Category Archives: Misc

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Michelle Ross on Claire Byrne Live last night, above, and her late brother Derek, top

Last night, fashion and beauty blogger Michelle Ross spoke on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Live about her brother Derek who died by suicide last September.

Ms Ross’s appearance followed a blog post that she wrote about Derek, who had addiction problems and suffered from depression, last week.

Recalling the night Derek died, Ms Ross told the show:

“When I talk about Derek having addiction problems, he wasn’t a full-blown addict, he kind of just dabbled in recreational drugs. He suffered really bad with depression though and he went many times to doctors and was always offered advice on taking anti-depressants which is something that he, kind of, didn’t want to do. When he was told he should take anti-depressants, he kind of thought he could try and get himself out of it.

“Months previous to him taking his own life, he had made an [suicide] attempt. Obviously he wasn’t successful at that stage and we were sent to an A&E department and, after hours of waiting to be seen, he was sent home with a letter in his hand for a referral appointment for two months’ time.”

“We got the referral letter to out local GP office. On the following morning, I contacted the office myself and just basically said to them, ‘we’ve got our referral letter’ [to go and see a psychiatrist]. He had seen a psychiatrist that night in the A&E department and they said that they couldn’t help him there. When I contacted the GP the following morning they said, ‘oh yeah, we received the referral from the hospital last night’ and they gave me an appointment for two months’ time.”

“I kicked up a bit of a fuss about that and refused to get off the phone until I got an earlier appointment. I didn’t get anything and then a friend of the family arranged for Derek to go and see a counsellor in Coolmine. And he went for that counselling session and then it kind of just went by the wayside”

“We didn’t know where to turn to. We weren’t offered any advice about any organisations that we could go to and seek help from ourselves, as a family, for Derek, and he was willing to go and get help. He wanted to get his head right but we just didn’t know what to do.”

Meanwhile, University of Limerick students Caolan O’Donnell, Ciaran Cleary and Ciaran English were in the audience.

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Last week, they made a video – for Caolan’s campaign for welfare officer at UL – which aimed to raise awareness about mental health.

Caolan (above far right) said:

“The fact that we don’t have a minister for mental health is an embarrassment. As in, it’s clearly a massive, massive issue. 131 students on average, a year in Ireland, die by suicide. How is that being ignored?”

Watch back Claire Byrne Live in full here

If only they knew… (Michelle Ross, needsnotwantsblog.com)

startrekeire

Further to Ryan Tubridy’s attack on Star Trek-watching, bedsit dwellers allegedly picking on children and celebrities online.

Ronan at Star Trek Eire fumes:

Ah now Ryan! I’ve met you at a Star Wars convention so you obviously have time for a bit of sci-fi. Your remark probably won’t go down well with Star Trek fans. It does imply that we’re all lonesome lads on social media.

Have you interviewed Patrick Stewart Ryan? Please tell him your opinions about Star Trek fans. He once objected when an interviewer described Trekkies as “weird”, calling it a “silly thing to say”. Stewart added, “How many do you know personally? You couldn’t be more wrong.”

Isaac Asimov described us: “Trekkies are intelligent, interested, involved people with whom it is a pleasure to be, in any numbers. Why else would they have been involved in Star Trek, an intelligent, interested, and involved show?”

Maybe in some crazy way you’re just angling for a role in the new Star Trek series out in 2017? ;)

Tubridy Cries Havoc and let Slip the Dogs of War (StarTrekEire)

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From top: A letter from Grant Thornton notifying a resident of Blackrock Mews, Eden in Blackrock, Cork of a rent increase last July; a letter dated January 21, notifying the resident that they must leave the property by March 18; and Blackrock Mews, Eden

Journalist Brian O’Connell spoke to Keelin Shanley on Today with Seán O’Rourke this morning about how some residents renting in the Eden residential complex in Blackrock, Cork – which has around 300 units in total – have been told they must leave their property by Friday.

Grant Thornton – which controls 127 units in the Eden complex – told Mr O’Connell that it sent letters to 35 residents in January telling them they needed to vacate their apartment by March 18, 2016.

The letters sent in January followed letters sent last July, notifying the residents of a 25 per cent increase in rent.

