported in Dublin, 46 in Donegal, 30 in Limerick, 22 in Laois, 20 in Cork and the remaining 189 cases were spread across all other counties.
As of 2pm on Sunday, 193 Covid-19 patients were hospitalised, of which 31 were in ICU, with 13 more hospitalisations in the previous 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the North’s Department of Health reported 13 more Covid-19 deaths over Saturday and Sunday, taking the toll since the start of the pandemic in Northern Ireland to 1,124.
There were nine deaths recorded on Saturday and four on Sunday. There were 60 deaths reported in the past seven days, which is just two fewer than the 62 in the previous week.
There were 476 new coronavirus cases reported on Saturday and 483 on Sunday bringing the total of cases to 58,216.
Hospital bed occupancy is at 98 per cent in Northern Ireland. There are 407 patients receiving Covid-19 treatment in Northern Ireland hospitals with 29 in intensive care and 24 on ventilators.


theirishtimes--2020-12-14--Why we celebrate Christmas on the 25th, eat mince pies and put up trees

So here it is , merry Christmas everybody ’ s having fu .
.
.
um , a socially distanced and responsible time in small and sober groups from not more than two households .
Yay !
Yes , we know you ’ re probably sick of hearing the phrase “ A Christmas like no other ” right ?
Pricewatch certainly is .
So rather than endlessly focusing on the ways the season to be jolly is going to be different this year - and we have to hold our hands up and confess to having done a fair bit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ weeks - we thought we ’ d pause for a minute for an entirely irregular and random feature which we have decided to call Christmas Unwrapped or the 12 fun facts of Christmas .
Many of the festive traditions we are eternally familiar with come with a cost and even in the face of a global pandemic , Ireland will almost certainly retain its position on top of the European league of seasonal spenders this year and there won ’ t be many households with change from a grand once all the presents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been consumed .
By contrast our Dutch friends will most likely be bottom of the league again this year but then again they do exchange gifts on the evening of December 5th when Sinterklass and his uncomfortably incomprehensible ( at least to us ) servant Zwarte Piet ( Black Peter ) pay them a visit , so maybe the comparison is unfair .
Anyways , where were we ?
1 .
First things first .
Was Mary ’ s boy child , Jesus Christ , born on Christmas Day as Boney M @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he wasn ’ t .
There is no suggestion anywhere in the bible of a birth date for Jesus , something which prompted the oh so literal Oliver Cromwell and his puritanical brethren to ban Christmas altogether .
He was the first person to take a sceptical look at the biggest birthday in Christendom .
Back in the day , hardcore Christians loathed heathen birth celebrations , preferring instead to mark the deathday of their saintly martyrs .
The first mention of December 25th as a day of any significance came from early @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Another century passed before it was chosen as the date of the Feast of the Nativity and the notion didn ’ t reach this part of the world until the end of the eighth century .
And why was December 25th chosen ?
One enduring theory is that Christians piggybacked on the Roman holiday Dies Solis Invicti Nati which , as you obviously know from your Lockdown Latin classes , translates into The Day of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun .
It is also known as the winter solstice .
Birth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Son – see what they did there ?
There is another , more convoluted theory which identifies the spring equinox of March 21st as the exact date the world was created by God .
On the fourth day he said let there be light and that is the day of Jesus ’ s conception .
Fast forward nine months and you have his birthday .
Or maybe it is down to the god Odin and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Modranicht who gave us Yule or Yultdide .
2 .
And when did Christmas becomes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expensive presents ?
Well , you can probably blame a sickly boy from Victorian England for it all - or at least a big chunk of it .
From the 17th century the aforementioned puritanical zeal coupled with the zero craic Industrial Revolution had all but killed Christmas off in England and its sphere of influence .
Then , in October 1843 , Charles Dickens sat down to write A Christmas Carol .
It took him just six weeks , but his book set the template for Christmas Future , creating many of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have .
He gave us the phrase “ merry Christmas ” and made presents the norm .
So , thanks for that Charles .
To be fair to him he could not have known his story would make the mark it did and he was not driven by an urge to see future parents hand over their credit cards to toy shops in exchange for plastic tat and horrendously expensive games consoles in the run up to the big day .
He actually wanted to highlight the role of education in counteracting poverty @ @ @ @ @ @ @ festival of generosity , moving it away from the glum and unpopular religious festival it had been .
December 25th became “ a good time : a kind , forgiving , charitable , pleasant time .
.
.
when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely , and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave , and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys ” .
3 .
For some people , Advent is a time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them .
But , let ’ s be honest , for even more people Advent is about finding and then eating chocolate or beer or whiskey or make-up hidden behind little walls of perforated cardboard once a day for 24 days leading up to Christmas .
Advent is obviously a liturgical event and the first calendars , sold in Germany in the 1850s , reflected that .
Now you are far more likely to get a Frozen or Where ’ s Wally Advent calendar than one with any class of religious connotation .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ gift the world Protestantism , he also gave it the Christmas tree .
Well , sort of .
By all accounts - or at least by the accounts Pricewatch read last week - he was one of the first people to light up an indoor Christmas tree with candles and he did so to celebrate the glory of God .
For many years after popularising this fire hazard , it was largely confined to Germany .
But then Queen Victoria ’ s husband Prince Albert , himself a son of Germany , brought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t really take off in Ireland until the 1940s .
There was a time was when Irish trees would be draped with one or two sets of feebly-flickering lights that would have to be untangled and then repaired by grumpy parents .
Now , with prices of outside lights falling , homes across the land flash like Las Vegas casinos .
The LED lights are more reliable nowadays , which means the fun game of trying to work out why the lights aren ’ t working is no more .
This year @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will find their way to homes across an Ireland , more than ever before .
5 .
There may be some holly too .
But do you know why ?
Well , the leaves are said to represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross and the red berries are the blood he spilled during the crucifixion .
Nothing very jolly about that , really , and it hardly seems like an appropriate thing to bring into the house to celebrate his birthday unless you are a hardcore Christian from 1,900 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the end , rather than the beginning of days .
6 .
Staying with plants , while the mistletoe is seen as a cute sprig to kiss under - although not this year , unless you can work out how to kiss while staying two metres apart - it was regarded by the Celts as a symbol of fertility .
They reckoned its white seeds looked like semen .
Singing from the same page , the ancient Greeks called it “ oak sperm ” .
The Romans associated mistletoe with peace , love @ @ @ @ @ @ @ legend , a character called Loki tricked a blind god called Hodur into murdering his twin brother - called Balder - with an arrow made of mistletoe .
It was the only plant that could kill Balder , you see .
You can use this anecdote to replace the kiss if you find yourself standing close to mistletoe with someone you fancy this season .
You are welcome .
7 .
Between the Christmas morning fry , the turkey , the ham , the roasted potatoes , the sprouts , the gravy and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through more than 3,000 calories on December 25th .
But you are only getting started .
There is also the biscuits and the mince pies ( with cream ) and the boozy plum pudding and the sherry-spiked trifle and the fancy cheese and the Quality Street .
On Christmas Day , you will easily wolf down more than 6,000 calories or three times an adult ’ s recommended daily intake .
Throw in a few glasses of wine , a couple of glasses of Baileys and maybe an Irish coffee and your calorie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But what ’ s it all about ?
The centre piece of all festive meals used to be a boar which became the Christmas ham we still eat today .
Goose was popular because unlike other contenders they had little year-round value .
Cows provided milk and chickens laid eggs .
Turkeys only became associated with Christmas during the reign of the only British monarch to lost their virginity in the Curragh , Edward VII .
He made turkey for Christmas a thing , although only for the loaded because back then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week ’ s wages - today they can be bought frozen for less than a tenner .
Plum puddings were made with plums and then any dried fruit .
They apparently became Christmassy because the number of ingredients matched the 12 apostles and Jesus .
Mince pies were so called because they originally contained a lot of cheap mutton minced up and preserved with fruits and spices .
The pies had their roots in Catholicism and were thus hated by the Puritans who , as , it must be clear , by now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
When Pricewatch were a lad no one ever wore a Christmas jumper .
They just weren ’ t a thing until maybe 15 years ago .
In the early days there were only a handful of them .
Then they started selling in pop-up shops - which themselves were something of a novelty .
And then Ryan Tubridy started wearing them on the Late Late Toy Show , as did hoards of drunken people doing the 12 pubs of Christmas .
All of a sudden the shelves of Penneys and some fancier @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the things .
They now come in all shapes and sizes .
Sometimes they light up .
Often they play music .
What ’ s not to love ?
9 .
Is there a better , more uplifting Christmas carol than O ’ Holy Night ?
It can be blamed for starting a musical tradition that , ultimately , brought us Slade and Wizzard duelling over the Christmas number one .
The first AM radio programme was broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906 by a Canadian inventor called Reginald Fessenden .
He discovered that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ waves could broadcast something other than Morse code .
The second song he chose to play on day one was O Holy Night .
He played it himself , on the violin .
The first song was by Ombra Mai Fu , opening aria from Handel ’ s opera Serse .
10 .
The Elf on the Shelf is only 15 years old but it has aged many parents by considerably more than that .
It started out in the US in 2005 as a cute book written by Carol Aebersold and her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Coë Steinwart .
The idea is lovely .
A scout elf appears magically in early December to keep an eye on the children before reporting back to Santa at night and then trekking across the world back to the house .
There is no need for quarantining for elves you see .
They then hide in the living room upon their return and children have to find them each morning .
Waking up at 4am and realising that as a parent you have failed to check if the elf has in fact returned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ great fun .
11 .
“ A greeting on the birthday of the Sacred King , to the most worshipful and energetic lord and most eminent James , King of Great Britain and Ireland , and Defender of the true faith , with a gesture of joyful celebration of the Birthday of the Lord , in most joy and fortune , we enter into the new auspicious year 1612 , ” is the less than snappy message which was inscribed on the first Christmas card sent by a chap called Michael Maier to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It didn ’ t catch on , or at least it took almost 200 years before cards for Christmas did .
The man widely credited with creating the modern tradition is Sir Henry Cole who also founded the Victoria and Albert Museum .
His first cards produced in 1843 featured merry folk drinking wine and were considered quite risqué .
It took another 30 years or so for cards to become a real feature of Christmas .
They still are today .
Billions of them will be sent all over the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ knock them .
Hard , but not impossible .
They are hideously wasteful things which cost a euro to send .
They are looked at once , displayed for a couple of weeks at best and then - if they are lucky - get recycled .
Around 3,000 cards come from one tree so if just 5 billion cards are sent each year more than 160 million trees will have to be felled to meet demand .
12 .
While we all know that Santa Claus comes from the North Pole and takes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ echoes of the big man in St Nicholas , a fourth century loaded bishop who gave gifts to the poor on the sly .
Legend has it that he started his rounds after coming across a man with three daughters and no dowries for any of them .
Taking pity on the man , the good king dropped a bag of gold down the man ’ s chimney .
They fell into a stocking which had been left to dry by the fire .
It ’ s all changed now , mind you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ His sleigh is pulled by reindeer and if we assume that half the children under the age of 10 in Ireland leave carrots out for the red-nosed reindeer on Christmas Eve , he will have to eat about 400,000 of them in this country alone .
A carrot weighs about 75g and there are about 13 carrots in 1kg .
Tesco is selling 2kg of carrots for €1.79 which means one carrot costs 14.5 cent and Ireland will spend close to €60,000 feeding Rudolph this year .
The cookies for Santa Claus will @ @ @ @

