I have made my feeling on the state of mental health services in Ireland known in asides many times. But this Mental Health Day highlighted the disconnect between what the Irish government and its various agencies claims, and what they put into practise. The Green Ribbon (#EndtheStigma) campaign caught the support of numerous politicians. The
Category: Ireland
Are you the subject of debate? Not a debater or a judge but a motion waiting to be carried or defeated. And to hate someone not because they are evil but because they see you as an object for argument. Your existence is a political opinion. You are fair game for showing up. And I
And so we arrived in Galway city and hurried to leave our bags in the secure room at the Galway Sleepzone so we could get exploring. Galway has a fabulously compact city centre. The stretch between Eyre Square down Shop Street as far as Spanish Arch might have a reputation as tourist central but it
Friends, for a second imagine this is a horror movie…. Four students returning to the mainland (and by extension the real world) and find their way to the town of Clifden. They had planned to stay in the isolated Ben Lettery hostel, a beautiful spot in the shadow of another of the Bens. But following
There’s only one place to get the ferry to Inisbofin (Inis Bó Fionn – Island of the pale cow) and that’s the seaside village of Cleggan. You can also get ferries to the Aran Islands here as well as find good stables for pony trekking around the beach – but not a lot else. Getting out
Once we were on the bus to Letterfrack the hot tempers cooled. This however was not helped by our hostel, the Letterfrack Lodge calling and letting us know that due to a double booking they had to move us to another hostel in the village, the Bard’s Den. We were pretty annoyed and it would stop
Following Westport we managed to get to the Connemara Sleepzone hostel between Killary and Leenane. If you’re looking for a quiet break this is a fabulous spot. Good value and they do group deals. Stay and enjoy for €16-€20 a night. There’s a pool table and a bar, a TV with a good DVD collection,
So back in August of 2010 I went on a trip down the west coast of Ireland with three friends who do not want to be named (so let’s call them A, T and L) going from Westport to Galway city over eight days. Westport is gorgeous little place, where we stayed in the Old
