Connacht Tribune
Prolific knitter aids Galway animal charity’s fundraising efforts with teddy outfits
Geraldine Kennedy Hunt remembers clearly the morning that she received a large parcel in the Madra shop in Moycullen where she works.
Inside were dozens of tiny hand knitted garments, a selection of jumpers, trousers, hats, scarves; each beautifully crafted with a phenomenal amount of detail,” she says.
“I didn’t actually know what to do with them. They were tiny. I dropped some of them to the neo-natal clinic for premature babies to wear. Then I thought of the bags and bags and bags of teddys that are donated to the shops.”
The pieces were the work of Betty Knight, 87, from the UK, whose daughter-in-law’s sister lived in Moycullen and had donated handmade crafts to the charity shop in aid of the dog rescue and adoption charity.
Betty decided to get in on the act – and she hasn’t stopped knitting miniature outfits for the last decade. She is now proudly the eldest Madra volunteer.
“I had this brainwave – I could dress up the teddies that are donated, give them names and sell them as new.”
The teddys are thoroughly washed, and sometimes steam cleaned and dried before they are given a whole new name and character for their next owner.
“Betty has boxes in her house with buttons, bow ties – these are not quick knits. The amount of work that goes into each one is huge,” enthuses Geraldine.
“She’s not really able to get out and about anymore. She spends her days knitting and knitting these outfits. We’ve offered to send her wool but she says she doesn’t want it because all her neighbours are always donating it to her – the house is full of it.”
When Covid hit, the revenue from the shops took a real nosedive, which hampered the capacity of the charity to continue running its shelter in Camus, Connemara and the adoption and fostering service.
While there was an online shop, the dressed teddies were only added at Christmas.
“We must have sold at least 70 of them. They were a huge hit. We charge €6 for the teddy and €6 for the postage because some of them are quite large. We didn’t want to charge too much given we have bags and bags of teddys here we’d like to sell.”
The new line has proved quite a hit with the public. Last week, for example, there were over 30 teddys available for sale ahead of Mother’s Day. Other donated clothes, shoes and bric-a-brac can also be purchase online.
“We are reusing donations that come in which must have meant something to someone and getting them ready to be loved by a new owner. I love that,” enthuses Geraldine.
While enquiries about adoption to the rescue service have greatly increased during Covid as people found themselves confined to home with more time to care for a dog, the charity is still careful about where it rehomes its charges.
“We had a huge amount of people looking for pups – or anything with four legs. But we’re not going to farm them out without looking at the bigger picture in the long term. What happens when they go back to work?”
Geraldine is currently fostering Jenny, a collie fearful of human contact.
The 2019 annual report said the dogs reaching Madra were “more likely to be traumatised, under-socialised and in need of long-term care, rather than dogs suitable for rehoming as your average pet dog family”.
“These dogs take up a huge amount of time and money,” it added.
That year 559 dogs were taken in, 326 dogs were adopted, 207 dogs transferred to other rescues and 115 puppies rehomed. Since its formation in 2005, MADRA’s work has seen the euthanasia rates of abandoned dogs in Galway fall from 83 per cent to eight per cent.
The teddy bears are available to buy on www.madra.ie/ online-store.
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.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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
