'Mammy, I'm afraid of my Daddy.'

RESEARCH has shown that there is a link between child abuse and domestic violence. The Women’s Aid National Freephone Helpline received 1,658 calls relating to incidents of child abuse in 2010.

Children “are the silent, unseen and unheard victims of domestic violence in modern day Ireland”, said a Women’s Aid spokesperson today (Thursday 24 November).

“The Government needs to apply the best practice principle of protecting the child through the protection and support of the non-abusive parent,” said Margaret Martin, Director of Women’s Aid, at the launch of the 16 Days of Action campaign. “The principle needs to be acknowledged and reflected in any new child protection structures and any review of Family Law and domestic violence legislation.

“For many women who call Women’s Aid, protecting their children is a constant worry,” Ms Martin continued, “It is heartbreaking to listen to women who, with their children are living in a state of fear.”

The current recession has made it more difficult for women to help themselves. Their options have been greatly reduced and they find themselves trapped in relationships built on fear and violence.

Women's Aid. Pic: Google Images

“I wanted to leave, but he told me time and time again, ‘If you ever leave me, I’ll make sure you never see your daughter again’. At times I thought of killing myself. I felt totally trapped. It’s only for my children that I kept myself going.

“The turning point came when my son said to me one day ‘Mammy, I’m afraid of my Daddy’. I knew I had to leave.”  - Alison

“He would slap the children, he said that children needed to be slapped or they would never learn discipline, but it didn’t seem to be about discipline, it was about humiliating them. I will never forget the first time he took Ann into the hall, held her arm so tight and started slapping her on the bottom. I told him to stop, but now I’m at my wits end trying to find ways to protect the children and I got the look, the one that told me, don’t you start.” – Elizabeth.

These are the words of only two of the women who called Women’s Aid. Domestic violence is the most common context in which child abuse takes place, and exposure to domestic violence is recognised as a form of emotional abuse, affecting the child’s well-being.

In 2010 there were 1,658 incidents of child abuse reported to Women’s Aid. The main tactics of abuse were abusers smacking and hitting children with household items; abusers physically or sexually abusing children; abusers constantly shouting in children’s faces.

In addition to these, another 3,014 disclosed that children were living with domestic violence against their mother.

At the launch, Ms Martin said that she was deeply worried about the effect that the 2012 budget would have on women living in such conditions.

Women’s Aid is the only free service available to these women and has already been affected by a number of cuts. Refuges are finding it increasingly difficult to accommodate the women and children that need them, and further cuts will mean putting women and children who are being abused at risk.

Women’s Aid National Freephone service relies very much on public donations. Anyone who wishes to make a donation can do so at www.womensaid.ie or by sending donations to Women’s Aid, Everton House, 47 Old Cabra Road, Dublin 7.

The Women’s Aid Helpline is open from 10am – 10pm, 7 days a week: 1800 341 900.

24 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson

Lost Dog Turns up on NUI Galway Campus

This article was published on pets.ie on 28 November 2011.

On Tuesday 18 October, a dog, which had run from it's home in Salthill, was found on the NUI Galway campus.

The dog in question had been spotted by numerous students, but none of these attempted to find out where she had come from.

Fortunately, the phone number of her owner was engraved into the tag on her collar, and she was soon brought home.

"This isn't the first time she's run away, and it certainly won't be the last," said a very relieved owner, after being reunited with his pet, "she can run for miles."

Lost dogs - or indeed lost pets in general - are common around Galway.

Pic from Pets.ie

Margaret O' Sullivan, a spokesperson for the Galway Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (GSPCA) said that there are, on average, ten lost pets reported every day, or 60 per week. It is very uncommon for these pets to be reunited with their owners.

According to the GSPCA, the number of lost pets has gone up in the past two or three years, and not all of them are genuine cases. These days, because of the recession, many people cannot afford to keep their pets.

"A lot of pets are discarded, not lost," says Margaret, "People often come to us with a dog and say its lost, but we can tell by the dog's reaction to the person that the animal belongs to them."

However, the GSPCA cannot turn away an animal in need. Lost or discarded pets are kept in the sanctuary, put into foster care, or re-homed. If they aren't re-homed, the animals live in the sanctuary for the rest of their lives.

