GALWAY CITIZENS OFFERTO SAVE SENIOR HOME
Several Good Samaritans have come forward offering to make the necessary refurbishments to St Francis' public nursing home in Upper Newcastle to save it from closure.
This follows a HSE West decision last year to close the home as a residential facility in the wake of an inspection by the HSE regulator HIQA that made several recommendations to enable it to meet new nursing home standards, the Galway Advertiser reports.
The move has met with strong opposition and a petition organized by former mayor and vice chairperson of the HSE West's regional health forum Councilor Catherine Connolly to save the 33-year-old home from closure has collected 8,000 signatures. It hopes to meet its 10,000 target by next month. The campaign was held at Shop Street every Saturday throughout July and also outside St Joseph's Church, the Sacred Heart Church in Westside and the Cathedral.
"The feedback has been one of outrage at the decision to close such a wonderful facility," Connolly said.
Residential services for older people are a basic human right and must be seen as a core public service, the councilor added.
KILDARE ARTIST HONORED AT PALACE
The former Newbridge bank manager who painted portraits of Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Ireland last spring traveled to Buckingham Palace earlier this month to formally present one of the works, the Leinster Leader reports.
The queen is staying at her Scottish residence in Balmoral for August, but Michael Hanrahan was given a private tour accompanied by his children Aisling, Daniel, Sinéad and Orla.
They were treated to tea and shortbread biscuits embossed with the Royal Insignia. "We were nearly afraid to eat them," Hanrahan joked.
"The most exciting part of the visit was before we entered the palace," he said. "When we arrived in a Bentley, people were taking photographs of me and my family. The crowds came over and people were waving and clapping - for a moment I felt like a star! It was something special to be invited to Buckingham Palace and they were very good to us and very kind."
Lahinch, Co. Clare-based Hanrahan was the only artist formally accredited to cover the visit of the British monarch.
Hanrahan, who painted the All Ireland hurling final last year and games at Aviva Stadium, was due to cover Michael Flatley's "Lord of the Dance" at the Cliffs of Moher next week, but the performances have been cancelled.
WESTMEATH CHILD WITH HEART PROBLEM RESCUED
A woman and her two-year-old child were seriously injured in a house fire in Mullingar early Monday, Irish media outlets report.
Two gardai, who entered the burning house without respirators, rescued the little girl who was trapped in an upstairs bedroom after attempts by neighbors had failed. The child, Maddie, had open-heart surgery last May. Sharon Gahan, 30, and Anthony Maloney, 31, and their three other daughters, aged 13, 7 and 6, escaped through an upstairs window.
All six occupants of the house at Grange Crescent were removed to the Midlands Regional Hospital in Mullingar. Two of the children were subsequently transferred to Our Lady's Children's Hospital, in Crumlin, Dublin. The two gardai were also treated for smoke inhalation.
Supt. John Gantly has appealed for information. He said gardaí had conducted door-to-door inquiries and a forensic examination of the scene. It is understood CCTV footage from a neighbor's house is also being examined.
