All About Cork: Glanmire woman raises over €4,000 for first responders 

Glanmire First Responders have thanked local woman Linda Murphy for the biggest donation they’ve ever received, after she raised more than €4,000 for them while running The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon on September 22.

Linda’s brother Henry suffered a cardiac arrest this summer, and she credits the quick response of the local Glanmire First Responders for him being with her today, particularly John Sreenan, the first responder arrived just minutes after the 999 call.

“John brought a defibrillator and had to shock Henry twice before his heart started beating again,” Ms Murphy said.

“Shortly after, the ambulance arrived, and the crew were equally amazing,” she said, adding that if it weren’t for the quick response of the local Glanmire First Responders “he wouldn’t be here with us today”.

“We truly don’t appreciate enough the life-saving work these people do, but on that day, we were profoundly grateful.”

She decided to raise funds for the first responders, fundraising in person at Ryan’s Supervalu Glanmire the Friday before the run, where she managed to raise more than €4,000.

Bryan Conlon, chairperson of the group, told The Echo: “For Glanmire Community First Responders, this is like a lottery win.”

He explained that this funding will keep them going for months, and that the funds are badly needed for the work they do.

“Even though the group supports the National Ambulance Services for cardiac and other calls, it receives no financial help from that or any other agency,” Mr Conlon said. “Our meagre finances comes from fundraising alone.

“As it happens, Linda’s fundraiser was the largest amount we ever received and we are truly grateful for it as it will keep us going, if we are careful, for 12 months.”

Mr Conlon explained: “We use our funds for repairs to training equipment, replacement defibrillator pads plus other single use medical items, insurances and payments for Garda vetting, none of which comes cheap.”

Linda and members of Nutrition The Hub Glanmire met on Friday, October 4, to present a cheque for €4,150 to Dan O’Herlihy, Bryan Conlon, Paul Sharkey, Yvonne Coughlan, John Sreenan, Alan Daly, and Eddie O’Mahony of the Glanmire Community First Responders.

Glanmire school says farewell to principal and secretary

It was an emotional day as the principal of Gaelscoil Uí Drisceoil in Glanmire, Siobhán Ní Chatháin, and her husband Liam Ó Mathúna, the school secretary, worked their final day before retirement.

Incoming principal Padraig Ó Céilleachair told The Echo: “They’ve been in the school for 18 years, so it was really like the end of an era.”

The school opened in 2006 in the old Christian’s Rugby Club, and there was 17 in the first class, he said.

“Then, in 2011, they moved to our new building where the Ibis hotel was, and over the years it grew to become a pillar of the community.”

There are 389 pupils in the school now, and pupils past and present gathered with staff to say goodbye to Siobhán and Liam in a ceremony that represented the school and its students.

The ceremony featured Irish dancing choreographed by Mary McCarthy, who owns a local dance school, a performance from the choir led by Rachel O’Brien from the Sonatina Music Academy, and a song put together by pupils of CADA teacher Kelly-Ann Murphy.

“Our fabulous past pupils came back to be part of the school band which was led by past parent Lesya, and we had guest speakers including our chairperson and our patron,” Mr Ó Céilleachair added.

Presentations were made to the couple who had contributed so much to the school and its students over the last 18 years.

Mr Ó Céilleachair added: “The ceremony really showcased the strong culture and tradition of Irish language and Irish heritage in the school, and how student centred it is.

“It honoured all that Siobhán and Liam have done for the school, really building it from ground up, and over the transition to the new building.

“The vision to see it from a hotel into a primary school is really quite unique, and the school is amazing, a centre of learning and excellence where kids are encouraged to grow and develop.”

Children’s Books Festival events at Mayfield Library

Children’s Book Festival takes place this month, with Mayfield Library celebrating with a range of exciting events.

Visiting writers and illustrators to Mayfield Library over the course of the month include Olivia Hope with Find Your Roar; Eibhlís Carcione, author of the suitably Halloween titled, Black Gables, and Your Art on Canvas with Fabiola Lobo.

The library’s junior book club, the Pageturners, will round off the literary month on October 25 discussing Dick King-Smith’s classic, The Sheep Pig, upon which the 1995 film Babe is based.

Visitors have also been enjoying a display at the library marking 25 years of Emoji.

The display includes an all-time top ten, Irish emoji, cakes in emoji, book titles in emoji (see how many can you get) and the 2017 eponymous film.

The library is also ‘Calling All Swifties’ for an afternoon of bracelet making and a Taylor Swift sing-along on November 2, with Margaret Ginnifer, registration is in advance at mayfield_library@corkcity.ie.

Upcoming shows at St Luke’s

This weekend brings two exciting shows to Live at St Luke’s.

Irish folk/traditional musician John Francis Flynn will play on Friday, October 11, at 8pm, with doors open from 7.30. Tickets are €26 plus booking fee.

John is a founding member of the band, Skipper’s Alley, with whom he has toured extensively throughout Europe and America.

His debut album I Would Not Live Always subsequently won over critics across the board, including being MOJO magazine’s ‘Folk Album Of The Year’, and it led to him being crowned Best Singer and Best Emerging Artist at the 2021 RTÉ Folk Awards.

Folk singer-songwriter Susan O’Neill will play the venue on Saturday, October 12, with doors opening at 7.30pm and the show beginning at 8. Tickets are €26.50 plus booking fee.

Since the release of the collaboration album with Mick Flannery, In The Game, Susan has toured extensively across Europe and North America, performing both with Mick and solo.

Both of these gigs can be booked at https://www.liveatstlukes.com/, with tickets for four concerts for the Guinness Jazz Festival this month also up for sale.

Rockspring area waterworks

Further waterworks will take place on Tuesday, October 8, causing possible water outages.

Uisce Éireann has advised that mains repair works may cause supply disruptions to Rockspring Terrace, Middle Glanmire Road, and surrounding areas in Cork City.

A traffic management plan will be in place for the duration of the works, which are scheduled to take place from 10am until 2pm.

Uisce Eireann recommend those in the area allow three to four hours after the estimated restoration time for their supply to fully return.

The reference number CCI00083654 can be entered into the search bar on the Uisce Eireann website for updates.

Have Mayfield news to share? Contact Amy.Campbell@theecho.ie