So here it is, merry Christmas everybody’s having fu . . . um, a socially distanced and responsible time in small and sober groups from not more than two households. Yay! Yes, we know you’re probably sick of hearing the phrase “A Christmas like no other” right? Pricewatch certainly is.
So rather than endlessly focusing on the ways the season to be jolly is going to be different this year - and we have to hold our hands up and confess to having done a fair bit of focusing on that already in recent weeks - we thought we’d pause for a minute for an entirely irregular and random feature which we have decided to call Christmas Unwrapped or the 12 fun facts of Christmas.
Many of the festive traditions we are eternally familiar with come with a cost and even in the face of a global pandemic, Ireland will almost certainly retain its position on top of the European league of seasonal spenders this year and there won't be many households with change from a grand once all the presents, food, booze and the rest have been consumed.
By contrast our Dutch friends will most likely be bottom of the league again this year but then again they do exchange gifts on the evening of December 5th when Sinterklass and his uncomfortably incomprehensible (at least to us) servant Zwarte Piet (Black Peter) pay them a visit, so maybe the comparison is unfair. Anyways, where were we?
READ MORE
1. First things first. Was Mary's boy child, Jesus Christ, born on Christmas Day as Boney M would have you believe? Of course he wasn't. There is no suggestion anywhere in the bible of a birth date for Jesus, something which prompted the oh so literal Oliver Cromwell and his puritanical brethren to ban Christmas altogether.
He was the first person to take a sceptical look at the biggest birthday in Christendom. Back in the day, hardcore Christians loathed heathen birth celebrations, preferring instead to mark the deathday of their saintly martyrs. The first mention of December 25th as a day of any significance came from early Christian historian Sextus Julius Africanus in 221. Another century passed before it was chosen as the date of the Feast of the Nativity and the notion didn't reach this part of the world until the end of the eighth century. And why was December 25th chosen? One enduring theory is that Christians piggybacked on the Roman holiday Dies Solis Invicti Nati which, as you obviously know from your Lockdown Latin classes, translates into The Day of the Birth of the Unconquered Sun. It is also known as the winter solstice. Birth of the sun, birth of the Son – see what they did there?
There is another, more convoluted theory which identifies the spring equinox of March 21st as the exact date the world was created by God. On the fourth day he said let there be light and that is the day of Jesus’s conception. Fast forward nine months and you have his birthday. Or maybe it is down to the god Odin and the pagan Anglo-Saxon Modranicht who gave us Yule or Yultdide.
2. And when did Christmas becomes so jolly and an excuse to exchange expensive presents? Well, you can probably blame a sickly boy from Victorian England for it all - or at least a big chunk of it. From the 17th century the aforementioned puritanical zeal coupled with the zero craic Industrial Revolution had all but killed Christmas off in England and its sphere of influence. Then, in October 1843, Charles Dickens sat down to write A Christmas Carol. It took him just six weeks, but his book set the template for Christmas Future, creating many of the great expectations today's children have. He gave us the phrase "merry Christmas" and made presents the norm. So, thanks for that Charles. To be fair to him he could not have known his story would make the mark it did and he was not driven by an urge to see future parents hand over their credit cards to toy shops in exchange for plastic tat and horrendously expensive games consoles in the run up to the big day.
He actually wanted to highlight the role of education in counteracting poverty which is why he made Christmas a festival of generosity, moving it away from the glum and unpopular religious festival it had been. December 25th became “a good time: a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time . . . when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of other people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys”.
3. For some people, Advent is a time of spiritual enrichment and more power to them. But, let's be honest, for even more people Advent is about finding and then eating chocolate or beer or whiskey or make-up hidden behind little walls of perforated cardboard once a day for 24 days leading up to Christmas. Advent is obviously a liturgical event and the first calendars, sold in Germany in the 1850s, reflected that. Now you are far more likely to get a Frozen or Where's Wally Advent calendar than one with any class of religious connotation.
Plum puddings apparently became Christmassy because the number of ingredients matched the 12 apostles and Jesus
4. Not only did Martin Luther gift the world Protestantism, he also gave it the Christmas tree. Well, sort of. By all accounts - or at least by the accounts Pricewatch read last week - he was one of the first people to light up an indoor Christmas tree with candles and he did so to celebrate the glory of God. For many years after popularising this fire hazard, it was largely confined to Germany. But then Queen Victoria's husband Prince Albert, himself a son of Germany, brought the tradition to England. It didn't really take off in Ireland until the 1940s. There was a time was when Irish trees would be draped with one or two sets of feebly-flickering lights that would have to be untangled and then repaired by grumpy parents. Now, with prices of outside lights falling, homes across the land flash like Las Vegas casinos. The LED lights are more reliable nowadays, which means the fun game of trying to work out why the lights aren't working is no more. This year more than half a million real trees will find their way to homes across an Ireland, more than ever before.
5. There may be some holly too. But do you know why? Well, the leaves are said to represent the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross and the red berries are the blood he spilled during the crucifixion. Nothing very jolly about that, really, and it hardly seems like an appropriate thing to bring into the house to celebrate his birthday unless you are a hardcore Christian from 1,900 years ago with a strong commitment to the end, rather than the beginning of days.
6. Staying with plants, while the mistletoe is seen as a cute sprig to kiss under - although not this year, unless you can work out how to kiss while staying two metres apart - it was regarded by the Celts as a symbol of fertility. They reckoned its white seeds looked like semen. Singing from the same page, the ancient Greeks called it "oak sperm". The Romans associated mistletoe with peace, love and understanding, while according to Norse legend, a character called Loki tricked a blind god called Hodur into murdering his twin brother - called Balder - with an arrow made of mistletoe. It was the only plant that could kill Balder, you see. You can use this anecdote to replace the kiss if you find yourself standing close to mistletoe with someone you fancy this season. You are welcome.
7. Between the Christmas morning fry, the turkey, the ham, the roasted potatoes, the sprouts, the gravy and all the other trimmings you will get through more than 3,000 calories on December 25th. But you are only getting started. There is also the biscuits and the mince pies (with cream) and the boozy plum pudding and the sherry-spiked trifle and the fancy cheese and the Quality Street. On Christmas Day, you will easily wolf down more than 6,000 calories or three times an adult's recommended daily intake. Throw in a few glasses of wine, a couple of glasses of Baileys and maybe an Irish coffee and your calorie intake will come dangerously close to 10,000. But what's it all about?
The centre piece of all festive meals used to be a boar which became the Christmas ham we still eat today. Goose was popular because unlike other contenders they had little year-round value. Cows provided milk and chickens laid eggs. Turkeys only became associated with Christmas during the reign of the only British monarch to lost their virginity in the Curragh, Edward VII. He made turkey for Christmas a thing, although only for the loaded because back then a turkey back then cost almost a week’s wages - today they can be bought frozen for less than a tenner.
Plum puddings were made with plums and then any dried fruit. They apparently became Christmassy because the number of ingredients matched the 12 apostles and Jesus. Mince pies were so called because they originally contained a lot of cheap mutton minced up and preserved with fruits and spices. The pies had their roots in Catholicism and were thus hated by the Puritans who, as, it must be clear, by now, really really hated Christmas.
8. When Pricewatch were a lad no one ever wore a Christmas jumper. They just weren't a thing until maybe 15 years ago. In the early days there were only a handful of them. Then they started selling in pop-up shops - which themselves were something of a novelty. And then Ryan Tubridy started wearing them on the Late Late Toy Show, as did hoards of drunken people doing the 12 pubs of Christmas. All of a sudden the shelves of Penneys and some fancier shops were groaning under the weight of the things. They now come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes they light up. Often they play music. What's not to love?
9. Is there a better, more uplifting Christmas carol than O'Holy Night? It can be blamed for starting a musical tradition that, ultimately, brought us Slade and Wizzard duelling over the Christmas number one. The first AM radio programme was broadcast on Christmas Eve 1906 by a Canadian inventor called Reginald Fessenden. He discovered that by combining two frequencies together, radio waves could broadcast something other than Morse code. The second song he chose to play on day one was O Holy Night. He played it himself, on the violin. The first song was by Ombra Mai Fu, opening aria from Handel's opera Serse.
Santa will have to eat about 400,000 carrots in this country alone
10. The Elf on the Shelf is only 15 years old but it has aged many parents by considerably more than that. It started out in the US in 2005 as a cute book written by Carol Aebersold and her daughter Chanda Bell, and illustrated by Coë Steinwart. The idea is lovely. A scout elf appears magically in early December to keep an eye on the children before reporting back to Santa at night and then trekking across the world back to the house. There is no need for quarantining for elves you see. They then hide in the living room upon their return and children have to find them each morning. Waking up at 4am and realising that as a parent you have failed to check if the elf has in fact returned and found a new hiding place is great fun.
11. "A greeting on the birthday of the Sacred King, to the most worshipful and energetic lord and most eminent James, King of Great Britain and Ireland, and Defender of the true faith, with a gesture of joyful celebration of the Birthday of the Lord, in most joy and fortune, we enter into the new auspicious year 1612," is the less than snappy message which was inscribed on the first Christmas card sent by a chap called Michael Maier to James I of England 408 years ago. It didn't catch on, or at least it took almost 200 years before cards for Christmas did. The man widely credited with creating the modern tradition is Sir Henry Cole who also founded the Victoria and Albert Museum. His first cards produced in 1843 featured merry folk drinking wine and were considered quite risqué. It took another 30 years or so for cards to become a real feature of Christmas. They still are today. Billions of them will be sent all over the world in 2020. It is hard to knock them. Hard, but not impossible. They are hideously wasteful things which cost a euro to send. They are looked at once, displayed for a couple of weeks at best and then - if they are lucky - get recycled. Around 3,000 cards come from one tree so if just 5 billion cards are sent each year more than 160 million trees will have to be felled to meet demand.
12. While we all know that Santa Claus comes from the North Pole and takes care of most presents, there are echoes of the big man in St Nicholas, a fourth century loaded bishop who gave gifts to the poor on the sly. Legend has it that he started his rounds after coming across a man with three daughters and no dowries for any of them. Taking pity on the man, the good king dropped a bag of gold down the man's chimney. They fell into a stocking which had been left to dry by the fire. It's all changed now, mind you and Santa takes care of business. His sleigh is pulled by reindeer and if we assume that half the children under the age of 10 in Ireland leave carrots out for the red-nosed reindeer on Christmas Eve, he will have to eat about 400,000 of them in this country alone. A carrot weighs about 75g and there are about 13 carrots in 1kg. Tesco is selling 2kg of carrots for €1.79 which means one carrot costs 14.5 cent and Ireland will spend close to €60,000 feeding Rudolph this year. The cookies for Santa Claus will cost more again.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Family breaks four world records to raise money for Goal

