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CANCER patients who may have been misdiagnosed at Ennis Gen- eral Hospital were last night urged to come forward. The call was made by Karl Henry, the husband of Ann Moriarty, whose cancer was misdi- agnosed at the hospital. Mr Henry reiterated his calls for a full inde- pendent enquiry. Ms Moriarty died from cancer last April, at the age of 53. She had been given the all- clear at Ennis General Hospital, just months earlier.

He made the comment in the wake of another misdiagnosis case emerg- ing over the weekend. 26-year-old Edel Kelly lost her battle with cancer in June, having also been misdiag- nosed previously.

“My concern from day one was there may be others. I wasn’t expect- ing there would be another situation quite as appalling as that of Edel Kelly appears to be,” he said.

“The Department of Health seems to think the people of Ennis and Clare are entitled to a sub-standard health system,” he added.

In the wake of Mr Henry going pub- lic with details of his wife’s misdiag- nosis, the HSE said it was an isolated case. The revelations about the Edel

Kelly case angered him, but he said he is trying to leave those feelings to one side and continue the fight on be- half of his wife.

“That my wife’s case was an isolat- ed one has a particularly hollow ring to it,” he said.

Mr Henry met with the Health Minister Mary Harney last week. Although he did not receive a com- mitment that an independent enquiry would be carried out, he feels that his case was listened to.

“I was reasonably happy. She is now very familiar with the full facts of my wife’s case,” he said.

He will continue to fight for an in- dependent enquiry. “All we have is Ennis investigating Ennis. That is not acceptable,” he said.

The Kellys yesterday called for Minister Harney to resign. However, Mr Henry said he would not support Wee

“IT wouldn’t support calls for the re- moval of the minister that this time. We do need to know what is going on. There are serious failings,” he said.

Both the Kellys and Mr Henry have expressed an interest in meeting up, to discuss their cases.

‘I know the difficulties they are en- countering,” he said.

to every primary school in Northern Ireland.

Jim, who is chairperson of Rural Resettlement Ireland, wrote the book in an effort to help bring communi- ties together and reflect on the posi- tive elements of the human condi- n(n

“I have been involved in humani- tarian work for the whole of my life.

It is of great interest to me and that is what was in my mind when I wrote the book. I believe that there are ba- sic humanitarian principles which are natural to all of us and in a sense they are counter balanced by a number of animal instincts which are in us all as well,” said Jim.

“The book is trying to articulcate these ideas in some acceptable form – in a non-judgmental form which doesn’t mention religion, God or morality – but basic humanitarian principles. It was to help promoting or exploring the better sides of our human nature that I decided to write this book for schools.

“The book starts off with ‘I am a human’ because that is the basic

starting point for all of us.”

The book is illustrated with photo- graphs from St Nicholas’ School in Galway. The school, which houses more than 40 nationalities, was in part the inspiration for the book. Jim hopes that the book might prove a help for people to overcome divisions in society, whether formed around gender, ethnicity or religion.

‘“T approached the Northern Ireland Counsel for Integrated Education be- cause I heard him speaking on the radio one morning. I thought that the ideas in my book might be some- thing that would assist up there, so I sent him a copy of my book.

“I offered to donate one copy of the book to each and every primary

school in Northern Ireland to mark the amazing transformation that has been going on there since the Good Friday Agreement. They were de- lighted to take the book and we have sent off nearly 1,000 books to school sin Northern Ireland,’ he continued.

“IT was shocked to find out that nearly 95 per cent of the schools up there were separate, either Catholic or Protestant. I am delighted that they found the book acceptable and that all the different church authori- ties found it acceptable.

“IT have got some lovely feedback from the book – with cards from some of the children. I’ve got a great response and I’m delighted that I am fulfilling a function there.”

THE Clare ladies football panel won’t be resting on their laurels for two long if they win Sunday’s AIll- Ireland intermediate final against Tipperary in Croke Park.

Instead, they be looking to the fol- lowing weekend as a number of them have pledged to take part in the Run to Africa, which a “Playing for Life’ abu NCebe-DKSDONoMNDODIOT-IN Ros

Playing for Life was founded by well-known sportswoman and broadcaster Tracy Piggott following a visit to Ethiopia in 2004. Tracy

was determined to do set up a project that would use sport as a tool to help young people in some of the worlds’ poorest places, since sport has al- ways played such a huge part in her own life.

