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ÁINE RYAN IS 11-years-old, and is from Raheen in Limerick.
She’s just had surgery for a brain tumour, and now faces treatment with radiation and chemotherapy.
Áine is also helping to raise money for charity, with her family, friends and the local community rallying together to support her and her cause.
“She’s super, she really is”
Her mother, Trish, told TheJournal.ie that, following surgery, Áine’s condition is quickly improving.
“She’s doing great,” Trish said. “She’s the healthiest child in Ireland. She had very slight symptoms but was then diagnosed with a brain tumour.
She was diagnosed on 1 September, and then had a big, big operation on 8 September. Áine was treated by really brilliant people in Beaumont, and she was just so patient through it all.
Now set for an intensive period of post-surgery therapy, Trish said the Knitivity campaign was a great way to give back after the care she received, as well as a distraction for what’s ahead.
“The local priest rang me,” Trish said. “He asked if there was anything they could do to help.
We’d the seen the sign [about Knitivity], and we knew people could knit. I thought it’d be a great way to give back. All the staff here were wonderful from the get go. Áine’s thrown herself into it.
Trish said that the local community has responded magnificently.
“It’s lovely,” she said. “People that I might have worked with years ago. Everyone came out of the wordwork, with knitting groups and the lot.”
How does it work?
Knitivity is an initiative from the Beaumont Hospital Foundation, inviting people countrywide to knit one, or all of, three Christmas characters.
The resulting decorative figures will be sold in gift bags, along with a card identifying the name and county of origin of the knitter.
They cost €15, with all proceeds going to the foundation. They can be bought at the hospital itself, online here, or at Haven pharmacies nationwide.
There are already over 300 knitters around the country, with the hospital preparing for thousands of knitted elves, reindeers and Santas to hit the shelves in the coming weeks.
People who want to take part are sent patterns for each of the characters, ID cards to put their name on the figure and an optional message to give the purchaser. They can then freepost their knitted figures back.
The Beaumont Hospital Foundation raises money to help provide the 400,000 patients who go through their doors every year better care.
“It’s terrible for any parent to go through, but I’m 100% confident Áine will make a full recovery,” Trish said.
This was just a way of giving back, something for her to focus on, and it’s gone so well. Everyone’s reaction has just been lovely and I’d encourage people to get involved if they can.
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Make the Christian Brothers an illegal organisation, seize their assets, remove their tax breaks, until they make some effort to cooperate with the high courts in compensating the children they raped.
@Dermot Blaine: I have a family member who was sexually abused by these Christian brothers over 50 times while in school so I agree with you. China has declare Islam as a mental illness and I believe the world will be a better place if all religions were declares as a mental illness. FFG oversaw them for over 80 years so until someone new comes into govt I can only imagine the real impact Christianity had on Irish families and not enough are speaking out about this life-ruining trauma from “holy” religions
@Dermot Blaine: id love to see this but it will never happen the government don’t have the balls to even change the law so a class action be taken against then in the irish court. 100′s or 1000′s of victims taken a class action would sort them out.
@The Gate Florist: the unChristian Brothers are being sued in the high court by their victims. In order for the cases to proceed the they have to appoint a representative to the High Court, which they have refused to do for several years now. It’s a scandal and actually in a way, a continuation of the abuse that they want us to think is historical. They are an obnoxious shower of creeps, but half our TDs or more, will defend them and refuse to go after them.
@9QRixo8H: I have heard liberalism described as a mental disorder. I would be careful who you cite. Funny, if you were chinses I could invision you persecuting the Uyghurs.
@Oh Mammy: adults believing in an imaginary friend is the very definition of mental illness. Not to mention believing they eat his body and drink his blood at their religious ceremonies. Bonkers stuff that no sane person would believe unless they were brainwashed into from the cradle.
@Dermot Blaine: that’s your opinion and you are entitled to it. Many do not share you opinion and they are entitled to theirs.
@Oh Mammy: of course. But stop indoctrinating your beliefs into children, until they at least reach the age of reason, at which point they’d probably laugh at the idea of an imaginary friend in the sky.
@Dermot Blaine: aren’t you pushing your doctrine right here, right now?
@Oh Mammy: no, I’m sharing an opinion with what I assume are grown adults, not impressionable children. I’m sure you can spot the difference.
@Dermot Blaine: my opinion is that you are, absolutely, entitled to yours and me to mine. If I may be so bold, could I get an Amen?
@Dermot Blaine: The Beverley sisters.
@9QRixo8H: you are a nasty troll and well as a person that fails miserably when it comes to reading comprehension. You are a belles endus maximus.
@9QRixo8H:
Many *humans* have done, and continue to do, great and abominable harm in the *corrupted* name of Religion.