A Co Kerry family broke four world records on Saturday to raise money for aid agency Goal .
The Hickson family from Annascaul achieved their records by undertaking sporting activities over a mile on Saturday to promote the annual Goal Mile , which due to Covid-19 is taking place virtually this year .
This brings to 20 the number of world records set in the last six years by the family .
The new records have to be authenticated by the Guinness Book of Records .
The records were achieved at An Riocht running Track in Castleisland , Co Kerry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a psychiatric nurse in Cork , completed the fastest mile carrying a 40lb pack in eight minutes and five seconds .
Her partner , Nathan Missin ( 34 ) , achieved the fastest mile carrying a 60lb pack in six minutes and 54 seconds .
Mr Missin also achieved the fastest mile carrying a 100lb pack in seven minutes and 29 seconds .
Jason Hickson ( 28 ) and Mr Missin did the fastest mile with a 50kg person on a stretcher in 10 minutes and 52 seconds .
Last year , Goal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ around Ireland attracting approximately 50,000 people over the days of Christmas .
Family spokesman Eamonn Hickson said : “ We are absolutely over the moon that we have broken four new world records .
Our motivation for our latest efforts was to support the incredible work that Goal is doing all over the world .
It was a tough few months training , but it was worth it.
” Goal chief executive Siobhan Walsh said the charity was “ absolutely inspired ” by the Hickson family .
“ The countless hours invested by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ results is just extraordinary , ” she said .
“ The Hicksons are a symbol of hope in a year that has been extremely challenging for people here at home and for our staff who have been working tirelessly to support millions of the most vulnerable families .
”

The Hickson family from Annascaul, Co Kerry have set 20 world records in the last six years. Photograph: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland
A Co Kerry family broke four world records on Saturday to raise money for aid agency Goal.
The Hickson family from Annascaul achieved their records by undertaking sporting activities over a mile on Saturday to promote the annual Goal Mile, which due to Covid-19 is taking place virtually this year.
This brings to 20 the number of world records set in the last six years by the family. The new records have to be authenticated by the Guinness Book of Records. The records were achieved at An Riocht running Track in Castleisland, Co Kerry.
Sandra Hickson (40), a psychiatric nurse in Cork, completed the fastest mile carrying a 40lb pack in eight minutes and five seconds.
READ MORE
Her partner, Nathan Missin (34), achieved the fastest mile carrying a 60lb pack in six minutes and 54 seconds. Mr Missin also achieved the fastest mile carrying a 100lb pack in seven minutes and 29 seconds.
Jason Hickson (28) and Mr Missin did the fastest mile with a 50kg person on a stretcher in 10 minutes and 52 seconds.
Last year, Goal Mile events were held at 170 locations around Ireland attracting approximately 50,000 people over the days of Christmas.
Family spokesman Eamonn Hickson said: “We are absolutely over the moon that we have broken four new world records. Our motivation for our latest efforts was to support the incredible work that Goal is doing all over the world. It was a tough few months training, but it was worth it.”
Goal chief executive Siobhan Walsh said the charity was “absolutely inspired” by the Hickson family. “The countless hours invested by the whole family to achieve the record-breaking results is just extraordinary,” she said.
“The Hicksons are a symbol of hope in a year that has been extremely challenging for people here at home and for our staff who have been working tirelessly to support millions of the most vulnerable families.”


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Covid-19: No Temple Bar Christmas market despite Garda support

Plans for a Christmas market in Dublin ’ s Temple Bar have been thwarted , despite having the support of the Garda and city council .
The market , selling crafts and gifts , had been due to start at the weekend and run in Meeting House Square on Fridays and Sundays throughout the Christmas season .
However , organisers have been told that despite there being a weekly food market in the square , as well as a number of Christmas market stalls in the city , their Christmas market has been classed as an “ event ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 15 people could be in attendance , including the stall holders .
“ The HSE [ Health Service Executive ] has dictated that there can only be 15 people present at the market .
With 12 stall holders , security staff and stewards , we could run a market , but we wouldn ’ t be allowed to have any customers .
It ’ s Monty Pythonesque , ” said Martin Harte , chief executive of business representative group Temple Bar Company .
According to correspondence from Dublin City Council , the HSE @ @ @ @ @ @ @ council the market would constitute an “ organised outdoor gathering ” and as such would be subject to Level 3 Covid-19 guidelines .
“ Dublin City Council Events Unit will allow this event to proceed in principle on the strict condition that the maximum number of people ( including staff , traders , security , members of the public ) allowed in the event space at any one time is 15 , as per national guidelines for Covid-19 Level 3 restrictions , ” the council told Mr Harte .
However , Mr Harte @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Síochána , stating it does not consider the Christmas market an “ event ” within the meaning of the Covid-19 guidelines and it is supportive of the market going ahead .
“ I note that there will be a limited number of stalls and that there is no music , live recorded or otherwise , no performances , no signage , no branding , no refreshments , no alcohol etc , ” said Supt Joseph Gannon .
“ In this regard , a properly run Market will assist to displace some of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by providing safe controlled activity , not allowing the build-up of persons attending or congregating in Temple Bar Square.
” He said he was satisfied the market “ can proceed safely and in full compliance with prevailing Covid-19 guidelines/restrictions ” .
Mr Harte said the market would have brought much needed footfall into the Temple Bar area .
“ We operate the weekly food market without incident .
The Christmas market would also , clearly , have been a market not an event , but it seems the HSE is digging its heals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ markets in other parts of the city.
” Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said it was “ an awful shame ” the market was not being permitted .
There was an “ inconsistency in the interpretation of policy ” when Christmas markets were permitted on Henry Street , but not in Temple Bar he said .
The council had last month said the Henry Street markets could not go ahead this year , but later relented following a consultation process with traders overseen by Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu .
A spokesman for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to support a Christmas market in Meeting House Square ” .
In response to queries the HSE said the matter related to “ the plan for Living with Covid ” issued by the Department of the Taoiseach .
The cancellation of the market is the second recent blow to trade in Temple Bar .
It emerged last week the council would not permit outdoor tables in the Temple Bar pedestrian zone , which runs from Eustace Street at the Norseman pub to Temple Bar Square .