In order to continue providing sup- port to some of the world’s poorest countries and communities, Play- ing for Life is undertaking a major fundraising initiative throughout the island of Ireland with the support of Tesco Ireland, the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, Sport News Ireland and well-known sports per- sonalities like Sonia O’Sullivan and

Eamon Coghlan.

The Run to Africa will take place over the first weekend in October. Volunteers, who will be asked to raise €100/£100 per kilometer, will be able to see the collective progress of the 9500 km run from Dublin to Addis Ababa on a video screen (similar to the flight path display on a plane).

The Clare contribution to the project is being spearheaded by the ladies intermediate team, with Emma O’Driscoll coordinating their efforts. ‘There are six of us on the team who form the committee Louise Henchy

our captain, Majela Griffin, Niamh Keane, Aine Kelly, Marie Considine and myself. Many of the other girls on the team are also helping out,” O’Driscoll reavealed.

“To raise money we have asked schools around the county to hold a colours day where by they wear the jersey of their favourite team into school and bring in two euros so far 18 generous schools have agreed from the 24 pupil school of Rineen outside Lahinch to the Holy Family here in Ennis.

‘Teachers from these schools then can either run the kilometres them-

selves on the treadmills or nominate one of the clare ladies or one of the other sportspeople who will be run- ning. Many of us are past pupils of these schools so they have kindly nominated us! The colours day will take place the week of the 29th to the 3rd.

“Diarmuid McMahon, Niall Gil- ligan, The Clare Camogie team, and Seamus Power are some of the well known sports people who will run. Clubs all over the county will be asked to run as we have to cover 300km,’ she added.

BUSINESSES in Miltown Malbay claim that they are suffering a ma- jor downturn in trade as a result of a new traffic management system introduced by Clare County Council earlier this year.

SW item iteaw Mm uscateElOCOyrPay ZOU eM erKw eros the introduction of half-hour park- ing bays as well as the employment a part-time traffic warden, will be reviewed by Clare County Council later this year.

Councillors claimed at yesterday’s Ennistymon Area meeting of Clare County Council to have been con- tacted by a number of local business- es who Say they are suffering as a di- rect result of the half hour parking.

“It is having an impact locally. One businessman was saying that his business was down by about 30 per cent because people do not have the time to get into his premises and have a meal without the fear of God being in them,” said Martin Conway Cn 63}

“We need to look at increasing this, possibly to two hour parking,’

Clare County Council has asked the people of Miltown Malbay to hold a public meeting to create a unified lo- cal approach to traffic management in the town. The council will also examine the possibility of increas- ing the hours worked by the traffic warden.

“Tt is inevitable there would be dif- ficulties in implementing a traffic management plan in Miltown be- cause this is a new thing,” said Cllr

Richard Nagle (FF).

This traffic plan is working to pro- vide parking for people, but we need to insure that the warden continues to work on the town or all the good work will be lost. If that happens we will revert back to the chaos that was there before.”

Council officials indicated that pub- lic consultation was undertaken be- fore a parking strategy for the town was developed and that the public would be allowed input into the re- view, later this year.

MAKING a will won’t kill you, but not making it will cause a lot of un- ecessary trouble and possible finan- cial loss for your successors.

And yet, it is estimated that half of all adults have not made a will and only 20 per cent of business owners have decided who will inherit their businesses when they die.

This leads to more family disputes over inheritance and succession with the sale and division of estates re- sulting in a significant share of the proceeds being consumed by legal

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You don’t have to make a will but it makes good sense to leave your affiars in good order for those who Survive you. It is a sad, but inevi- table fact of life that many people die under the age of 30 – yet a very small number of them may even have thought about making a will.

If you make a will, you decide who gets what after your death. You can also decide who doesn’t benefit as you can minimise the impact of capi- tal acquisitions tax on your benefici- Ne loy

If you don’t make a will, your next

of kin will inherit your estate. If you are not married, have outlived your parents and have no children, the Government could be the ultimate BUID ELSI

In many cases, the people who benefit from your life’s work may be people you may not have wished to benefit from your death. If you don’t make a will, it’s possible the wrong people may be your legal successors.