Mr O’Connell explained:

The land was formally owned by the Ursuline order, they put the convent and 22 acres up for sale in 2001 and it was bought for €13million. Planning was secured for up to 550 units and they were going to convert the main convent building to apartments. That undeveloped land was then sold on for a reported €30million to Pierce Construction and they were to develop the large-scale Eden residential development. It was launched in 2005. Apartments at the peak were about €330,000 each.

In 2010, Michael McAteer, from Grant Thornton, was appointed as a receiver by IBRC for part of the development and that encompassed 127 units, plus some of the undeveloped land – so about a third of the development came under control of Gran Thornton as a receiver.

It’s a very desirable location, it’s close to Blackrock, also close to the new IT hub in Mahon Point. Rent for a three-bed apartment was in an around €1,000 per month but in recent weeks some tenants have been told that there’s to be a sale of the units and they’ve been given eight weeks to leave their properties.

One tenant, Celso Lemos, a Brazilian father-of-two, has lived in Eden for five years. Mr O’Connell reported that Mr Lemos heard rumours that something was happening after Christmas but he found it hard to get information.

Mr Lemos said:

“They wouldn’t give me information. They would give me bits and pieces here and there but I had to leave because I got a letter, in mid to late January. We were given the statutory eight weeks to leave the property and there wasn’t much negotiation whatsoever…just a crude letter saying, ‘please leave by the 18th of March’.”

Mr Lemos said he’s now trying to convince his wife to move to either Holland or Germany, or move back to Brazil.

In response to questions from Mr O’Connell about the rent increase, a spokesperson from Grant Thornton said:

“Rents during 2015 (the process started April 2015) were realigned to market rental levels and tenants were all provided with adequate notice on same. A number of rental increase cases were lodged by tenants to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB)  and in each case the rent increase was upheld. The PRTB confirmed all requests for increases were in line with Market Rental levels.”

“In advance of the Receiver issuing notice to tenants, the Receiver waited until the amendment of the Residential Tenancies Act was enacted in December 2015. This act increased the notice periods to be provided to tenants thus ensured the maximum period was provided in cases where vacant possession was sought.”

The spokesperson added:

“Lisney Estate Agents based in Cork has been appointed as the sales agent and any tenants who have shown interest in purchasing their property have been directed to Lisney.”

Listen back in full here

Previously: “It’s Just The Beginning”

Pics: Brian O’Connell

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BAILER – The Binding

What you may need to know…

01. Not for no reason does the new video from Cork hardcore four-piece BAILER (a week of all-caps artist names in this column) bear a flashing-images warning.

02. The band only came together early last year, but have already released a handful of singles and developed a bruising live show in the process (despite what their goofball promo pics might lead you to believe), sharing stages with Irish metal bands like Murdock, Hero in Error and Axecatcher.

03. The Binding is the lead-off from the band’s debut EP, Shaped By the Landscape, available for digital pre-order now from their Bandcamp page, and elsewhere on April 29.

04. Mixed and mastered by Murdock’s Aidan Cunningham. Video directed and edited by Rob O’Halloran.

Verdict: Very seldom does a band come together as coherently in such a short space of time, and, while Bailer’s blend of various strains of metal and hardcore might not be everyone’s cup of tay the band’s growing live rep speaks for itself.

BAILER

gpo

Last night.

GPO, O’Connell Street, Dublin

Inner City Helping Homeless writes:

Last night Dublin’s GPO was manned by four members of An Garda Siochana. The purpose, to stop Homeless individuals from bedding down outside. On arrival tonight Inner City Helping Homeless Outreach teams met “John” who normally beds down in front of the GPO for shelter and some form of safety to be informed “No Homeless Here”.

He said: “It’s all because of the week that is in it, nobody wants tourists seeing Homeless outside the GPO, Where else am I supposed to go they won’t give me a bed. I’ve slept here every night for months…”

ICHH Director Anthony Flynn who was at the GPO with the Outreach Team, added;

“This is an unbelievable situation, we come across regular clients here nightly who wait for our teams to come for some support. To see resources such as four Gardaí to man a building so government can save face is shocking. Open beds and accommodate these people need.

Instead, they are being pushed from the area to put on a front for the tourism industry. We have a chronic rough sleeper problem in central Dublin and the answer is not to move the problem on, but to actually address the issue head on. Central government cannot keep trying to disguise the issue“.

InnerCity Homeless Outreach (Facebook)