Organisers have been told that despite a weekly food market in the square, and several Christmas market stalls in the city, their market has been classed an ‘event’, under Covid-19 rules. File photograph: The Irish Times
Plans for a Christmas market in Dublin's Temple Bar have been thwarted, despite having the support of the Garda and city council. The market, selling crafts and gifts, had been due to start at the weekend and run in Meeting House Square on Fridays and Sundays throughout the Christmas season.
However, organisers have been told that despite there being a weekly food market in the square, as well as a number of Christmas market stalls in the city, their Christmas market has been classed as an “event”, under Covid-19 restrictions. This meant only 15 people could be in attendance, including the stall holders.
"The HSE [Health Service Executive] has dictated that there can only be 15 people present at the market. With 12 stall holders, security staff and stewards, we could run a market, but we wouldn't be allowed to have any customers. It's Monty Pythonesque, " said Martin Harte, chief executive of business representative group Temple Bar Company.
According to correspondence from Dublin City Council, the HSE's Emergency Planning Unit advised the council the market would constitute an "organised outdoor gathering" and as such would be subject to Level 3 Covid-19 guidelines.
READ MORE
“Dublin City Council Events Unit will allow this event to proceed in principle on the strict condition that the maximum number of people (including staff, traders, security, members of the public) allowed in the event space at any one time is 15, as per national guidelines for Covid-19 Level 3 restrictions,” the council told Mr Harte.
However, Mr Harte has also received correspondence from An Garda Síochána, stating it does not consider the Christmas market an "event" within the meaning of the Covid-19 guidelines and it is supportive of the market going ahead.
“I note that there will be a limited number of stalls and that there is no music, live recorded or otherwise, no performances, no signage, no branding, no refreshments, no alcohol etc,” said Supt Joseph Gannon. “In this regard, a properly run Market will assist to displace some of the anti-social behaviour that occurs on this square by providing safe controlled activity, not allowing the build-up of persons attending or congregating in Temple Bar Square.”
He said he was satisfied the market “can proceed safely and in full compliance with prevailing Covid-19 guidelines/restrictions”.
Mr Harte said the market would have brought much needed footfall into the Temple Bar area. “We operate the weekly food market without incident. The Christmas market would also, clearly, have been a market not an event, but it seems the HSE is digging its heals in, even though there are Christmas markets in other parts of the city.”
Independent councillor Mannix Flynn said it was “an awful shame” the market was not being permitted. There was an “inconsistency in the interpretation of policy” when Christmas markets were permitted on Henry Street, but not in Temple Bar he said.
The council had last month said the Henry Street markets could not go ahead this year, but later relented following a consultation process with traders overseen by Lord Mayor of Dublin Hazel Chu.
A spokesman for the council said it was “happy to support a Christmas market in Meeting House Square”. In response to queries the HSE said the matter related to “the plan for Living with Covid” issued by the Department of the Taoiseach.
The cancellation of the market is the second recent blow to trade in Temple Bar. It emerged last week the council would not permit outdoor tables in the Temple Bar pedestrian zone, which runs from Eustace Street at the Norseman pub to Temple Bar Square.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Nama’s former head of assets recovery not to be charged over Project Eagle

Former senior Nama executive Ronnie Hanna has been informed that he is not to face charges in relation to Project Eagle , the £1.2 billion sale of Nama ’ s Northern Ireland assets portfolio to US investment fund Cerberus , senior sources have confirmed .
In August this year the North ’ s Public Prosecution Service ( PPS ) reported that two senior business people were to be prosecuted in connection with the UK National Crime Agency ( NCA ) investigation into the sale for £1.2 billion of Nama ’ s Northern Ireland property loan book .
The PPS did @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confirmed they were 78-year-old Frank Cushnahan and 49-year-old lawyer Ian Coulter .
The PPS at the time said that six others who were investigated would not be charged .
Well-placed sources have now confirmed that among the six is Mr Hanna .
In June 2016 the TD Mick Wallace used parliamentary privilege in the Dáil to name Mr Cushnahan and Mr Hanna , who was Nama ’ s former head of asset recovery in Northern Ireland , as two of the people being investigated by the NCA .
Five months later Mr Hanna @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of Public Accounts , by letter , that he had been arrested on allegations which he “ vehemently denied ” and that he had , at that time , not received any indication from either the NCA/PSNI or the PPS that he was “ no longer a suspect ” .
Both Mr Hanna and Mr Cushnahan have consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to their dealings with Nama .
Mr Hanna ’ s lawyers wrote again to the public accounts committee last week , the Business Post reported , saying that he “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PPS that that organisation has decided that he will not be prosecuted in relation to any alleged offences linked to Project Eagle ” .
“ As a result , he is now co-operating with the Cooke Commission , ” the lawyers informed the committee .
That commission was established in June 2017 under High Court judge John Cooke to investigate the 2014 sale of Nama ’ s Northern Ireland assets to Cerberus .

Ronnie Hanna has been informed that he is not to face charges in relation to the £1.2 billion sale of Nama’s Northern Ireland assets portfolio to US investment fund Cerberus. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons / The Irish Times
Former senior Nama executive Ronnie Hanna has been informed that he is not to face charges in relation to Project Eagle, the £1.2 billion sale of Nama's Northern Ireland assets portfolio to US investment fund Cerberus, senior sources have confirmed.
In August this year the North's Public Prosecution Service (PPS) reported that two senior business people were to be prosecuted in connection with the UK National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into the sale for £1.2 billion of Nama's Northern Ireland property loan book.
The PPS did not name the individuals but their solicitors confirmed they were 78-year-old Frank Cushnahan and 49-year-old lawyer Ian Coulter.
The PPS at the time said that six others who were investigated would not be charged. Well-placed sources have now confirmed that among the six is Mr Hanna.
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In June 2016 the TD Mick Wallace used parliamentary privilege in the Dáil to name Mr Cushnahan and Mr Hanna, who was Nama's former head of asset recovery in Northern Ireland, as two of the people being investigated by the NCA.
Five months later Mr Hanna confirmed to the Dáil’s Committee of Public Accounts, by letter, that he had been arrested on allegations which he “vehemently denied” and that he had, at that time, not received any indication from either the NCA/PSNI or the PPS that he was “no longer a suspect”.
Both Mr Hanna and Mr Cushnahan have consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to their dealings with Nama.
Mr Hanna’s lawyers wrote again to the public accounts committee last week, the Business Post reported, saying that he “has now received formal notification from the PPS that that organisation has decided that he will not be prosecuted in relation to any alleged offences linked to Project Eagle”.
“As a result, he is now co-operating with the Cooke Commission,” the lawyers informed the committee.
That commission was established in June 2017 under High Court judge John Cooke to investigate the 2014 sale of Nama's Northern Ireland assets to Cerberus.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Killing of priest and civilian in Cork bankrupted Auxiliaries of credibility, says historian