So what can you do to avoid losing your pet?

"The biggest problem with dogs," Margaret continues, "is that they have no ID. They're not micro-chipped, so its very hard to find the owner.

"Even if you write your phone number on the inside of the dog's collar in felt tipped pen, it makes it easier for us to find their owners.

"We would recommend - with the amount of dogs being stolen and sold - to micro-chip them. There's a fair good chance it will end up in a vet."

The dog that was found wandering around the NUI Galway campus was lucky, as her owner had identification on her collar, but not all lost dogs have ID. So what should you do if you see a pet wandering around campus?

"If you see a dog wandering around, watch it," Margaret advises, "It may not be lost. If its there 24 hours later, its probably a lost dog.

"People often let their dogs wander, so look at the dogs condition. If its in good condition, its probably just out for a stroll. If its in bad condition, contact us with the details."

There was also a marked increase in the number of lost dogs over Halloween because of fireworks, which proves that putting identification on your dog's collar can be very beneficial, not only to you, but to the dog, and to the GSPCA who have to raise €20,000 a month to run the sanctuary.

The GSPCA are looking for volunteers for their Church Gate Collection this December. The collection will take place on 11 and 12 December. So if you're staying in Galway this Christmas, and would like to help raise money for a good cause, contact the GSPCA on 091563631.

24 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson

Campus Hit by Spate of Pick-Pocket Type Thefts

Published in the Galway City Tribune on 18 November 2011


NUI Galway has been hit by a spate of personal thefts, with 15 wallets and purses reported stolen from the environs of the campus on a single day.

The pickpocket-style thefts are understood to have occurred in daylight hours in the vicinity of University Road and Gardaí have warned students to stop "making themselves targets" by not closing their backpacks properly.

The victims of the crimes have been students of NUI Galway and have been pre-dominantly female, according to the Garda and security at the University which have both received complaints in relation to the thefts.

Head of security at NUI Galway Gerry Nolan has issued advice to students following the spate of thefts. "Most incidents involved money secured in the pockets of backpacks worn over the shoulder and out of sight," he said.

"Students should remains vigilant, refrain from storing items of value in bags that are not completely out of sight and report any incidents of theft to the Garda directly."

A spokesperson for the Garda advised students to be "more careful about the manner in which they secure their belongings". Students should prevent "making themselves targets by no closing their backpacks properly", he added.

There have been no arrests in connection with to date, however gardaí are carrying out ongoing patrols of the area.

Mr. Nolan said that the University had only ever experienced incidents of theft on this scale in the form of bicycle thefts.

18 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson and Louise France

Bike Scheme Aims to Reduce Cars on City Roads

Published in the Galway City Tribune on 18 November 2011.

Cost for cyclists in Galway may be as little as €10 a year.

CYCLISTS may be able to avail of a bike rental scheme in Galway city for as little as €10 per year next summer, according to a public bike symposium at NUI Galway earlier this week.

The symposium was one of four held in cities across Ireland this month by Minister of State at the Department of Transport Alan Kelly in order to gauge the level of interest in such schemes from local stakeholders.

A feasibility report commissioned by the Department of Transport to explore the potential for rolling out bike rental schemes in regional cities this year found that Galway was the city most suitable for such a scheme.

Speaking at the symposium, Minister Kelly said: "The Government believes public bike schemes in Waterford, Limerick, Galway and Cork will enhance the city centres."

The Dublin bikes scheme in the capital had proven to be a resounding success since its launch in 2009, he said, and it now boasted more than 63,000 members with over 2.5 million journeys having been made by users.

Bicycles parked outside the Arts Millennium Building 

at NUI Galway during the Public Bike Schemes Symposium. 

Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy. 

A recently-published report carried out by National Transport Authority (NTA) revealed that a similar bike scheme in Galway would require between 200 and 250 bikes over 23 docking stations within a four square kilometre area around the city.

"Such a scheme has been tentatively costed at €1.7m in capital," and Anne Graham of the NTA, "and almost €4m in operating costs over 15 years plus the apportioned cost of a national control centre.

"There are a number of reasons why a bike scheme would benefit Galway city. This is a sustainable transport that is efficient and easy to use. It would allow users to avoid the heavy traffic congestion and high parking costs of Galway city," she explained.

