The focus on mental health was never as important.

This weekend the annual ‘Darkness Into Light’ fund-raiser will take place. Every year it assists Pieta House in the vital work they do to assist people who are in suicidal distress and who engage in self-harm. But after what society has experienced with the pandemic over the past 14 months the whole area of mental health has now assumed a much higher level of importance.
Speaking to many people over the past few months like postmen and women, GP’s, sports team managers, priests, public representatives and other community leaders, we now have a massive problem on our hands that will only be revealed fully as our society returns to normal.
The amount of isolation and loneliness was a problem in our society before covid but now it’s on a whole new level.
There are hundreds of thousands of people, many of them elderly, who are living on their own and many of them have had little or no inter action with any other human beings for over 12 months. Even if these people were willing to return to some kind of social inter-action in the next few months they will find it very difficult to do so.
In addition have the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their jobs and their businesses. Some of those jobs and businesses will probably be gone forever. People have mortgages, bills to pay and children to educate. Despite the good news about the vaccination roll-out the future is very bleak for many people.
A job gives a person self-worth and status regardless of what it is. Unemployment is a scourge, and people who have too music time on their hands are prime candidates to suffer mental health problems.
Our young people have been seriously affected too. Third level students have been stuck at home with no social inter-action, no part time jobs, and no fun. Life should not be like this for them.
There are so many aspects to the triggers for mental health problems. Losing loved ones and not being able to grieve properly, no family celebrations like weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, holidays, shopping trips, sporting events, dances, night clubs, theatres and cinemas. The list goes on and on.
There are three cohorts of people in our society who have been affected in vastly different ways by what has happened over the past 14 months. One section of society has prospered, people who have kept their jobs and who have saved lots of money because they have not been able to spend it. There are businesses who have prospered too and good luck to them all.
There is another section who have not been affected one way or the other by the pandemic. Their lives are much the same as before.
But then there is a huge number of people who have been devastated by covid 19 and one of the by-products of it all will be a massive upsurge in mental health problems and that will include isolation, strange behaviour, self-harm and suicide.

The Darkness Into Light fund-raiser was never more important.

Support it if you can.

Starting in May 2021 I will be writing a number of observations- News, Current Affairs and Sport.

Feel free to comment any time or contact me

3rd May 2021

CEHERNOBYL- A MUST SEE TV SERIES

Prior to March 2020 I would not have watched much TV apart from News and Sports programmes. When you are working it’s a totally different scenario. However on the 13th March 2020 the rug was pulled in terms of employment and time on my hands became far more plentiful.
In addition to watching sports and news programmes and doing all the other things that I tried to do to keep sane in the covid chaos I started to watch more TV. Indeed a lot of what was on was rubbish but in the company of my wife I watched the entire series of ‘The Crown’. It may not be for everyone but it was well written and well made and we enjoyed looking at many of the historical events that have happened in our lifetime.
But last week while flicking through the channels I came across a programme simply entitled ‘Cherbobyl’. I had read in some newspaper that it was 35 years since the disaster there and I decided to watch to see what it was like.

It turns out that the programme was a five part series about the events in 1986. Each programme was about an hour and a half and it was a truly stunning production based on the actual events that happened at the nuclear power plant. It was as fine a programme as I have ever seen on TV and I was glued to it every night it was on.
The short cuts in terms of safety taken by the authorities were to blame for the accident. But the cover ups, the denials, the corruption, and the delay in dealing with the disaster was such an eye-opener. Needless to say it was the ordinary people, workers, local people, poor farmers and the elderly who suffered in the most terrible way. It is always the ordinary people who suffer when something like this happens.
At the end of the day it took the suicide of scientist Valery Legasov to highlight what actually happened. When he passed away his accounts of what happened reached the wider community. Those accounts were suppressed and hidden while he was alive.
It shows what can happen if the state has too much control of people’s lives. It could have happened in any country but in this case it happened in Russia. It was very clear that it was the state that mattered most and the welfare of it’s people was well down the priority list. The amount of suffering experienced by the ordinary people especially in the close vicinity to the power plant was truly shocking. As we know the effects of what happened in Chernobyl are being felt today 35 years later.
On reading about the programme afterwards I learned that it had received no less than 19 Emmy award nominations and it has won many awards around the World which is certainly no surprise.
I hope that maybe RTE could show the series at some point in the future. It deserves a big audience. Watch it if you get a chance.

