Wednesday’s edition of Morning Focus was a busy one, and began with the tale of a Clare musician who found himself at the centre of a media storm, and a health crisis, all in one.
The Ruby Princess cruise ship has been the focus of much ire in Australia, after hundreds of COVID-19 cases were linked with its passengers, after they had disembarked in Sydney. Corofin’s Killian Shannon had been working on board the ship as a member of the Emerald Tide traditional music group, and was among hundreds of staff and crew who weren’t allowed to leave the ship, and had been confined to a guest cabin on board for over a month, before they were allowed to leave earlier this week. Killian also contracted COVID-19 during that time, albeit a mild case, as he told Gavin:
Next, following on from the announcement that all mass gatherings are to be cancelled for the summer ahead, we focused on one such event that had already fallen to the wayside. The annual Darkness Into Light walks in aid of Pieta House provide 40% of the charity’s income but had to be postponed off of its proposed May 9th date. Other fundraising initiatives are planned to support the charity, including a concert on their Facebook page this coming Saturday.
Regional manager Tom McEvoy, and singer Don Mescall spoke about the issues on the show today:
Pieta House support services remain in operation, and they can be contacted on 1800 247247.
Today is Earth Day, and in tandem with that, Denis Dineen of the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland joined us to highlight how Ireland is in danger of having to pay considerable costs as a result of our failure to meet EU Emissions targets.
Next, we revealed Anthony Daly as Clare’s COVID-19 Community Outreach Champion. A Champion is being appointed to each county in Ireland, to help co-ordinate local responses to the virus. Further details are available here.
Gavin spoke with Anthony, and also with Michael Neylon of Clare County Council about the initiative, while we also heard the former Clare captain and manager’s thoughts on whether All Ireland Championships could be held this year.
Next, Irene Gibson of Croí gave us advice for people with hart disease at this time. Croí are provided telephone supports on 091 544310 and on www.croi.ie
Johnny Duhan told us about his ‘Songs From A Cell’ that he’s broadcasting via Facebook at this time. Older gigs can be watched now on his Facebook page and the next one is live on Monday at 7:30.
Finally, John Underhill of Burren Vets spoke about fleas in small animals and clostridial deaths in lambs as part of his weekly slot.