The murders of a Catholic priest and a young civilian by the Auxiliaries in west Cork just days after the burning of Cork city bankrupted the force of any remaining credibility , according to a leading historian at a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the killings .
Dr Mervyn O ’ Driscoll of the School of History at University College Cork said the murders of Canon Thomas Magner ( 70 ) and Tadhg Crowley ( 22 ) at Ballyhalwick in Dunmanway on December 15th , 1920 , by cadet sergeant Vernon Hart caused outrage in Britain and internationally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at a ceremony at the graveside of Canon Magner in St Patrick ’ s Church in Dunmanway , Dr O ’ Driscoll recalled the events of 100 years ago which happened just a few days after K Company of the Auxiliaries were transferred to west Cork after going on the rampage and burning Cork city .
“ Canon Magner was described as ‘ genial ’ , ‘ benevolent ’ and ‘ popular ’ – an active parish priest with an ‘ impressive and winning manner ’ , he reputedly favoured a constitutional and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a pacifist and a ‘ most inoffensive priest who took no part in politics ’ ” .
Dr O ’ Driscoll recounted how Canon Magner was out for a walk on December 15th , 1920 , when he encountered resident magistrate PS Brady , who was experiencing difficulties with his car en route from Bantry to Bandon so Canon Magner offered to give him a push to restart the car .
He hailed Tadhg Crowley who was cycling by and he stopped to assist just as two Crossley tenders carrying members of K @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the area and based at the Dunmanway Workhouse , arrived on the scene .
“ The second tender under the command of Cadet Sergeant Vernon Hart stopped 150 yards past the car .
Hart walked back , questioned Brady but feigned disbelief that he was a resident magistrate .
He turned to Tadhg Crowley and requested a permit before hitting and shooting him dead .
“ Next , he turned to Canon Magner whom he shot twice after forcing him to kneel and knocking off his hat .
He ordered away two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with his revolver .
Some propose that the Canon remonstrated with Hart on Tadhg Crowley ’ s behalf after he shot Crowley.
” Dr O ’ Driscoll recalled that Hart was later court-martialled by the British authorities and found guilty but insane while there were also suggestions , when the murders were raised in the House of Commons , that he had been drinking heavily .
He said the tragedy fitted into the deadly spiral of violence and reprisal of the times and the fates of Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley were decided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ members of K Company of the Auxiliaries at Dillon ’ s Cross in Cork city , injuring 11 Auxiliaries .
One Auxiliary , cadet Spencer Chapman died of his injuries and Hart was at his deathbed before K Company was dispersed to west Cork to defuse tensions after members of the unit went on the rampage in Cork city on the night of December 11th , setting much of the city centre alight , he said .
“ As the embers of Patrick Street in Cork city smouldered , Canon Magner and Tadhg @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intent on revenge for his friend or ‘ mad as a hatter ’ or both , ” said Dr O ’ Driscoll , who noted that Martial Law had been introduced in Cork after the Kilmichael Ambush .
“ Despite tit-for-tat violence , Lloyd George ’ s government was ambivalent towards the pervasive reprisals of the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries – indiscipline reigned and reprisals were more akin to mob behaviour than organised police action and lawlessness ruled.
” The burning of Cork and the killings of Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Herbert Asquith denouncing efforts to suppress Irish unrest with “ a counter campaign ” of murder and arson while the Labour movement in the UK was also highly critical of events in Ireland .
Meanwhile the Bishop of Cork , Dr Daniel Coholan , who was a critic of both British excesses and IRA violence , arguing that “ murder is murder , arson is arson , ” irrespective of who was involved , rejected a call by the inspector general of the RIC to convey his sympathies to Canon Magner ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clergy in Dunmanway were also appalled by Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley ’ s murders and on December 17th , 1920 , St Mary ’ s Church of Ireland Select Vestry expressed its “ deep abhorrence at the dreadful murders ” as it paid tribute to Canon Magner .
“ We feel that the entire community of Dunmanway has suffered an irreparable loss in the death of one who , by the influence of his upright character and wise counsel , had ever promoted peace and harmony among all classes and creeds - @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all revered and loved him.
” Dr O ’ Driscoll said that despite the local Christian communities being in firm agreement in their efforts to quell the cult of violence , the spiral of violence was unstoppable and continued into 1921 and beyond but important lessons can be learned from the killings .
“ The murders ( of Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley ) are a warning from history to seek reconciliation and understanding .
Conflict leaves deadly scars and poisonous grievances that require generations of healing and mutual tolerance and even then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a hopeful post-script , Dr O ’ Driscoll recalled how Canon Magner ’ s rosary beads were taken at the scene by an Auxiliary Officer , Major JR Black who later emigrated to Australia but his descendants visited Ireland in 1995 and repatriated the rosary beads .
“ It is fitting that those rosary beads have been brought here today – it will be the first time in a century that they will be united with Canon Magner ... let the moral of the story be one of reconciliation , acceptance and @ @ @

Helen O’Brien and her brother Joe Cronin of Cork city, grand nephew and grand niece of the late Rev Canon T.J. Magner with Crowley family in the background.
The murders of a Catholic priest and a young civilian by the Auxiliaries in west Cork just days after the burning of Cork city bankrupted the force of any remaining credibility, according to a leading historian at a ceremony to mark the 100th anniversary of the killings.
Dr Mervyn O'Driscoll of the School of History at University College Cork said the murders of Canon Thomas Magner (70) and Tadhg Crowley (22) at Ballyhalwick in Dunmanway on December 15th, 1920, by cadet sergeant Vernon Hart caused outrage in Britain and internationally as well as in Ireland.
Speaking at a ceremony at the graveside of Canon Magner in St Patrick's Church in Dunmanway, Dr O'Driscoll recalled the events of 100 years ago which happened just a few days after K Company of the Auxiliaries were transferred to west Cork after going on the rampage and burning Cork city.
“Canon Magner was described as ‘genial’, ‘benevolent’ and ‘popular’ – an active parish priest with an ‘impressive and winning manner’, he reputedly favoured a constitutional and peaceful settlement for Ireland - reports described a pacifist and a ‘most inoffensive priest who took no part in politics’”.
READ MORE
Dr O'Driscoll recounted how Canon Magner was out for a walk on December 15th, 1920, when he encountered resident magistrate PS Brady, who was experiencing difficulties with his car en route from Bantry to Bandon so Canon Magner offered to give him a push to restart the car.
Dunmanway Workhouse
He hailed Tadhg Crowley who was cycling by and he stopped to assist just as two Crossley tenders carrying members of K Company of the Auxiliaries, recently deployed to the area and based at the Dunmanway Workhouse, arrived on the scene.
"The second tender under the command of Cadet Sergeant Vernon Hart stopped 150 yards past the car. Hart walked back, questioned Brady but feigned disbelief that he was a resident magistrate. He turned to Tadhg Crowley and requested a permit before hitting and shooting him dead.
“Next, he turned to Canon Magner whom he shot twice after forcing him to kneel and knocking off his hat. He ordered away two Auxiliaries, who attempted to intervene, with his revolver. Some propose that the Canon remonstrated with Hart on Tadhg Crowley’s behalf after he shot Crowley.”
Dr O’Driscoll recalled that Hart was later court-martialled by the British authorities and found guilty but insane while there were also suggestions, when the murders were raised in the House of Commons, that he had been drinking heavily.
He said the tragedy fitted into the deadly spiral of violence and reprisal of the times and the fates of Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley were decided on December 11th when the IRA ambushed members of K Company of the Auxiliaries at Dillon’s Cross in Cork city, injuring 11 Auxiliaries.
One Auxiliary, cadet Spencer Chapman died of his injuries and Hart was at his deathbed before K Company was dispersed to west Cork to defuse tensions after members of the unit went on the rampage in Cork city on the night of December 11th, setting much of the city centre alight, he said.
"As the embers of Patrick Street in Cork city smouldered, Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley met Vernon Hart who was either intent on revenge for his friend or 'mad as a hatter' or both," said Dr O'Driscoll, who noted that Martial Law had been introduced in Cork after the Kilmichael Ambush.
Lloyd George
“Despite tit-for-tat violence, Lloyd George’s government was ambivalent towards the pervasive reprisals of the Black and Tans and Auxiliaries – indiscipline reigned and reprisals were more akin to mob behaviour than organised police action and lawlessness ruled.”
The burning of Cork and the killings of Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley led to former British Prime Minister, Herbert Asquith denouncing efforts to suppress Irish unrest with "a counter campaign" of murder and arson while the Labour movement in the UK was also highly critical of events in Ireland.
Meanwhile the Bishop of Cork, Dr Daniel Coholan, who was a critic of both British excesses and IRA violence, arguing that "murder is murder, arson is arson," irrespective of who was involved, rejected a call by the inspector general of the RIC to convey his sympathies to Canon Magner's relatives.
The local Church of Ireland clergy in Dunmanway were also appalled by Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley's murders and on December 17th, 1920, St Mary's Church of Ireland Select Vestry expressed its "deep abhorrence at the dreadful murders" as it paid tribute to Canon Magner.
“We feel that the entire community of Dunmanway has suffered an irreparable loss in the death of one who, by the influence of his upright character and wise counsel, had ever promoted peace and harmony among all classes and creeds - we all mourn his loss for we all revered and loved him.”
Dr O’Driscoll said that despite the local Christian communities being in firm agreement in their efforts to quell the cult of violence, the spiral of violence was unstoppable and continued into 1921 and beyond but important lessons can be learned from the killings.
Warning
“The murders (of Canon Magner and Tadhg Crowley) are a warning from history to seek reconciliation and understanding. Conflict leaves deadly scars and poisonous grievances that require generations of healing and mutual tolerance and even then, that is often insufficient.”
However in a hopeful post-script, Dr O'Driscoll recalled how Canon Magner's rosary beads were taken at the scene by an Auxiliary Officer, Major JR Black who later emigrated to Australia but his descendants visited Ireland in 1995 and repatriated the rosary beads.
“It is fitting that those rosary beads have been brought here today – it will be the first time in a century that they will be united with Canon Magner ... let the moral of the story be one of reconciliation, acceptance and closure.”


