Cork County Public Participation Meeting

 Cork County Public Participation Meeting 

Wednesday 29^th April at the Kingsley Hotel, Carrigrohane Road, at 7pm

The main purpose of the meeting will be to elect candidates to the Secretariat, which is the governing body of the PPN going forward. 

Candidates will have an opportunity to make a short address to the meeting of no more than two minutes, in support of their candidacy.

Reminder Dr Fergus Heffernan to speak in Ballineen This Wednesday

An evening with
Dr  Fergus Heffernan

Manage your Life By
Managing your Mind

Dr Fergus Heffernan will be sharing his insights and observations of the human family-the broad strokes cover the generic family (Mam, Dad and kids and variations thereof), the parish family, the community family and society in general. His talk will take place at the BEDA hall in Ballineen on Wed April 15th at 7.30 pm. This event is hosted by Ballineen Enniskeane Development Association in conjunction with Muintir na Tire, the HSE community Work Department Cork South and the National Office for Suicide Prevention.

This talk will be followed by a question and answer session

The evening will continue with refreshments and musical entertainment- with an opportunity to dance if you feel so inclined!

Wed April 15th 2015

7.30pm – 11pm

Open to all ages young and old, men and women

Join us for a full evening of very useful

information plus fun and entertainment.

 Groups Welcome

IF YOU ARE A GROUP WISHING TO ATTEND PLEASE  contact us by phone with numbers

Muintir na Tíre,

8 Sidney Place,

Wellington Road,

Cork.

Tel (021) 4500688

admin@muintircork.com 

National Bowel Screening Programme

BowelScreen – The National Bowel Screening Programme is a new, government-funded screening programme.

The programme will offer a BowelScreen home test kit to women and men aged 60 to 69 every two years.

Overtime the programme will be expanded until the full 55 to 74 age group is reached. To develop the capacity to cater for the full 55 to 74 age group, the programme will be implemented on a phased basis, starting with men and women aged 60 to 69. To date over 130,000 men and women have been invited.

The BowelScreen programme is delivered by the National Screening Service. The National Screening Service also provides BreastCheck - The National Breast Screening Programme and CervicalCheck - The National Cervical Screening Programme.

Bowel cancer is also known as colon, rectal or colorectal cancer. The bowel screening test looks for tiny amounts of blood which are not visible to the eye. Bowel screening does not tell if there is bowel cancer but it might tell that more tests are needed. for more details on Bowelscreen go to http://www.bowelscreen.ie/

About the BowelScreen programme

The primary goal of BowelScreen – the national bowel screening programme, run by the National Screening Service (NSS), is to reduce mortality from colorectal cancer in men and women aged 55-74 in Ireland. A two page fact-sheet for health professionals about BowelScreen is available for download here.

The BowelScreen colorectal screening programme will offer free screening to men and women aged 55-74 on a two-yearly cycle. To develop capacity for the full population, the programme will be implemented on a phased basis, starting with men and women aged 60-69. Over 130,000 have already been invited since start of the programme (May 2014). This age group has the highest incidence of cancer within the wider age range. The maximum benefit in terms of reduction in mortality and cost-effectiveness will occur when the programme targets the full 55-74 age population.

Eligible men and women who indicate they wish to take part in the screening programme will be sent a screening test kit called a faecal immunochemical test (FIT). The test looks for the presence of blood, that is not visible to the eye, in the bowel motion.

The simple and easy-to-use test kit will include step-by-step instructions for self-administration of the test at home. The completed test can then be sent by Freepost to an accredited laboratory for analysis.

Approximately 94 per cent of people will receive a normal test result and will be sent another home test kit in two years’ time while they remain within the eligible age range.

Five to six per cent of people will receive a not normal result following the home test kit and will require an additional test.

They will be offered a screening colonoscopy (an investigation of the lining of the bowel) at a hospital-based screening colonoscopy unit contracted by the NSS to provide this service.

Each person will be contacted by a nurse, who will assess the person’s suitability for colonoscopy and then guide them through the colonoscopy process. In the event that further treatment or surgery is required, defined pathways have been developed in conjunction with the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP).

Each person will give their GP's details when they indicate they wish to take part in the programme. The GP will be sent copies of their client's correspondence with the BowelScreen programme - here is more information about the BowelScreen journey.

The NSS would like to express its continued appreciation for the role of GPs and the wider primary care community in supporting our screening programmes. With the support of the primary care community, the NSS is confident that BowelScreen can make a very real difference to the health of people in Ireland.