The symposium was told that membership of the bike scheme could be expected to be extremely economical, with a 3-day cost of €2 and annual membership of €10. Rental without membership would also be likely to be cheap, with the first hald hour of travel costing nothing.

Ms. Graham said that Galway is a very cycle-friendly city, as it is so compact and well suited to a bike-sharing scheme.

She described the scheme as an affordable, efficient means of travel, which aimed to get as many cars as possible off the road and people back on bikes and public transport.

The Galway Cycling Campaign has warmly welcomed the Government's interest in extending the bike share schemes to Galway and other cities, but has warned that a hard-nosed and holistic approach is needed to maximise the benefits.

"It has to operate as 'national' membership," said Oisin O'Nidh, campaign PRO, "a Dublin bike user should be able to get off the train and use a Galway bike and vice versa - membership of one bikeshare scheme should entitle the user to use all schemes."

The cyclists also stress that new design guidance will be needed to deliver the necessary infrastructural changed recommended by the consultants.

Campaign chair Shane Foran pointed out: "This is a bigger issue than bikeshare, in Ireland we also need guidance on suitable road widths in towns, advice on making traffic calming cyclist-friendly and safer layouts at traffic signals. These are all matters that are not well treated in current NTA guidance. Adopting outside design guidance in support of bikeshare will provide other vital tools to promote cycling."

18 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson

"We had Simple Christmases, but Good Christmases"

Christmas. It seems the festival comes earlier and earlier each year. Halloween was barely a fortnight ago, yet it seems that the spooky Halloween paraphernalia have been taken down, only to be immediately replaced with the Christmas decorations.

Christmas is upon us already, even though December 25 is still almost two months away. The joyful anticipation has been stolen from us, and Christmas has been commercialised to the extent that many of us are bored of it by December.

Pic: Google images

Remember the old days? Those magical Christmas moments: flicking through toy catalogues; writing Santy letters; hanging stockings on Christmas Eve; queuing for ages to visit strange, bearded frauds dressed in red; trying to stay awake all night, hoping to hear the tinkling of bells, the prancing of hooves on the roof, or even a distant “ho, ho, ho!”; leaving carrots and mince pies by the fireplace; sneaking to the Christmas tree to check on the presents.

Those were the days - for my generation at least. Christmas, when the Celtic Tiger was still alive, was magical. We’ve reached the stage of depression, where stores start trying to push the expenses of Christmas on us from the first of November, or in some cases, some time in mid-October.

Is this how it was before the Celtic Tiger? Was this how it was before we were even born? To get an idea of Christmas in the 60’s and 70’s - before the recession, before the Celtic Tiger, and even before the big recession of the 80’s - I asked my father what Christmas meant to his family when they were children. Born into a family of seven kids, Christmases for him were far from the expensive affairs that define Christmases of today.

“Christmas came once a year,” I was told, “and you never heard about it until three or four weeks beforehand. It was a much simpler affair - nothing like today. Today is really commercialised.”

Christmas wasn’t such a big event back then - not like today where Christmas goes on for two months. Today if you turn on the television in November, you’re guaranteed to see a number of Christmas ads. This wasn’t the case back in the 60’s and 70’s until December, which was when the shop windows would have a display of toys.

Pic: Google images

“We used to look in the shop windows at the toys, dreaming that maybe Santy would bring us that,” my father reminisced. “Little did we know, our mother would go down to the shop and ask for toys to be put aside for us, if she could afford them.”

The shops displayed a variety of traditional toys - “stuff you’d see in antique shops today” - including dinky toys, corgi rockets, clockwork trains, and a variety of other toys.

“We used to get small presents,” my father continued, “cowboy hats, toy guns, books, jigsaws. We always got a Christmas annual - the Dandy, the Beano, Batman, or Superman. I got a spinning top one time - all very basic toys.

“The presents were wrapped in brown paper and hidden under our beds. We had stockings too with something small - money sometimes, or fruit. I got a rubber monkey in mine one year.”

These were toys that the children of today - so used to video games and electronic toys - would find boring. This wasn’t so back in the day. Toys were appreciated and loved, and never taken for granted, and my father can remember many of the toys that brought him hours of enjoyment as a child.”

