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Cafés join scheme to provide ‘suspended’ coffees
Three Galway City cafes are among a network of 1,800 coffee shops across 20 countries which give customers the chance to buy a ‘suspended’ coffee for somebody down on their luck.
The Suspended Coffees scheme, founded by unemployed Cork plumber John Sweeney, was borne out of a tradition which began in Naples, Italy.
Legend has it that if a citizen of Naples happened upon good fortune, they would buy themselves a coffee and an extra cup which was suspended for someone less fortunate. The ‘barista’ or coffee maker would keep a log of any extra paid-for coffees and when anyone who had fallen on hard times would enquire about a suspended coffee, it was duly served and chalked off the ledger.
The national tradition ‘Caffè Sospeso’ continued until Mussolini’s downfall.
John read about the resurrection of the practice in a blog by a visitor who watched as a succession of customers both donated and redeemed the suspended coffee, no questions asked.
The father-of-four had suffered an industrial injury and was out of work for months. He decided to use his free time to reignite the scheme by setting up a Facebook page and ringing cafes to sign up.
“I thought it was a fantastic idea. My goal was to get two or three cafes on board. Then all of a sudden it blew up in a way I could never have imagined. It’s been a really big journey. Things have really taken off.”
For nearly two years, John has worked on the project almost full-time, with the Facebook Page at last count attracting 280,000 followers. The website is full of stories where people do acts of kindness and quotes that may help brighten up someone’s day.
There are plans to develop other aspects to the project that will benefit people down on their luck. With the whiff of bad press about charities still in the air, John is keen to stress that he will never take a penny out of the venture, which is run completely by volunteers.
“People say what good is a cup of coffee when somebody is homeless, hungry and cold. But it’s much bigger than a cup of coffee. If somebody is going to the bother of buying a coffee for someone else it could start something else,” John explains.
“The most simple act of kindness can have the largest affect, just a hello or a smile can have a huge impact. There’s quite a big homeless population in Cork and I make it my business to go and talk to homeless people and bring them for a coffee and ask how are they. You can see the look in their eyes, it gives them a small bit of hope,” he said.
The three Galway cafes which take part in the scheme are Pura Vida on Quay Street, Java John’s on Francis Street and Coco Café on Eyre Street. The Mobile Brew Crew which travels to different locations has also signed up.
Rob Kenny in Pura Vida has been offering customers the chance to buy a coffee and put one on the slate since Aummer 2013.
“It was very popular when we started out. At one point we had 26-30 coffees rung up, then people started to ask for them,” he said.
“It’s funny we’ve noticed a lot of people asking for the coffees are from Dublin – also a few of the lads from the Fairgreen [homeless hostel]. At the moment we probably do between five and 10 coffees a week, we’ve 18 on the slate at the minute.”
Cafes which are not being asked for the suspended coffees can donate the money to a charity of their choice, with many Irish ones choosing to give the money to the Simon Community.
“We have one café in Waterford where the owner Aoife goes out to actively look for people to give the coffees to. Another one knows his customers so if Mike down the road has been looking for a job for six months or there’s a single mother of three who comes in, they shout it.
“Or it could just be somebody who’s had a really bad day. That happened in Australia. A businessman who saw something in his own house he didn’t want to see left to walk the streets. He went to get a coffee and discovered he had no wallet. He was about to leave when the guy behind the counter offered him a suspended coffee.
“He later returned and bought $800 of suspended coffees. That’s what it’s all about – starting something bigger than just buying a coffee.”
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