You get to choose, but only if you take the right action at the right time. The right action is to seek advice from a solicitor and the right time is now.

A KILRUSH family who’s son spent three months in a children’s hospital being treated for burns are running a second fundraiser for the hospital that saved him.

On October 12, Patrick Roche and Morgan Roughan will play in a fun- draiser for Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin organised by the Carmody family.

On November 2, 2006 five-year-old Kyle Carmody was playing in the liv- ing room of his Kilrush home, while mum Tanya saw to the other three boys upstairs.

She had lit the open fire as always at 7.30am and it had now reduced to

a glowing ash. The fireguard was in its usual place in front of the fire, and Kyle decided to take his PlayStation down stairs to play.

Minutes later Tanya heard a cry as Kyle came running up the stairs the top of his pyjamas on fire.

Two-years on and the seven-year- old is making great progress thanks to his medical treatment in the burns unit at Crumlin Hospital.

He will continue to wear a special- ised vest for a few more years to help the healing process and visit Tralee CC toec ee Cee) ie- Ve) mm RccaelEDMmOy-KI TE

The Gaelscoul pupil doesn’t let the accident restrict his life however.

Described by his father Flan as “an active boy” Kyle goes to stage school

and plays football with the local club. He is a huge fan of High School Mu- sical.

Praising the medical staff in En- nis and Crumlin, Flan said he would never forget the day of the accident.

‘We could have lost him,” he says.

He is also hoping to meet again with the ambulance crew that took Kyle from Dr Carr’s surgery to Ennis General Hospital and on to Crumlin.

‘We were in such shock I don’t even think I saw them, but I would love to meet them again,” he said.

Meanwhile he and a number of friends are busy selling tickets for the fundraising night in Danganally Tavern in Cooraclare. Tickets are just €5 and the evening begins at 9pm.

Two years ago the Carmody family and their friends raised €4,500 for the children’s hospital.

All proceeds from this fundraiser will also go to St Ann’s Ward (the burns unit) at Our Lady’s Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin.

“When you walk through Crumlin hospital it knocks life into perspec- tive nice and quick,’ said Mr Car- mody.

BREAKING down language barri- ers has become just another part of the curriculum for two schools in Syivavtcm-velemeyercneveCeyee

Sixteen different languages are spoken by the 78 international stu- dents who make up roughly 20 per cent of the total student population in Ennis Community College.

The picture in St Patrick’s Compre- hensive College, Shannon, is equally

diverse where students from 24 dif- ferent countries attend classes.

The big influx of new students who don’t speak English as a first language, is altering the traditional teaching environment and imposing extra demands on school resources.

“There have been challenges al- right, but at this stage we have fair idea of what methods work best,’ said Matt Power, Principal of Ennis Community College.

“Typically, foreign students that

enter the school at first year, tend to have little problems in adapting. But we have found that problems do arise when you have kids who are 16 and over where English isn’t their first language.”

Teacher’s Union Representatives have also warned that a lack of Eng- lish for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) teachers is hindering inte- gration in many schools.

“We are not getting enough sup- port,’ said Bernie Ruane, Vice-Presi-

dent of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) and a teacher in St Patrick’s Comprehensive, “The Government are talking about these three per cent frontline cutbacks and if that’s the case, one of the areas targeted in schools in special education needs”. She added, “Children and parents are being put into a system where they don’t know the language and that, at times, can lead to friction.”

A NEW model for the delivery of health care in the county could see Clare people getting the majority of their health care services in the local town or even in their own home.

Representative from the North Clare Primary Care Team addressed last night’s meeting of Clare County Council, and asked for the council- lors to help them develop primary care units throughout the county.

“It’s about providing health care in the community rather than acute hospital services. Where you have a strong care system as part of your health service it has been shown that people live longer and are healthier. We also fell that this 1s a much more cost effective way of delivering a health care service,” said Dr Fergus Glynn of the North Clare Primary Care Team.

The North Clare Primary Care Team covers the Ballyvaughan, Corofin and Lisdoonvarna areas and provides a forum for practitioners in these areas to work together when dealing with patient illnesses.

To date a the service team have found that the waiting times have

come down significantly for anumber of services including physiotherapy.