“We played with our presents all year long,” he informed me, “even though they were very basic toys. I always seemed to get a gun at Christmas. I loved playing cowboys.

Pic: Google images

“Another year I got a Santa Fe Train, which was battery operated, but on Christmas day I had no batteries for it so I couldn’t use it until the next day. Denis [his older brother] got a black train like a Cannonball Express - a slightly better train than mine. It must have been a prosperous year that year. These toys would cost about five pounds, which was a lot of money back then.”

The conversation soon moved on to Christmas decorations and how elaborate they are in the present time. Back in the 60’s and 70’s, shops were decorated, but this certainly wasn’t on the first day of November, as was the case this year. Homes were decorated simply, rather than covered from roof to floor with decorations - everybody knows that house that is the tourist attraction of the neighbourhood at Christmas!

“We had paper decorations hung from the ceiling,” my father said, “and a paper, fold-out star that fitted over the light in the hall. We had a real Christmas tree every year up until the 1970s when my mother bought an artificial tree because the real ones left needles all over the floor. The fire in the sitting room was lit at Christmas too.”

One thing that my dad said that sticks in my mind is: “We had simple Christmases, but good Christmases. We always looked forward to it.” I can’t help but feel that the chance to ‘look forward’ to Christmas has been robbed from us.

Gone are the days where families could hardly wait to get the dusty old tree down from the attic on the eight of December. Dead are the days of ‘looking forward’ to Christmas. Unfortunately, we’ve reached an era where Christmas sneaks up on us unexpectedly, whilst out for a morning stroll. It has almost become a chore. There’s no way of escaping it. We can only embrace it, and try to enjoy the two months for which it will last.

14 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson

Your Health is Your Wealth

A shorter version of this article was published in Sin Newspaper under the title How to 'B' Healthy. This was published on 1 November 2011.

So, Healthy Living Week was last week, but how many of us managed to live healthily? They say “Your health is your wealth”, but can this proverb be taken literally? After all, healthy food can cost quite a bit more than the unhealthy alternative.

But can we really put a price on our health? I spoke to nutritional therapist, acupuncturist, and bio-resonance practitioner, Laura Thompson, from Healthy Options, 3 Main Street Longford, on the subject, and she gave me quite a bit of useful information, which I shall pass on to you presently!

Good nutrition is the foundation of good health. “The body is like a network of tiny engines,” Laura tells me, “with some working in unison and some independently. All are on call for 24 hours a day. If these engines are to function correctly, they must have the right fuel. The wrong fuel will cause the engine to sputter and lose power. No fuel at all and the engine will stop. Likewise, if we want to be healthy with an abundance of energy, we must be selective of the type of fuel we feed our bodies.”

Every year, obesity becomes worse and worse. Ill health and weight problems are linked to the amount of junk and toxic-laden foods we consume. To stay healthy, we need to discipline ourselves to eat a varied diet - pizza, beans on toast, fry-ups, none of these foods, no matter how quick, cheap and easy, will do our bodies any favours. Self respect is vital. If you respect your body, you will want to nourish it.

So what about vitamin supplements? When I asked Laura what the best supplements to take would be, she recommended a good multi B complex. “Your B vitamins are very important for your energy levels, but they’re also very important for your mental energy as well, and obviously being a student, you’re going to need to be able to concentrate. They’re also very important for the conversion of fat into energy, so they play a role also in your metabolism, and they also help you to absorb iron. The problem with B vitamins is they tend to be water soluble, so the body doesn‘t store it, so you need to get it into your system on a regular basis.” So, if you want to take a supplement, and only one supplement, go for a multi B complex.

Winter is coming, and I asked Laura her advice on getting our immune systems boosted and ready to fight off the colds and flus that this season always brings with it. “Your vitamin C is probably the most popular vitamin,” says Laura. “you can actually buy a mega B complex which also has 1000mg of vitamin C as well.” So, this has not only the B vitamins our bodies crave, but vitamin C too, which will help us fight off bugs in the winter months, and this is also quite affordable for students.

“Obviously your diet is very important, and its important to eat hot foods,” Laura continues, “try to have lots of soups and casseroles and stews. I know students generally don’t like cooking, but you could always make a really big pot of soup, or casserole, and have it over a period of a few days.”