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Hundreds protest HSE closure of inpatient services at Carrick-on-Suir hospital

Hundreds of people turned out in Carrick-on-Suir , Co Tipperary , on Saturday to protest against the HSE decision to end inpatient services including hospice care at the town ’ s hospital .
The HSE said it would be be converting St Brigid ’ s District Hospital into a community health centre for chronic disease management , specialising in diabetes supports .
The hospital serves parts of Tipperary , Waterford and Kilkenny and had been used for hospice care .
This ended earlier this year when it was designated as a step-down unit for Covid-19 patients .
Eddie Reade , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Save Our Services group , put the high turnout down to “ surprise and anger ” over the HSE ’ s decision to end inpatient services .
The news of the hospital ’ s new role came as a “ massive blow ” to locals this week , according to Dr John O ’ Flanagan .
“ I think people honestly believed locally that the hospital would reopen .
There ’ s a huge sense of local ownership over it , ” the GP said .
Campaigners estimate donations from the community towards @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The protest heard from Genevieve Cooney , whose mother was a palliative care patient in the hospital .
“ We couldn ’ t care for her at home , her condition was too serious , and we feel that the people of Carrick have fundraised and contributed , and now they want to close the hospital.
” The facility can care for up to 16 patients and it is understood almost 30 staff have been redeployed to other HSE facilities in Waterford and Tipperary during lockdown .
The crowd included several TDs from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ McGrath saying the nearest palliative care beds in Tipperary are almost 30 miles west of Carrick .
Patients from north Co Waterford will travel to University Hospital Waterford .
“ An awful lot of people don ’ t drive so they may not be able to visit their sick relatives all that easily , ” Ms Cooney said .
A spokesman for South East Community Healthcare said it has taken the decision to discontinue short stay inpatient care “ in light of current infection prevention and best practice ” , with the layout @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decision .
The hospital features “ narrow hallways , inadequate space and facilities ” in two wards of five beds each , according to the spokesman .

A protest in Carrick-on-Suir against the closure of inpatient services at St Brigid’s District Hospital. Photograph: Eoghan Dalton
Hundreds of people turned out in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, on Saturday to protest against the HSE decision to end inpatient services including hospice care at the town's hospital.
The HSE said it would be be converting St Brigid's District Hospital into a community health centre for chronic disease management, specialising in diabetes supports.
The hospital serves parts of Tipperary, Waterford and Kilkenny and had been used for hospice care. This ended earlier this year when it was designated as a step-down unit for Covid-19 patients.
Eddie Reade, a member of the town's Save Our Services group, put the high turnout down to "surprise and anger" over the HSE's decision to end inpatient services.
READ MORE
The news of the hospital’s new role came as a “massive blow” to locals this week, according to Dr John O’Flanagan. “I think people honestly believed locally that the hospital would reopen. There’s a huge sense of local ownership over it,” the GP said.
Campaigners estimate donations from the community towards the hospice stretch into six figures.
The protest heard from Genevieve Cooney, whose mother was a palliative care patient in the hospital. "We couldn't care for her at home, her condition was too serious, and we feel that the people of Carrick have fundraised and contributed, and now they want to close the hospital."
The facility can care for up to 16 patients and it is understood almost 30 staff have been redeployed to other HSE facilities in Waterford and Tipperary during lockdown.
The crowd included several TDs from Tipperary and Waterford, with Independent Mattie McGrath saying the nearest palliative care beds in Tipperary are almost 30 miles west of Carrick. Patients from north Co Waterford will travel to University Hospital Waterford.
“An awful lot of people don’t drive so they may not be able to visit their sick relatives all that easily,” Ms Cooney said.
A spokesman for South East Community Healthcare said it has taken the decision to discontinue short stay inpatient care "in light of current infection prevention and best practice", with the layout of the premises also adding to its decision. The hospital features "narrow hallways, inadequate space and facilities" in two wards of five beds each, according to the spokesman.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--‘I enjoyed the pub ... but we are trying to be careful because of the virus’

Sitting at a socially distanced table behind Plexiglass in Frank Ryan ’ s bar on Smithfield , Dublin , 23-year-old Orla Keaveney says that nowadays she feels safer drinking inside a bar than outdoors .
“ It doesn ’ t feel particularly risky because we have table service and are socially distanced .
Compared to the way pubs were before the virus , there ’ s a big difference in contact .
Before , you ’ d be squeezing past some lad ’ s armpit in a hot , foggy venue trying to get to the bar .
Now it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she says .
Drinking indoors feels “ more regulated ” by bar staff than when people are “ out drinking and congregating on the streets ” , she adds .
Frank Ryan ’ s was manageably busy for a Saturday night two weeks before Christmas .
Exiting the bar , pub goers are faced with an empty street , unlike on busier parts of the city ’ s southside where several bars are based on the same street and people are met with crowds of other drinkers .
Over in Temple Bar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and staff who would normally work behind the bar took on the new role of dispersing groups if they became too large .
Two barmen at The Temple Bar pub say “ there ’ s a lot more work involved ” in dealing with revellers on the street , but that the street was “ nowhere near ” as busy as in previous Christmases .
“ We ’ re down by far more than a third of our usual business tonight , but despite that , it ’ s harder to control the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the street .
It ’ s frustrating , ” says one of the barmen .
Ben Holmes ( 23 ) from Blackrock shares a similar sentiment to Keaveney and , while he was drinking outside with five friends , this was because he could not secure a booking anywhere .
It was their first night out together in more than two months .
“ If we could get into a pub we could distance and control things better .
It would be more uniform and we ’ d feel better , ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the Government urged people to restrict their movements and avoid socialising if they want to spend time with vulnerable people over Christmas .
Liz Canavan , assistant secretary at the Department of Taoiseach , asked people to limit their contacts to a “ very small circle ” .
While praising the efforts of Ireland ’ s younger generation in reducing their contacts and helping to reduce the incidence rate of the virus among their age group , chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan asked people to continue “ planning from now for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ activities to those that are essential and most important to us ” .
That ’ s why Lorrena Oliva ( 29 ) from Brazil has only been going out with her flat-mates this Christmas .
Oliva says she feels safer outdoors where the risk of transmitting the virus is lower , whereas inside she worries about touch points and speaking to staff who are serving hundreds .
“ I enjoyed the pub , people wear their masks and are respecting everyone .
But we are trying to be really careful and prefer outside @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” she says .
This weekend was the first time the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital has dipped below 200 in more than two months .
Ireland now has the lowest incidence in Europe .
Knowing that , Shane O ’ Gorman ( 23 ) and his friend David Rooney ( 21 ) say they felt safe to continue going to bars with friends over Christmas as they would “ keep distancing from everyone and stick to our own group ” .
“ We know we can ’ t meet or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would on a normal night out .
But it would still be better if we could get into a bar and stay there .
Instead we ’ re out roaming the streets since 7 o ’ clock , ” says Rooney .

Sitting at a socially distanced table behind Plexiglass in Frank Ryan's bar on Smithfield, Dublin, 23-year-old Orla Keaveney says that nowadays she feels safer drinking inside a bar than outdoors.
“It doesn’t feel particularly risky because we have table service and are socially distanced. Compared to the way pubs were before the virus, there’s a big difference in contact. Before, you’d be squeezing past some lad’s armpit in a hot, foggy venue trying to get to the bar. Now it feels much more like a restaurant,” she says.
Drinking indoors feels “more regulated” by bar staff than when people are “out drinking and congregating on the streets”, she adds.
Frank Ryan’s was manageably busy for a Saturday night two weeks before Christmas. Exiting the bar, pub goers are faced with an empty street, unlike on busier parts of the city’s southside where several bars are based on the same street and people are met with crowds of other drinkers.
READ MORE
Over in Temple Bar, crowds drank outside closed wet pubs and staff who would normally work behind the bar took on the new role of dispersing groups if they became too large.
Busy staff
Two barmen at The Temple Bar pub say “there’s a lot more work involved” in dealing with revellers on the street, but that the street was “nowhere near” as busy as in previous Christmases.
“We’re down by far more than a third of our usual business tonight, but despite that, it’s harder to control the crowds because they’re drinking cans on the street. It’s frustrating,” says one of the barmen.
Ben Holmes (23) from Blackrock shares a similar sentiment to Keaveney and, while he was drinking outside with five friends, this was because he could not secure a booking anywhere. It was their first night out together in more than two months.
“If we could get into a pub we could distance and control things better. It would be more uniform and we’d feel better,” he says.
Shane O’Gorman (left) and David Rooney. Photograph: Jade Wilson
Earlier in the week, the Government urged people to restrict their movements and avoid socialising if they want to spend time with vulnerable people over Christmas. Liz Canavan, assistant secretary at the Department of Taoiseach, asked people to limit their contacts to a “very small circle”.
While praising the efforts of Ireland's younger generation in reducing their contacts and helping to reduce the incidence rate of the virus among their age group, chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan asked people to continue "planning from now for Christmas to reduce social contacts and limit activities to those that are essential and most important to us".
Flat-mates
That's why Lorrena Oliva (29) from Brazil has only been going out with her flat-mates this Christmas. Oliva says she feels safer outdoors where the risk of transmitting the virus is lower, whereas inside she worries about touch points and speaking to staff who are serving hundreds.
“I enjoyed the pub, people wear their masks and are respecting everyone. But we are trying to be really careful and prefer outside because the virus is still here,” she says.
This weekend was the first time the number of people with Covid-19 in hospital has dipped below 200 in more than two months. Ireland now has the lowest incidence in Europe.
Knowing that, Shane O'Gorman (23) and his friend David Rooney (21) say they felt safe to continue going to bars with friends over Christmas as they would "keep distancing from everyone and stick to our own group".
“We know we can’t meet or talk to as many people as we would on a normal night out. But it would still be better if we could get into a bar and stay there. Instead we’re out roaming the streets since 7 o’clock,” says Rooney.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Coronavirus: One further death and 429 new cases reported as Holohan concerned at rise in figures