This week twelve months ago the first positive tests for the new coronavirus disease, covid-19, that we had all heard so much about, were confirmed in Ireland. Then on March 12th speaking from Washington, acting Taoiseach Leo Varadkar explained to the nation that our lives would never be the same again. He didn’t know what was ahead. None of us did.

Twelve months ago I hadn’t a clue what anxiety was. As far as I was concerned it was something that was discussed on radio and TV shows by fuddy-duddy health professionals and as someone who would never be affected I never paid much heed to be honest.
I know what it is now.

One thing the last twelve months has thought me is that anxiety and depression are real problems and there is no doubt that the amount of people that it affects has grown out of all proportion since the advent of this pandemic.
The many who have lost their jobs and have seen their businesses devastated have been sitting at home. They have had far too much time on their hands. Time to think. Things that would never have kept you awake at night in the past now seem far more important. It’s a horrible feeling.

I have met scores of people over the past twelve months who feel abandoned and are totally distraught since the arrival of covid. Some of them went to mass every day or a few times a week and that was their social outing. Alternatively they went to bingo or to a dance or drama or night class, or they went to the pub for a couple of drinks. They went to matches on a Sunday. They had friends and family calling to them and they met people out shopping and socially. Now, they are sitting at home scared to even answer the door as they listen to the daily diet of misery and bad news that pours out of the media. It’s the hidden cost of this pandemic.

I shudder to think of what the fall out will be for the economy when this is all over. The 40 billion Euro it is costing will have to be paid back at some stage. The Government have actually done well in the circumstances in terms of supports. But there is not a bottomless pit of money there, and the big question is how many businesses will collapse altogether when the supports are withdrawn, as they will be?

For some people who have been lucky enough to hold on to their jobs and others whose businesses have stayed open, this pandemic has been nothing more than a mild inconvenience. In fact for some it has been a financial bonanza. With nowhere to go and nothing to spend their money on, savings have gone through the roof and good luck to those people too. They are the lucky ones.

Twelve months on and now we have household names that were unknown a year ago, Tony Holohan, Paul Reid, Sam McConkey, Cillian De Gascuin, Kingston Mills, Luke O’Neill and Catherine Motherway are on the national media day and night and are now celebrities. They have been entrusted in guiding the Government and the people through this health emergency. They have done a good job in tough circumstances but they are rarely asked hard questions about their strategy. As I write this piece Ireland has had the longest level five lockdown in Europe by some distance.

If someone like me questions their sytrategy we are totally dismissed because we are not medical or health experts. It’s very frustrating when you have genuine questions to ask. These people are public servants after all.
My idea of the real heroes in all the chaos are the nurses, doctors and health workers in our hospitals and particularly in our ICU units who have had to face the consequences of this horrible disease since last March. I sincerely hope that they have some respite soon.

I am not for one minute underestimating the severity of covid-19 or it’s danger. There are three members of my family working on the front line in the health sector so I understand what they are going through. The restrictions have definitely been needed, and like most people I have followed them to the letter of the law, but like many I am getting fed up.

For most ordinary people it has been a nightmare 12 months. Friends, neighbours and loved ones have passed away and we have not been able to attend the funerals and give the families the support they so badly need.

Young couples have had to postpone their weddings two or three times, there are no birthday parties, no graduation ceremonies, no night clubs, no concerts, no socialising, no dates, no holidays, no summer jobs and no sport. My heart goes out to young single people from the ages of 15 upwards have been the cohort hardest hit by this situation.

Parents who have had young children at home for most of the past twelve months have also had a very tough time. Parents and children alike need the schools to re-open.

People with family members who live abroad have had to abandon any chance of seeing them last year and probably this year too. I am in that category myself. It is very difficult.

As the situation continues a major problem is that people in authority, whether it’s NEPHET or the politicians, should be far more careful about what they say. Last week one of these eminent doctors said that we would have restrictions for 3 to 5 years. A prominent politician said that 2021 would be a ‘write off’. I wonder do these people realise that there are so many in the community who hang on every word they hear on the national airwaves about this virus. They are adding to the tsunami of mental health problems and depression by their pronouncements. They have a responsibility to temper their language. They have to give the people hope.