The group was asked to address the council meeting by north Clare Councillor Martin Conway (FG).

‘The work that they are doing for the most part has been going under the radar. The best strategy is to help people in their home, in their com- munity, to get well,’ he said.

“It’s cost efficient, it’s innovative and it’s what communities are all about. We need to forge links be- tween the health care which is being delivered around the county and the local authority. If this gets proper Support, if it is financed it could revolutionise the provision of health care in north Clare.”

Cllr Joe Arkins (FG) also proposed that Clare County Council should write to the Health Service Execu- tive requesting that primary care be properly funded in Clare.

“There has been a lot of talk about primary care and in a lot of areas there has been little action so I am glad that north Clare is taking the lead. I’m not sure if people realise it but 60 per cent of funding goes to non-hospital services. It’s about joined up thinking,” he said.

ELECTED representatives have as little power as “the begging bull” – according to a Shannon councillor.

Councillor Gerry Flynn (Independ- ent) made the claim during a debate on a contentious footpath that has been erected through a green area in Finian Park, Shannon.

A letter, signed by three residents in Finian Park, called for a meet- ing with Shannon area councillors, where they could air their concerns.

Councillor Flynn said that there

had been a mistake “in so far as con- sultation didn’t take place. We had a duplication of a path which there was no need for.”

He said that local residents should have been consulted.

“It shows residents the actual pow- ers we have as elected representa- tives, which are so limited. . . We have the power of the begging bull, nothing else,” he said.

However Fine Gael Councillor Tony Mulcahy asked had we reached a stage where residents had to be consulted before every piece of work

would be carried out.

However, Councillor Flynn said when he pointed out the concerns to the engineer, the concrete had not been put in place, but it was later added, without the residents being consulted. “It just shows that solo runs can be dangerous,” he said.

However Shannon Town Manager Ger Dollard replied, “The decision that was made certainly wasn’t a solo run. The decision was made in good eis 0 ee

Clare County Council Senior Exec- utive Engineer Donal Hogan said that

this area was included in a schedule of footpaths to be put in place, un- der the town commissioners’ grants scheme, in 2006.

As a result of a survey carried out at the time, he said that a map was produced and this included the pro- vision of a footpath across a green area.

He said the council would be fool- ish to employ people to do work if they were going to be “hamstrung.”

“We can’t consult everybody about everything. There has to be some trust,’ he said.

A NEW campaign aimed at reducing heart attack and stroke in Clare has just been launched.

According to Health Promotion Officer Geri Quinn, local research shows that two out of three Clare adults over 35 are overweight, have high cholesterol and high blood pres- sure, all of which increase their risk of developing heart disease.

Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of chronic illness, dis- ability and early death in Ireland. 22 per cent of premature deaths (under age 65) are from cardiovascular dis- Cos

A person with high blood pressure or cholesterol feels well, looks well and rarely has any symptoms. How- ever, high blood pressure and cho- lesterol makes the heart and arteries work harder, causing damage over the years. This can lead to a heart at- tack or stroke.

Mr Quinn said, “Knowing your blood pressure and cholesterol is re- ally important. Blood pressure and

cholesterol can be controlled but first you need to know your numbers”. If you are over 30, the Irish Heart foun- dation recommends that you should have your blood pressure checked every two or three years.

During Heart Health Week, the Ennis Leisure Complex is offering a personalised fitness programme at the special price of only ©40. This includes blood pressure, lung capac- ity and flexibility checks and body composition assessment and a fit- ness programme is drawn up to suit the client’s individual needs. It also includes three free uses of the pool ZNO mcatenee

“Physical activity and stress reduc- tion help to lower blood pressure so we are delighted to work with the Ennis Leisure Complex to promote good heart health,” said Mr Quin

Heart Health Week is part of a three-week campaign to make Clare a healthier place. Clare sporting and health organisations including Clare Sports Partnership, the Clare branch of Mental Health Ireland, the En- nis Leisure Complex and the Clare Health Promotion Unit of the HSE will join forces to show three steps to

a healthy mind and a healthy body.

The campaign runs from September 22 to October 12. BNO OA Lered has a sep- Nel Kommn eI related message and there er Mee NUTS variety of activities, workshops and talks on of- fer, everything from rock climb- ing to sailing and brain training to laughter yoga.