Reminder Volunteer Management Training Course

Cork Volunteer Centre will be running a Volunteer Management Training Course over two days, April 15th and April 22nd, at Civic Trust House, Popes Quay, Cork City. The course consists of four modules:
Module 1:  Planning for Volunteer Involvement
Module 2:  Volunteer Recruitment and Selection
Module 3:  Day-to-day Management of Volunteers
Module 4:  Designing a Policy for Volunteer InvolvementAttendance on both days is required for successful completion of the course. All participants who complete the course will receive a certificate.Places are limited to 12 and will be secured on a first come, first served basis. The cost per participant is €50 and this covers course materials.  The course is aimed at representatives from voluntary and community organisations interested in recruiting, managing, maintaining and supporting volunteers.

Please contact Cork Volunteer Centre on 021-4396510 for further information

Gardening News From Michael at GIY Ireland

April is the banker month in the veg patch and the first of three really busy months - sowing duties really ramp up a gear and we will shortly start hardening off little seedlings getting ready for planting out. In our regular ezine next week I will be writing about sowing peas and onions, both of which I sow in early April, direct in the ground outside.  I always get a good deal of satisfaction from having sown my onions, as I do with any main crop that's only sown once a year - I love the idea that a single sowing can lead to a position of self-sufficiency (or close) for a particular veg.  I sow approximately 250 onion sets (baby onions) which all going well will provide us with enough onions from August to April next year.  The variety Stuttgart featured below is a really reliable performer.

With peas, I do a sowing now in early April, and then a second one in late May.  This year I am growing more sugarsnap and mangetout varieties on the basis that they're easier to work with than the varieties that have to be podded.  I love peas, but I am also rather lazy when it comes to it.  Also this month I will be sowing: cabbage, kohlrabi, brussels sprouts, beetroot, celery, courgette, kale, perpetual spinach, swede, swiss chard and my main crop potatoes.  Check out our full variety of seeds in the GIY seed shop here and remember that most of our seeds are great value at just €2 per pack.

We've spoken many times here in GIY about the wonders of the oscillating hoe - it's a wonderful tool (see below) and at this time of the year I use it regularly to prevent weeds from getting established.  This is a crucial time of the year to get on top of weeds that (like everything else) are in major growth mode.  An oscillating hoe makes light work of it.

Hardly seems possible but Shona is busy editing the summer edition of GROW as we speak - to get your quarterly copy of the definitive GIY magazine and some free seeds, sign up to become a GIY supporter for just €35 a year - details here.

Have a wonderful GIY month.  Give peas a chance..

Michael

HERITAGE CHURCHES OF COUNTY CORK

The County of Cork is steeped in Heritage, particularly when it relates to the County’s Christian places of worship. Since the advent of Christianity in the 4^th/5^th century and right up to the recent past, the County has been blessed with a wealth of Christian sites, namely the churches, both past and present, which form such a prominent part of the County’s landscape and its history in general.

Following on from the success of the recent publications "Heritage Bridges of County Cork" in 2013 and “Heritage Houses of County Cork” in 2014, the Heritage Unit of Cork County Council, supported by the Heritage Council, is to undertake a publication on the Heritage Churches of County Cork in 2015.

The publication will provide a background to the Christian sites of worship where we as Corkonians have prayed in from earliest times right up to the recent past. It will cover an extensive range of church types and places and will also include a feature section on approximately 30 different churches within the County. These will draw from a wide chronological period covering the Early Medieval Period (4^th/5^th to 11^th century); the High Medieval Period (12^th to 14^th century), the Late Medieval Period (15^th to 16^th century), and up to the Post Medieval Period (17^th to 19^th century). The publication will examine the archaeology, architecture and social context of these Christian places of worship and will include a number of interesting stories, facts and figures.

One of the most important elements of this publication, if not the most important, is the input of local heritage groups and enthusiasts. The Heritage Bridges and Heritage Houses publications both benefited from a huge number of public submissions including photos for use, stories, and indeed lists of recommended sites that should be featured in the book(s). With respect to the Heritage Churches of County Cork, the Heritage Unit would be delighted to see a similar response in 2015. If there are any Christian places of worship in your area that you feel would warrant inclusion in the publication we would welcome any specific information/stories/photos that you may have to share and such details can be emailed to conor.nelligan@corkcoco.ie and/orcork.heritage@corkcoco.ie. All submissions will be given due consideration and it is anticipated that a significant number will feature in the publication. Should you be interested in engaging with the Heritage Unit of Cork County Council on this project please submit any and all comments, details and photos by Friday 01^st May 2015.

Muintir na Tire AGM Cork County Federation

Invitation

Annual General  Meeting 

of Cork County Federation 

Muintir na Tíre

Thursday April 30th @ 8pm

Ballyphehane Community Centre.

Cork City

Four members of each affiliated Community Council

may attend

 Two of whom are entitled to Vote.