In recent months Government politicians seem to be in a race to be the first to get to the media with the latest news whether it be bad or good. One day we hear one story from Micheal Martin, the next it’s a totally different story from Leo Varadkar. Playing politics at a time like this is unforgivable.

The ongoing 5k limit is daft and with the weather improving the idea that 30 Leaving Certs can be in a school hall together but people cannot go out and play nine holes of Golf makes no sense at all. Surely it would be better to have children out doing a bit of sports training in the fresh air than them sitting at home on the play station. From next week children in Northern Ireland can go out and train but in this part of the country the gates remain closed. Try and figure than one out.

I read something this morning that has resonated:
“We are all NOT in the same boat. We are in the same storm. Some have yachts. Some have boats. Some are drowning.”
We have all to remember that.

But I wanted to end this piece on a positive note. Personally since March 14th last year I realised that I would have plenty of time on my hands so I began walking every day. I was not taking nearly enough exercise. Since then I have missed only one day on the road and now I walk for an hour every day. As a result I lost a substantial amount of weight and that has to be a good thing. From the numbers of people I see out walking I think I am not on my own.

Sport has helped to keep me sane in the time since this pandemic started. I actually got a couple of months work while the club GAA championships were on last year and it was brilliant to be able to go to the games. Hopefully we will be able to get back to that very soon.

Working on a voluntary basis on the local community radio has also been a very positive way to use up my time and I have enjoyed that immensely.

Watching Soccer, Rugby, Horse Racing and Golf on TV with no crowds is not the same but it’s better than nothing. Hopefully the GAA scene will be back soon too. Boris Johnson says that in May there will be 10,000 people allowed at sporting events in the UK. We are a long way away from that here, but hope springs eternal.

The response to this emergency in many communities particularly in rural Ireland has been phenomenal. There is a deep tooted goodness in Irish people which always comes to the fore in times of crisis. Let’s hope that situation remains until we are out of this horrible situation. People’s patience is wearing thin but hopefully the end line is in sight.

The past twelve months have served to underline to us what is really important in life, family, our health, community, friendship, leadership and empathy. Hopefully when this is all over it will make for a better society.

Our biggest hope now is the vaccine roll out. We seem to be moving at a snails’ pace here in Ireland so far. But we can only hope and pray that things improve as the months go on. The speed of the vaccine roll out will save lives and livlehoods.
We have to all set our minds to the scenario and resolve that there are brighter days ahead.

I want to go back to work. I want to go back to a GAA match and I want to go for a pint and a chat.

We all want our lives back.

(From The Roscommon People 4th March 2021)

It’s almost 11 months since the covid 19 virus came to dominate the world, and our lives and there is not much sign of respite. In fact since 2021 started things have got much worse.

First of all and most important of all, the people who have got very ill and remain so, and the families who have lost loved ones have paid the ultimate price in this pandemic. Our hearts go out to them.

The people in our health service who are trying to look after the ill and very ill in our hospitals and care homes are under the most incredible pressure. They are tired and burnt out from the relentless number of very sick people that they have had to deal with every day over the past couple of months. I can only imagine the strain that they are under and my prayers are with them every day.

Hopefully there is light at the end of the tunnel. The Level 5 restrictions seem to be working, if slowly, and hopefully that will result in reduced numbers and deaths.

The vaccination roll out is a worry. It would appear that there is going to be a problem with supply and I have to say my confidence in the HSE to implement a successful roll out programme is not great given the failures that they have presided over in the past two decades.

It is certainly true that the failure of people to adhere to the guidelines has cost livelehoods and lives, but it is also true to say that any failure or delay in the vaccination programme will also cost livelehoods and lives. It’s that important.

I have a certain sympathy for the politicians. Before I say anything about this I have no political affiliations at all to any party. There is no doubt that the decision to ease restrictions before Christmas was a mistake, but the politicians were in a complete no win situation. Two weeks before Christmas a national newspaper ran a poll in which 68% of those questioned said they favoured an easing of restrictions. Three weeks later the same paper did a poll which found that 68% of those questioned wanted tougher restrictions!
The advent of the more infectious strains of the disease that have come from the UK and South Africa have also led to the massive increases in cases, illness and deaths. So in many ways we have the ‘perfect storm’ with regard to this virus. It’s not all the fault of the politicians. The failure of personal responsibility has also been a huge factor.