But that doesn’t mean we should all turn into spiteful, mean spirited, hateful, Secular Fascists like the French! Or the Chinese!!
Majority of even Atheist, and anti-Theist, people still cannot see how Israel is *exactly the same* as ISIS – a Fascistic Political ideology that has *hijacked* and *corrupted* the true Tenets of each of the Faiths, while simultaneously exploiting those weak in the knowledge & understanding of their faith or psychologically vulnerable (including minors&victims of domestic coercion/overt abuse).
Heck, even in Ireland, Loyalists somehow managed to muddle and mix Religion with Political Ideology – a very specifically targeted eugenics&fascitic ideology that no other Protestants elsewhere in the world seem to share!!!
(Although, in broader more general terms, eugenics is certainly the historic purview of all Protestant-dominant Colonial Projects).
So what good could it really do to Fascistically outlaw Freedom of Faith!?
Freedom of Religion is enshrined and protected in both National and International Laws.
And, quite frankly, you are never going to stop every human being from believing in a “Magic Man in the Sky”, or more generally – “the mystical” aspect of the reality of Human Existence.
To be human is to believe . . . .*in something*.
Even if it is only Humanity itself ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Beliefs exist to smack you down & challenge you to get back up & re-invest your faith in them.
Truly, though, it is the *humans* that are the most challenging divils to try to sustain your faith in.
Such is the path of the ever bewildered Humanitarian Atheist
>le sigh<
@Dermot Blaine: Well now Dermot. That is an entirely Protestant disposition – taking things full throttle *literally*.
Catholics do not, and were never meant to, believe that “the body and blood of Christ” were or are actual literal pieces of biological matter.
Indeed, the whole Catholic system of belief is *supposed to be* entirely mystical alchemy whimsy.
*And* understood as such!!
It is the *Protestant* “religion” that has driven much of Christianity into beligerant and militant literalism.
@Dermot Blaine:
…although fully agree with putting a separation of Church and State prohibition in place to prevent the indoctrination of Children.
In particular an immediate cessation on the truly perverse and paedophilic practice of putting 7yr old little girls in (“purity”/”virginal”) white dresses.
It is truly disgusting. And wholly unnecessary.
No minor should be committing to any Religion until the age of 16, minimum!!
This is why I simultaneously believe that “multi-denominational” should mean also the secular and clinical *teaching of* the true tenets of the major denominations.
Not the teaching of, or neglect to, Secular ignorance.
We might produce far far less Zionist Zealots across 3 Religions, or indeed any&all headbanger zealots (*”extremists”*) of any&all Faiths, if the State held a tighter rein on legitimacy of Theological Teachings & Curriculum.
Incredible disdain for all the staff shown by Minister Norma Foley, totally unacceptable, one disaster after another, the School Bus shambles still isn’t sorted.
@SV3tN8M4: I get the impression she is a six-pack without the plastic thingy to hold them all together.
@William Slevin: get the Churches, all of them, out of our schools now. Brainwashing children into believing medieval superstitious nonsense is a, form of child abuse too.
@Dermot Blaine: and governmental indoctrination will fill the void. I believe that is far worse.
@Oh Mammy: If it was an actual, possible or probable thing it would be. But it’s not.
@Oh Mammy: No it is not.
@Gerry Lamont: but it will
@Jack Hayes: it is very probable. It’s in the mail my friend.
Is this a secondary school? Like, will a history teacher who has always taught in English now have to teach the same curriculum but in Irish?
@ecrowley ecrowley: As a former CBS pupil that came through the A stream that was essentially the precursor of the Gaelscoil I think that it is an impediment for anyone who is bad at languages. For the majority of students I would recommend being taught through the medium of English. Latin has been of benefit since leaving school. Irish was a waste of time.
@Vincent Alexander: That’s a very different issue. But it’s unfair on teachers to have to change the language of the subject they’ve been teaching. Secondary teachers shouldn’t be expected to have a good standard of Irish. It’s different in primary school as Gaeilge is par for the course. You can’t just set up a Gaelscoil for secondary school and expect teachers to jump right in.
@ecrowley ecrowley:
In about 7 years.
Yes.
But a conversion course/PhD/Masters in ‘Education through medium of Irish’ or some such should only take 18 months, IF they are willing to or want to do it.
There is one for Primary, in Marino, I think.
So I’m sure DCU, UCD and/or Trinity also have an intensive short course that can prepare and support Teachers in transitioning through languages within the context of their field of qualification (Geography/Maths/English/Mechanical Drawing/Woodwork/Art/Music/History/Physics/Chemistry/Biology/JC Science/JC Business/LC Accounting/LC Economics etcetera).
However, everyone has 5-7 years to consider what they want to do.
And meanwhile, fresh blood Gaelgóirí Graduates can take on the new entrants through their Junior Cycle until crunch time on who is able or willing to teach both JC and LC as Gaeilge.