A further one death and 429 new cases of coronavirus have been reported by Department of Health on Sunday .
There has now been a total of 76,185 confirmed cases of the virus and 2,124 deaths since the start of the pandemic .
Of the cases notified today 198 are men and 230 are women , 66 per cent are under 45 years of age while the the median age is 34 years old .
A total of 122 were reported in Dublin , 46 in Donegal , 30 in Limerick , 22 in Laois , 20 in Cork and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all other counties .
As of 2pm today 193 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised , of which 31 are in ICU , with 13 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours .
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said he was “ concerned that we are seeing the incidence of Covid-19 rising again.
” He said 429 was “ a large number of cases by the standard of recent weeks and the five day moving average has now increased above 300 per day .
“ Our efforts in Level 5 in recent weeks brought @ @ @ @ @ @ @ per 100,000 population , put us in a position of having the lowest disease incidence in Europe and ultimately protected many people and saved many lives .
“ Take today ’ s figures as a sign that we all must now reduce our social contacts , limit our interactions with those outside our households , weigh the risks of what socialising we are planning over the next two weeks , so that we can all have as safe a Christmas as possible.
” The North ’ s Department of Health reported that there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Sunday taking the toll since the start of the pandemic in Northern Ireland to 1,124 .
There were nine deaths recorded on Saturday and four on Sunday .
There were 60 deaths reported in the past seven days , which is just two fewer than the 62 in the previous week .
There were 476 new coronavirus cases reported on Saturday and 483 on Sunday bringing the total of cases to 58,216 .
Hospital bed occupancy is at 98 per cent in Northern Ireland .
There are 407 patients receiving Covid-19 treatment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intensive care and 24 on ventilators .

Christmas shoppers on Dublin’s Grafton Street last week. People have been advised to reduce social contacts and our activities over Christmas. File photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
A further one death and 429 new cases of coronavirus have been reported by Department of Health on Sunday.
There has now been a total of 76,185 confirmed cases of the virus and 2,124 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
Of the cases notified today 198 are men and 230 are women, 66 per cent are under 45 years of age while the the median age is 34 years old.
Hospital Report
A total of 122 were reported in Dublin, 46 in Donegal, 30 in Limerick, 22 in Laois, 20 in Cork and the remaining 189 cases are spread across all other counties.
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As of 2pm today 193 Covid-19 patients are hospitalised, of which 31 are in ICU, with 13 additional hospitalisations in the past 24 hours.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan said he was “concerned that we are seeing the incidence of Covid-19 rising again.”
He said 429 was “ a large number of cases by the standard of recent weeks and the five day moving average has now increased above 300 per day.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan: “Our younger generation led the way, with the incidence in the 19-24 year age group reduced from 432 per 100,000 population to 41 per 100,000 population.” Photograph: Colin Keegan/Collins Dublin
“Our efforts in Level 5 in recent weeks brought the 14-day incidence rate down to 78 per 100,000 population, put us in a position of having the lowest disease incidence in Europe and ultimately protected many people and saved many lives.
“Take today’s figures as a sign that we all must now reduce our social contacts, limit our interactions with those outside our households, weigh the risks of what socialising we are planning over the next two weeks, so that we can all have as safe a Christmas as possible.”
The North's Department of Health reported that there were 13 more Covid-19 deaths over Saturday and Sunday taking the toll since the start of the pandemic in Northern Ireland to 1,124.
There were nine deaths recorded on Saturday and four on Sunday. There were 60 deaths reported in the past seven days, which is just two fewer than the 62 in the previous week.
There were 476 new coronavirus cases reported on Saturday and 483 on Sunday bringing the total of cases to 58,216.
Hospital bed occupancy is at 98 per cent in Northern Ireland. There are 407 patients receiving Covid-19 treatment in Northern Ireland hospitals with 29 in intensive care and 24 on ventilators.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Department of Education spending more than €2 million a year posting payslips

The Department of Education is spending more than €2 million per year posting payslips to teachers , retirees and non-teaching staff , new figures reveal .
Some 130,000 department staff are paid fortnightly and a payslip is issued for each payment .
Posting payslips makes up the large majority - more than four fifths - of the overall postage costs incurred annually by the department .
Figures released to The Irish Times show that in 2019 , the department ’ s total annual postage bill was €2,513,885.60 , of which €2,109,902.37 - or about 84 per cent - was spent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ payslips were generated for department staff in 2019 .
Primary school teachers account for the majority ; in 2019 , there were 1,145,150 payslips generated for primary school teachers , at a postage cost of €784,483.54 .
Retirees were the second largest cohort by volume and cost : 827,682 payslips/ €566,363.28 , followed by post-primary teachers ( 628,349 payslips/ €433,453.50 ) and non-teaching staff ( 475,765 payslips/ €325,602.05 ) .
Last year ’ s numbers represent an increase in volume of payslips , but slight decrease in postage cost , compared with 2018 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cost of postage per payslip .
There can also be slight deviation between the number of payslips and the postage cost , owing to cases where the document is generated and , for various reasons , not posted .
In 2018 , payslips made up about 83 per cent of the department ’ s total postage cost , or €2,121,397.81 of the €2,550,416.41 spent .
There were a total of 2,932,888 payslips generated that year .
Primary teachers were again the largest group by volume and cost ( 1,109,070 payslips/ €802,725.23 ) , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , post-primary teachers ( 584,663 payslips/ €421,426.75 ) and non-teaching staff ( 442,891/ €320,717.01 ) Not all civil servants receive payslips in the post .
The method of distributing the documents varies across departments and also includes collection from work and digital access .
Asked why the Department of Education chooses to post individual physical payslips to employees , a spokesperson told The Irish Times that its priority was ensuring the correct and timely processing of payments .
“ There are 130,000 staff paid on a fortnightly basis on the payrolls operated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is to ensure that the staff are paid on time and correctly , ” said the spokesperson .
The department also said it would explore options regarding online payslips following an ongoing update to its payroll software .
“ An interim upgrade of the payroll system is currently under way and is due to be completed in the latter part of 2021 , ” said the spokesperson .
“ The primary purpose of this upgrade is to receive continued support from the Department ’ s vendor .
On completion of this upgrade it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an online payslip solution.
” Between January and March 2018 , the cost per payslip posted was 67c .
That cost increased to 74c between April 2018 and May 2019 , and reduced to 65c between May and December 2019 .

More than three million payslips were generated for department staff in 2019. File photograph: iStock.
The Department of Education is spending more than €2 million per year posting payslips to teachers, retirees and non-teaching staff, new figures reveal.
Some 130,000 department staff are paid fortnightly and a payslip is issued for each payment. Posting payslips makes up the large majority - more than four fifths - of the overall postage costs incurred annually by the department.
Figures released to The Irish Times show that in 2019, the department’s total annual postage bill was €2,513,885.60, of which €2,109,902.37 - or about 84 per cent - was spent posting payslips.
More than three million payslips were generated for department staff in 2019. Primary school teachers account for the majority; in 2019, there were 1,145,150 payslips generated for primary school teachers, at a postage cost of €784,483.54.
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Retirees were the second largest cohort by volume and cost: 827,682 payslips/ €566,363.28, followed by post-primary teachers (628,349 payslips/ €433,453.50) and non-teaching staff (475,765 payslips/ €325,602.05).
Last year’s numbers represent an increase in volume of payslips, but slight decrease in postage cost, compared with 2018. This is due to the fluctuating cost of postage per payslip. There can also be slight deviation between the number of payslips and the postage cost, owing to cases where the document is generated and, for various reasons, not posted.
In 2018, payslips made up about 83 per cent of the department’s total postage cost, or €2,121,397.81 of the €2,550,416.41 spent. There were a total of 2,932,888 payslips generated that year.
Primary teachers were again the largest group by volume and cost (1,109,070 payslips/ €802,725.23), followed by retirees (796,264 payslips/ €576,528.82), post-primary teachers (584,663 payslips/ €421,426.75) and non-teaching staff (442,891/ €320,717.01)
Not all civil servants receive payslips in the post. The method of distributing the documents varies across departments and also includes collection from work and digital access.
Asked why the Department of Education chooses to post individual physical payslips to employees, a spokesperson told The Irish Times that its priority was ensuring the correct and timely processing of payments.
“There are 130,000 staff paid on a fortnightly basis on the payrolls operated by the department. The primary objective is to ensure that the staff are paid on time and correctly,” said the spokesperson.
The department also said it would explore options regarding online payslips following an ongoing update to its payroll software.
“An interim upgrade of the payroll system is currently under way and is due to be completed in the latter part of 2021,” said the spokesperson.
“The primary purpose of this upgrade is to receive continued support from the Department’s vendor. On completion of this upgrade it is intended to explore the introduction of an online payslip solution.”
Between January and March 2018, the cost per payslip posted was 67c. That cost increased to 74c between April 2018 and May 2019, and reduced to 65c between May and December 2019.


theirishtimes--2020-12-13--Man (20s) shot in the leg in Co Wicklow on Sunday morning

A man in his 20s was shot in the leg in Co Wicklow on Sunday morning , gardaí have said @ @ @ @ @ gardaí said they are investigating a shooting incident which occurred at approximately 7.15 am at @ @ @ @ @ Co Wicklow .
The man who received a gunshot wound was taken to hospital to @ @ @ @ @ described as serious but non-life-threatening injuries .
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with any information @ @ @ @ @ cam , who may have been in the area this morning to contact Wicklow Garda @ @ @ @ @ the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111 .