I totally agree that we need the level five restrictions at the moment as we have to bring the numbers down. But those who comment on this situation in the national media need to realise the responsibility that they have and what they are saying.

There are many people who are hanging on every word that is said about this virus in the national media. The situation is very serious for certain but there is an onus on people not to make it worse than it is. In the past two weeks I have heard one qualified medical person say that no one should go outside their homes AT ALL. Another so called expert said over the weekend that it will be two years before the restrictions will be lifted. One of the celebrity doctors who never leaves the national airwaves, Sam McConkey, predicted at the start of this crisis that we would have between 80,000 and 120,000 deaths from the virus.

There are so many people whose mental health has been affected by the restrictions, isolation, unemployment and loss of their businesses, never mind the loss of loved ones. The last thing they need to hear are these ‘experts’ with their ‘worst case scenarios’. The news is bad enough as it it. There is no need for people to be making it worse.

I want to get back to work. I want things to return to normal but for the moment we must follow the guidelines. It is our only hope until we are vaccinated.

Stay Safe People

WEDNESDAY 6TH JANUARY 2021

As we know since Christmas the problem with covid-19 has spiralled out of control. The numbers are now worse than anyone in NEPHET projected and we are in danger of our health service being overwhelmed altogether. Despite a lot of the rubbish that we are seeing on Twitter and other social media the blame lies squarely with the people themselves because it is clear that there are many who have totally ignored the guidelines.

Anyone who reads my posts regularly will know that I have a serious problem with the way this pandemic has been handled by the authorities and indeed the national media, but the blatant disregard that many people have shown for the rules to prevent the spread of this virus is to blame for the situation we are in at the moment. It is very frustrating for the rest of us who have been trying hard to comply with the regulations.

I am aware of scores of shebeens that have been set up in recent months which are doing a roaring trade and I know of stories of people being in packed public houses right up to Christmas Eve. Not alone that, but there have been many birthday parties, get-togethers, and piss-ups in various houses throughout the country over Christmas too. All you have to do is look at Facebook to see what has been going on.

There is no one who enjoys a few pints and the craic more than I do and some of my work, is related to the pubs being open, has been lost. But we are now paying the price for people ignoring the pleas of the authorities. It will be April at the earliest before we will get out of this chronic situation. I don’t know about the rest of the population but I want things to return to normal as soon as possible.

Blaming the politicians is also a total waste of time. They are in a complete no win situation. On one side we had NEPHET who want the entire economy closed down while on the other side every lobby group in the country were dragging out of them to leave things open. No matter what they did they were going to be wrong. By the way I do not support any political party nor hold a torch for any politician. The politicians were trusting the people to do the right thing and in a lot of cases they were let down.

Now the hospitals and the frontline staff will be under severe pressure as a result of the massive rise in cases. I just hope that we can all survive without catching the virus and even worse ending up in hospital. It’s a desperate situation at the moment.

The big hope for us all are the vaccines. However I would be very fearful about the roll-out of that programme given that it is being run by the HSE. Their record in administering national programmes is not good over the years but let’s not be too critical before this programme gets a chance to get going. So far it looks painfully slow.

Remember if the people who are not following the guidelines are costing people their health and their lives (which they are), the slow roll out of the vaccination programme will also cost people their health and their lives to it is imperative that we get it right.

People have got to stay at home for four or five weeks until we get a handle on this virus.

RTE ON NEW YEAR’S EVE

On a completely separate issue, the controversial sketch on the New Year’s Eve show on RTE (which I was watching) was probably the lowest of the low I have ever seen on any TV station in terms of bad taste.

I am certainly no ’Holy Joe’ and have been as critical of the Catholic Church and what they have done in Irish society over the decades, but this totally unfunny sketch went way too far.

Accusing God of sexually abusing Mary and being hauled away to serve a jail sentence? RTE are lucky that we are living in Ireland. If that sketch was shown in any other country (I’m thinking about France, the USA or even in the UK) and particularly in the Middle East heavens knows what the repercussions would have been for those responsible.

The bright spark that came up with that sketch should be shown the door and asked not to come back. There are also serious questions to be answered for the programme editors who thought that that it was good enough to be shown to the nation on New Year’s Eve.