Obviously the exams are coming up before Christmas, so now is the time to get your brain ready. I asked Laura for her advice on combating stress. Again, the magical B vitamin is advised, as it helps your mental health, but if you want a little extra coming up to exam time, try some fish oils, such as omega 3. “We’ve all heard of the salmon of knowledge,” Laura tells me, “and there’s a lot of truth to the story. Fish oils are very important for your memory and concentration, and they also help your recall. People have a lot of knowledge in their heads, but trying to recall it when you’re under pressure can often be difficult. So taking your fish oils is very important. Omega 3 is also a feel good fish oil. They make you feel happier in yourself, and help prevent depression. That would be my favourite one for students.”

There are some vitamin supplements designed specifically for exams, and one of these is called Balance for Nerves. But what is it? “Balance for Nerves,” Laura informs me, “is made up of amino acids and B vitamins, and its really to help your concentration levels when you’re stressed. You can have great concentration and great recall, but add a bit of stress to that and it becomes difficult to get that information from your head and onto the paper.” And some extremely important advice when taking these: “Don’t wait until the day before your exam to take it. Now is the time to really start looking for these things and get a build up of them in your system.”

So, what I gathered from this interview is basically the following: take vitamin B!! It converts fat to energy, it helps concentration, it gives you energy, it helps your metabolism, and in turn your weight, it prevents depression, there’s one kind that has vitamin C which helps the immune system, its affordable, it combats stress, and the best part? Its not even a drug so its perfectly safe to take!

Laura’s top tips for a healthier lifestyle:

• Eat a wide variety of fresh fruit and vegetables. This is essential for a healthy body. Try to add fruit to your daily diet - even if its just a glass of fruit juice or a topping for your cereal.
• Try to cut out all highly processed foods, which contain a high amount of hidden salt and sugar.
• Look for foods that are high in essential fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, seeds and some grains. These are vital for healthy brain function, good metabolism and great skin.
• When looking for a good source of energy, turn to the wholegrain variety of carbohydrates, instead of energy drinks, chocolate or sugar.
• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Try to have a wholegrain cereal such as oats or wheat. Avoid the over-processed sugary cereal such as the frosted or chocolate varieties.
• Stay away from the frying pan and stick to grilling and steaming. This will help prevent obesity or disease.
• Cut down on salt as it causes fluid retention and high blood pressure.
• Protein is vital for proper muscle and growth development, and should be consumed daily. Good quality sources of protein are met, eggs, nuts, beans and seeds.
• Another vital element to a healthy body is exercise. Try to be as active as you can and exercise daily. Try walking or cycling to college if you live nearby, rather than driving. Join a sports club, or go for a 30 minute walk in the evenings. Not only will exercise keep you in shape, it will also increase well-being, elevate moods and reduce anxiety and depression.

12 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson

And He Will Always Be A Rock 'n' Roll Nerd

Tim Minchin at the Bulmers Comedy Festival

Published in Sin Newspaper on 1 Nov 2011.

Tim Minchin Showing a bit of passion while he plays.

The dry ice swirls across the stage, twisting its way around the Steinway piano that awaits its master’s touch. I sit in the seat directly in front of the piano stool. I’ve been at the venue since seven o’ clock, specifically to get this seat. Finally, at eight o’ clock, my hero strolls down through the hall and hops effortlessly onto the stage, to cheers and shouts from the audience.

“There’s a special elevator we’re supposed to go down,” he says, jovially, “but I couldn’t, so I walked all the way down here from my hotel room!” He then proceeds to feel his way along the curtain at the back of the stage, searching for an exit from the stage. “Do you know how to get off stage?” he asks an unseen man behind the curtains. “There’s a man off-stage who doesn’t even know how to get off stage!”

Soon he works his magic on the Steinway, playing sweet music for the ears of the hundreds of watching fans. He wears a white shirt, a black tie, black skinny jeans, and a suit jacket, which is soon removed. His hair is backcombed, as usual, and there is dark eye-liner around his eyes. As always, he plays the piano barefooted.

Not only is Tim a hilarious comedian, but he is a genius on the piano. As he breaks into ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Nerd’, I can’t help, as a pianist, wishing I had his skill - and his piano for that matter. The Steinway is considered the best piano in the world, and as he plays it, I can understand why. But enough ramblings about the piano, lets get back to the pianist!