Gardaí are appealing for any witnesses of the crash to contact them. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA Wire
A man in his 20s was shot in the leg in Co Wicklow on Sunday morning, gardaí have said.
In a statement, gardaí said they are investigating a shooting incident which occurred at approximately 7.15 am at Hazelbrook Court, Rathnew in Co Wicklow.
The man who received a gunshot wound was taken to hospital to be treated for what are described as serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with any information or footage, including dash cam, who may have been in the area this morning to contact Wicklow Garda station on 0404 60140 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111.


theirishtimes--2020-12-14--Family of woman who died of sepsis secures €68,000 in court action

The family of a woman who died of sepsis due to peritonitis have secured a €68,000 settlement of their action against the HSE over alleged negligence in her treatment .
The family of 72-year-old Rose O ’ Malley , who had a history of pancreatitis , alleged her death was due to a PEG feeding tube having moved , causing her to suffer septic shock .
Mr Justice Garrett Simons on Monday approved the settlement arising from the death of Mrs O ’ Malley , a widowed mother of six , of St Patrick ’ s Avenue , Crossmolina , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Blanchardstown , Dublin , on March 19th 2015 .
The settlement includes the full €35,000 solatium - the statutory payment under the Civil Liability Act - some €8,402 special damages , and the rest in measured legal costs .
Catherine O ’ Malley , of Latchford Green , Clonee , Dublin , a daughter of the deceased , took the case on behalf of the family , who were represented by Alistair Rutherdale BL , instructed by Callan Tansey Solicitors .
It was alleged there was negligence surrounding the insertion , monitoring and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the untimely death of Mrs O ’ Malley .
Mrs O ’ Malley had a history of cholecystitis , inflammation of the gallbladder , in the early 1990s and was referred in July 2012 by her GP to Mayo General Hospital with abnormal liver functions tests .
She underwent an MRI scan and it was later decided to proceed with ERCP , a procedure to diagnose and treat problems in the liver and gallbladder which involves a combination of X-ray and endoscope , a long , flexible , lighted tube .
Mrs O @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at Mayo General Hospital and it was claimed a decision to leave gall stones in place allowed a risk of further problems , including acute pancreatitis .
Outlining the core claim today , Mr Rutherdale said their case was that Mrs O ’ Malley , having attended the Blanchardstown hospital on December 27th 2014 with symptoms including vomiting , should not have been discharged on December 30th .
She was readmitted on January 5th and diagnosed with pancreatitis and pneumobilia .
Counsel said their case was she was making a slow recovery and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had a PEG feeding tube inserted on March 13th 2015 .
It seemed that tube had moved and peritonitis was ultimately the main case of her death on March 15th 2015 , he said .
His side ’ s case was , had the tube not moved , Mrs O ’ Malley would have continued to recover and would not have died .
However , because there were no precise records concerning the tube insertion , his medical expert was unable to come to a conclusive opinion on that .
In the circumstances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court approval was necessary for aspects of that .
Mr Justice Simons approved the settlement and directed it be paid to the family ’ s solicitor David O ’ Malley , whom he was told is related to the deceased , for distribution of sums as already agreed between the family .
In a statement afterwards , the family said they took the case “ to highlight the deficiencies ” in their mother ’ s care and because they did not wish other people to be treated in that way .
Mrs O @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who is sorely missed by her family and community , the statement added .

Mr Justice Garrett Simons approved the settlement arising from the death of Rose O’Malley at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin. File photograph: Bryan O’Brien
The family of a woman who died of sepsis due to peritonitis has secured a €68,000 settlement of their action against the HSE over alleged negligence in her treatment.
The family of 72-year-old Rose O’Malley, who had a history of pancreatitis, alleged her death was due to a PEG feeding tube having moved, causing her to suffer septic shock.
Mr Justice Garrett Simons on Monday approved the settlement arising from the death of Mrs O'Malley, a widowed mother of six, of St Patrick's Avenue, Crossmolina, Co Mayo, at Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, Dublin, on March 19th 2015.
The settlement includes the full €35,000 solatium - the statutory payment under the Civil Liability Act - some €8,402 special damages, and the rest in measured legal costs.
READ MORE
Catherine O'Malley, of Latchford Green, Clonee, Dublin, a daughter of the deceased, took the case on behalf of the family, who were represented by Alistair Rutherdale BL, instructed by Callan Tansey Solicitors.
It was alleged there was negligence surrounding the insertion, monitoring and application of a PEG tube leading to the untimely death of Mrs O’Malley.
Mrs O’Malley had a history of cholecystitis, inflammation of the gallbladder, in the early 1990s and was referred in July 2012 by her GP to Mayo General Hospital with abnormal liver functions tests. She underwent an MRI scan and it was later decided to proceed with ERCP, a procedure to diagnose and treat problems in the liver and gallbladder which involves a combination of X-ray and endoscope, a long, flexible, lighted tube.
Mrs O’Malley underwent surgery in October 2012 at Mayo General Hospital and it was claimed a decision to leave gall stones in place allowed a risk of further problems, including acute pancreatitis.
Outlining the core claim today, Mr Rutherdale said their case was that Mrs O’Malley, having attended the Blanchardstown hospital on December 27th 2014 with symptoms including vomiting, should not have been discharged on December 30th.
She was readmitted on January 5th and diagnosed with pancreatitis and pneumobilia.
Counsel said their case was she was making a slow recovery and, as part of that, had had a PEG feeding tube inserted on March 13th 2015. It seemed that tube had moved and peritonitis was ultimately the main case of her death on March 15th 2015, he said.
His side’s case was, had the tube not moved, Mrs O’Malley would have continued to recover and would not have died. However, because there were no precise records concerning the tube insertion, his medical expert was unable to come to a conclusive opinion on that.
In the circumstances, a €68,000 settlement was agreed and court approval was necessary for aspects of that.
Mr Justice Simons approved the settlement and directed it be paid to the family’s solicitor David O’Malley, whom he was told is related to the deceased, for distribution of sums as already agreed between the family.
In a statement afterwards, the family said they took the case “to highlight the deficiencies” in their mother’s care and because they did not wish other people to be treated in that way.
Mrs O’Malley was a wonderful community woman who is sorely missed by her family and community, the statement added.


theirishtimes--2020-12-14--‘You are an inspiration’: Taoiseach writes to Adam King after Toy Show appearance

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has sent a letter to a six-year-old boy who warmed people ’ s hearts with his “ virtual hug ” .
Adam King from Cork , who has brittle bones , shot to fame on RTÉ ’ s Late Late Toy Show in November when he held up a paper heart with “ A hug for you ” written across it .
The idea was inspired by circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic , and Adam ’ s virtual hug has now been made into a postmark by An Post .
In his letter , Mr Martin wrote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country on Friday night , I thanked Ireland ’ s children for their strength and for the way you all have coped with Covid .
“ When I was saying it , I could not have believed that , just a few hours later , the country would see such a perfect example of that strength on the Late Late Toy Show .
“ Your virtual hug and your obvious kindness made the point better than I ever could.
” During Adam ’ s initial appearance on the show , he shared his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his dream of becoming capcom — the flight communicator from the ground — for Nasa .
That prompted a surprise video message as well as a video call from retired astronaut Chris Hadfield , who told the youngster : “ The way that you spoke , the way that you treated everybody around you , but the way that you showed us the things that you ’ re dreaming of , I found it really inspiring.
” Mr Martin encouraged Adam to follow his dream to work with Nasa , and thanked him @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You are an inspiration , Adam .
Thank you so much for the strength that you will have given to everyone watching , ” he wrote .
“ Continue to be yourself , and your dream to work with Nasa will surely come true.
” –PA

Adam King shot to fame when he held up a paper heart with ‘A hug for you’ written across it on the Late Late Toy Show. Photograph: Andres Poveda/PA
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has sent a letter to a six-year-old boy who warmed people's hearts with his "virtual hug".
Adam King from Cork, who has brittle bones, shot to fame on RTÉ's Late Late Toy Show in November when he held up a paper heart with "A hug for you" written across it.
The idea was inspired by circumstances during the coronavirus pandemic, and Adam's virtual hug has now been made into a postmark by An Post.
In his letter, Mr Martin wrote: "In my speech to the country on Friday night, I thanked Ireland's children for their strength and for the way you all have coped with Covid.
READ MORE
“When I was saying it, I could not have believed that, just a few hours later, the country would see such a perfect example of that strength on the Late Late Toy Show.
“Your virtual hug and your obvious kindness made the point better than I ever could.”
During Adam's initial appearance on the show, he shared his interest in space, as well as his dream of becoming capcom — the flight communicator from the ground — for Nasa.
That prompted a surprise video message as well as a video call from retired astronaut Chris Hadfield, who told the youngster: "The way that you spoke, the way that you treated everybody around you, but the way that you showed us the things that you're dreaming of, I found it really inspiring."
Mr Martin encouraged Adam to follow his dream to work with Nasa, and thanked him for his “strength”.
“You are an inspiration, Adam. Thank you so much for the strength that you will have given to everyone watching,” he wrote.
“Continue to be yourself, and your dream to work with Nasa will surely come true.”–PA