@ecrowley ecrowley:
Why should it be “different in Primary School”?
The answer is – it shouldn’t.
Why can’t you just set up a Gaeilscoil for Secondary?
Answer – yes you can.
And what’s more, this one has been coming down the tracks for a long, long, time.
Where there are Primaries . . .there inevitably *must be* Secondaries to feed into.
We are 100 years into Freedom from the Anglophone Oppressor, and what have we actually achieved in indigenous Language Revival?
FA.
That’s wot.
Next to nada.
Despite not having all of Ulster. We have so much more and far far greater opportunity to restore our indigenous identity than *any other* post-Colonial Nation.
And, indeed, the fós Occupied & Displaced First Nations of America, Australia, Greenland, and the tri-Faith Holy Land of Palestine.
Nobody is being coerced into “jumping right in” with immediate effect.
First Years ain’t coming for another year.
And Leaving Cert Cycle Teachers wont be required for another 6 years from now.
Obviously Dept of Gaeltacht *and* Dept of Edu’ should to co-fund post-Graduate [subject translation/conversion] courses for any Teachers that wish to take up translating their course material and teaching communication tríd Gaeilge.
Foley is incorrect. Should be fooley
Not agreeing with the way this is done but the only way to keep irish alive is Gaelscoil
Brendan O’Bries is Jack the Ripper. He built a vegan friendly time machine.
Honestly. Everyone needs to just calm down.
Kewl da jets dere lads!
If anyone is due the rage & backlash from Teachers or Parents, it should be *Norma Foley*.
Not the Trust or the Principal.
“Normies” sneakily *snaked* that announcement out from under the Trust and the Principal just to grab the glory and public adulation on TG4.
She must have had some sort of incling that she was going to be roasted on TG4 over the Coalition’s multi-decade-long *contempt* for the indigenous Language, and in particular contempt for multigenerational residents of the (initially) State-supported/State-protected Gaeltacht areas who can now no longer House their multiple generations within the Language strongholds.
…and if there is shortage of houses for young people/young couples. What inevitably follows is shortage of places at non-French Montessori but rather Montessori-as-Gaeilge, agus na Gaeilscoileanna (Bunscoil agus Meánscoil).
But seriously. What a truly horrible mean spirited thing to do to any group of staff, but especially staff serving the Foundation of our Nation and Civilization.
FFG have had nothing short of absolute persistent *contempt* for Civilization-making Public Staff (Teachers, Gards, Nurses, Doctors, Fire Fighters, Paramedics, and the wider general public Sanitation Services from Council Workers to the [Agri-biz assault on] EPA to Sewage Dumping).
But lookit lads.
It might have been a shockingly sudden announcement.
But it is by no means a shockingly sudden or dramatic change for employees at the school!!
There are a whole 7 academic YEARS before Teaching-through-English ceases at the school.
Can we not be thankful for that?
Nobody is losing their jobs *next year* in a squeeze between “quit, or learn to teach through Irish”.
All the current Leaving Cert cycle, AND Junior Cert cycle (this year’s & next year’s, 1st years) still have to complete their program through English.
And as for the Algophobic puritans…
… again…. kewl da jets babes!
I’m sure the school can handle a schoolyard and/or buildings linguistic segregation between Junior Cycle and Senior Cycle.
After all, the fact is, growing up in an *after-school* environment that is entirely English-speaking (shops near school+buses+home+extra-curriculars/sports clubs) is gonna scupper the gains regardless.
To be clear: there is NO Secondary Gaeilscoil in Dublin that can stop, or even tries to stop, English-speaking during breaktimes.
Not even those attempting to assert a certain area of Dublin has somehow definitely become designatable as a “Gaeltacht”.
**F-A-C-T**
Doesn’t exist, anywhere, no matter what “they” claim!
Tough titty!
For Dublin 8 to have any hope of retaining after-school Gaeilge they would have to consider opening up Sporting Liberties’ minimalist ask & concept for ‘just a Sports field’ into a multi-storey multi-sport indoor facility (with rootop outdoor pitch, alongside the Renewables, if really desired!), with Community Hall facilities that might facilitate after-school Homework Clubs/supervision as Gaeilge, Coláiste na bhFiann’s ‘Cumann na bhFiann (Social Youth Club strictly ‘as Gaeilge’), and Comhaltas (tríd Ghaeilge).
*And hire young staff from the school* to hold the part-time bilingual job positions.
And get a swimming pool put in while yeer at it!!
And grab a TONNE of income off of those Dublin 6 and 4 Mammies & Daddies for all the after-school services!! ;-P
But mostly, let’s *really* give Dublin 8, and Dublin Gaeilgóirs, more than they are asking for, and everything they deserve.
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