An alarm goes off somewhere in the middle of the lounge, and Tim explains that it goes off when he’s telling a terrible long-winded joke, for which the punch line isn’t worth the time it takes to tell. “Which means,” he adds, “it will be going off a lot.” The audience bursts into laughter as he asks their forgiveness. He turns to the man on my left, “Man in a suit,” he implores, “forgive me?” The man in the suit nods, delighted to be acknowledged by his hero, and Tim returns to the piano, muttering “always so forgiving, the man in a suit”.

Tim leaps into the air, spins around and plays the final
note of 'Dark Side' with his foot!

Tim plays his way through a number of his songs, including ‘Context’, ‘Prejudice’ and ‘Storm’. Though he doesn’t play ‘Canvas Bags’ - one of my favourites - he plays ‘If I Didn’t Have You’ - a song dedicated to his wife, claiming that he’d have someone else if he didn’t have her. The song is made even funnier by the little wiggle he does between verses.

The finale, however, is the most impressive part of the show. He finishes on the same song he has finished on since he started performing solo six years ago. He jokes about trying to write a new song; “until finally, about three months ago… I gave up.” And why wouldn’t he? ‘Dark Side’ is probably his masterpiece. With fantastic solos, hilarious vocals and even a bit at the end where he jumps in the air, spins around, and uses his foot to play the final notes - true story!! Of course, he was called back for an encore, and played a truly beautiful song - ‘Not Perfect’

Apart from the four lads beside me in the front row who tried singing along, but hadn’t a note in their heads, this gig was definitely one of the best I’ve ever been to! Tim, you are my hero!!

1 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson

An Audience With Brian Friel

I have written an article on Brian Friel for studentnews.ie. However, I also wrote a separate one for Sin newspaper. This was published on 1 Nov 2011.



“Is he Brian Friel?” my fellow journalist, Ian Colgan, whispered to me, during a speech a young debater was reciting to the audience. I laughed and wrote this in my reporter’s notebook immediately.

Brian Friel, renowned playwright from the north of Ireland was due to visit NUI Galway on Thursday 20 Oct, yet here we were in the middle of a debate about the occupation movement in Wall Street, Dame Street, and even Eyre Square, though I wouldn’t call that small number of tents much of a protest.

But the occupation movement is another story entirely. I walked into this mysterious world of “Lit ‘n’ Deb”, expecting to meet the author of plays many of use have studied, such as Philadelphia Here I Come, Dancing at Lughnasa, and Translations, and what I got was a debate based on a movement that had absolutely nothing to do with literature!

As riveting and interesting as this debate was, with its strange ways - dinging a bell at random moments, banging on tables and calling “hear, hear!” when someone said something they agreed with - I had to wait an hour to review the event I had come to review.

Finally, at eight o clock, Brian Friel arrived. Though I couldn’t question him, as he would not be taking questions, it was nice to sit back and just listen.

The playwright arrived, leaning on a black cane, with a fancy silver handle. He wore a smary grey suit and a checked shirt. He hobbled onto the stage, while the audience applauded him. There was a moment’s silence as he got his bearing, and then he spoke.

The "awfully coy picture" to which Friel referred.
Picture taken from here

He began by commenting on the “embarrassing title” of the talk, and the “awfully coy picture” of him which was projected onto the screen behind him, and had been taken 50 years previous.

Then came the important part - the reason we had all gathered in this hall and sat through a debate. The room went quiet and the playwright began to read. He read two extracts from his play, Making History. It certainly was an experience, sitting there, watching his hand gestures, taking in his change in manner as he swapped between the characters in the play. Here was the play, read aloud by the man who wrote it - the way it was supposed to be read.

The reading lasted 20 minutes or so, and Brian Friel was presented with an award before hobbling off the stage, again leaning on his cane. It is then that I got to meet the man, and I must admit he looked a lot more frail close up. He took my steady hand in his trembling one, and greeted me quietly, asking me to repeat my name a number of times, before signing the back of my reporters notebook. I left the hall feeling like I’d met a celebrity. I may have had to wait a little longer than expected, but I got what I came for.

1 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson