With Dr Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist
LOUSEWORT: Look out for lousewort one of the positive indicator plants on the ACRES grassland and peatland scorecard, meaning that fields score higher and farmers get more money where present.
It is a small low growing plant found in damp and acidic habitats. It has delicately lobed leaves and bright pink flowers with two lips, 2–2.5cm long. The upper is like a hook and it is slightly longer than the bottom lip which has three lobes.
Marsh lousewort is taller and grows in slightly wetter grassland. It has very similar flowers but its upper lip is the same length as the lower lip. Louseworts are partially parasitic plants and are part of our native Irish biodiversity.
I was moved to put pen to paper after reading an excellent piece in last week’s Irish Country Living by Margaret Hawkins on the scoliosis scandal. And that is just what it is – an absolute scandal that this country’s politicians should hang their heads in shame at.
How on earth can an affluent country that will spend over €22bn on health this year stand by as 327 children are left languishing on a waiting list in pain, or worse still, ‘disintegrating’ before their mother’s eyes as Liam Dennehy is with a curvature of the spine of 92 degrees?
I have no problem saying that the Kerry youngster’s heartbreaking story reduced me to tears, but what was even more heartbreaking was the realisation that there were another 300 other children in the same boat or even worse.
More than numbers on a lengthy waiting list, these kids need innovative action by our health authorities now. Their whole future is at stake.
Yours,
Yvonne, Galway
Meet the Maker, Corrina Earlie.
In this week’s Meet the Maker, Grace Hanna chats to painter Corrina Earlie who works mostly in oils on board from her home studio in Dublin. She chats about her new series ‘Heliotropic’ which draws its name from the phenomenon of plants turning towards the sunlight.
Brendan Courtney. \ Barry Cronin
'I spoke Irish fluently until I was 15 years old having gone to an Irish school. I lost it when I left school. My generation ran away from it,
I think. I’ve now reconnected with my language and I’m learning Irish again'
Brendan Courtney
Niamh, Fíadh and Íarlaith Winters taking a break while being closely watched by some happy continental heifers out on grass. \ Submitted by Michael Winters, Co Galway.
“A recent tally from the Irish Cancer Society shows that about 40% of the cancer treatment hospitals in Ireland charge cancer patients’ full cost for parking their car to attend their life-saving treatment. For patients attending every day, five days per week over a four-week period – at €15 per day, that quickly spirals into €300 in the space of a month.”
Steve Dempsey, Irish Cancer Society Director of Advocacy and Communications
Pictured at the launch of ‘Community Colours’; Seamus Connelly, Nova Taite, Alex McNamee and Éabha Goonery.
Leading Irish provider of paint, Fleetwood is giving up to €60,000 worth of paint to local communities as part of a new initiative, Community Colours.
Community Colours will support local community groups and clubs across Ireland by giving away up to €1,000 worth of paint daily in May and June.
To participate, purchase any Fleetwood product, regardless of price and then nominate your preferred group or sports club by scanning the QR code available on Fleetwood’s social media platforms.
Mick Morris of 4 Roads Hurling Club Roscommon says that Fleetwood’s donation last year revitalised their facility.
“It not only refreshed the look of our club but also boosted morale among our members.”
visitfleetwood.ie
Read more
Tech-savvy stitching as e-textile enthusiasts combine
NDC in search of future farmers to feature at Bloom
With Dr Catherine Keena, Teagasc Countryside Management Specialist
LOUSEWORT: Look out for lousewort one of the positive indicator plants on the ACRES grassland and peatland scorecard, meaning that fields score higher and farmers get more money where present.
It is a small low growing plant found in damp and acidic habitats. It has delicately lobed leaves and bright pink flowers with two lips, 2–2.5cm long. The upper is like a hook and it is slightly longer than the bottom lip which has three lobes.
Marsh lousewort is taller and grows in slightly wetter grassland. It has very similar flowers but its upper lip is the same length as the lower lip. Louseworts are partially parasitic plants and are part of our native Irish biodiversity.
I was moved to put pen to paper after reading an excellent piece in last week’s Irish Country Living by Margaret Hawkins on the scoliosis scandal. And that is just what it is – an absolute scandal that this country’s politicians should hang their heads in shame at.
How on earth can an affluent country that will spend over €22bn on health this year stand by as 327 children are left languishing on a waiting list in pain, or worse still, ‘disintegrating’ before their mother’s eyes as Liam Dennehy is with a curvature of the spine of 92 degrees?
I have no problem saying that the Kerry youngster’s heartbreaking story reduced me to tears, but what was even more heartbreaking was the realisation that there were another 300 other children in the same boat or even worse.
More than numbers on a lengthy waiting list, these kids need innovative action by our health authorities now. Their whole future is at stake.
Yours,
Yvonne, Galway
Meet the Maker, Corrina Earlie.
In this week’s Meet the Maker, Grace Hanna chats to painter Corrina Earlie who works mostly in oils on board from her home studio in Dublin. She chats about her new series ‘Heliotropic’ which draws its name from the phenomenon of plants turning towards the sunlight.
Brendan Courtney. \ Barry Cronin
'I spoke Irish fluently until I was 15 years old having gone to an Irish school. I lost it when I left school. My generation ran away from it,
I think. I’ve now reconnected with my language and I’m learning Irish again'
Brendan Courtney
Niamh, Fíadh and Íarlaith Winters taking a break while being closely watched by some happy continental heifers out on grass. \ Submitted by Michael Winters, Co Galway.
“A recent tally from the Irish Cancer Society shows that about 40% of the cancer treatment hospitals in Ireland charge cancer patients’ full cost for parking their car to attend their life-saving treatment. For patients attending every day, five days per week over a four-week period – at €15 per day, that quickly spirals into €300 in the space of a month.”
Steve Dempsey, Irish Cancer Society Director of Advocacy and Communications
Pictured at the launch of ‘Community Colours’; Seamus Connelly, Nova Taite, Alex McNamee and Éabha Goonery.
Leading Irish provider of paint, Fleetwood is giving up to €60,000 worth of paint to local communities as part of a new initiative, Community Colours.
Community Colours will support local community groups and clubs across Ireland by giving away up to €1,000 worth of paint daily in May and June.
To participate, purchase any Fleetwood product, regardless of price and then nominate your preferred group or sports club by scanning the QR code available on Fleetwood’s social media platforms.
Mick Morris of 4 Roads Hurling Club Roscommon says that Fleetwood’s donation last year revitalised their facility.
“It not only refreshed the look of our club but also boosted morale among our members.”
visitfleetwood.ie
Read more
Tech-savvy stitching as e-textile enthusiasts combine
NDC in search of future farmers to feature at Bloom
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