News
Therapy clinic sees Galway girl add new string to her bow
Model, YouTuber, blogger, artist and personal trainer – just some of the many talents Maam Cross model, Cara Lyons, has at her disposal.
Now, on top of that, Cara has taken the plunge into business and entrepreneurship and she has recently opened a new Holistic Therapy Clinic in Oughterard, called Prestige Therapy.
Diversity and new goals are what motivates Cara on a daily basis and this new challenge she describes as one of her ‘scariest experiences’ yet.
Speaking on her first venture into the business world, she admitted: “It’s terrifying. I could put a load of money into this and it could fail to gain popularity. I remember my very first day and I had no customers. I just sat there and I was thinking ‘Oh My God what have I done?’”
But since then, her business has grown from strength-to-strength, something she credits with the strong support she has received from her local community – something she is immensely grateful for.
The 26 year old has been modelling professionally for ten years and, while she continues to enjoy the line of work, she feels there is more in her creative locker than simply being a pretty face.
“I have taken less of an interest in it recently because there are so many other things I want to do. A picture can only say so much.
“Some of the time when you’re working with a photographer he is coming up with the ideas and he is the one deciding what this image is going to say. So if you’re doing a lingerie picture for example, I mean how much can that say about you or your personality or your message?
“Whereas if I’m writing on my blog or I’m doing videos, I feel so much more in them and that’s kind of why I’ve become more attached to that kind of work,” added the Connemara beauty.
Her YouTube channel and blog both named LovefromCara and are something in which Cara takes huge pride in.
That YouTube channel has attracted over 600,000 views from all over the world and is a mixture between comedy and more dealing with more serious issues which are currently afflicting young people today- such as body issues, stress and mental health.
“I think it’s like I was saying with the pictures – I had so much more I wanted to give to people and so much more I wanted to say.
“Even though I have my therapy business now as well, I still feel like I helped more people so far with the YouTube videos and that’s what really matters to me – how I can make people feel. That’s why I do the therapy with people because it makes people feel better and it’s that reward I get from making people happy.
“I have previously had a young man from America who sent me a letter explaining how he was depressed and how these people had been bullying him and all these awful things. And just that moment I replied to him it clearly meant so much.
“They (her viewers) want to talk about things that are serious or they need answers and I feel they can always talk to me. I think that’s why I loved YouTube videos so much,” she said.
Art is another huge passion in Cara’s life and is something she traces back to her youth. She regularly produces acrylic canvas paintings – with some of her work been commissioned for people in Ireland, England and America. She also has had her artwork featured in numerous exhibitions throughout Galway and Connemara.
Despite having such a hectic schedule, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is something Cara always makes time for.
She said, “I love the gym. Getting me to the gym is never a problem. I’ll always find 30 minutes to maybe go to the gym and have a run on the treadmill or something because it actually makes me feel really good.
“I’m actually qualified as a gym instructor and personal trainer as well, so I kind of have the knowledge behind me of -if you do this it will be really good for you and you know the reasons why you should do it.”
Asking Cara would see have any advice for ambitious teenagers looking to achieve their goals like her, she said: “Most importantly never give up, if it’s something you think you really want you can do it. You don’t have to go to college to achieve certain goals. Also, don’t be afraid of failure because of everyone fails and that’s just a part of life.”
So what does that future hold for the aspiring entrepreneur?
“I’d love to think I’m still being creative and helping people feel better in some way. I’d love to see myself writing more but I think I will just take it one day at a time and see wherever I end up.
“I’m not someone who says, ‘Oh you have to achieve this big goal by this time.’ Thankfully it has led me down a path that has been rewarding. I just take each day as it comes, otherwise I think you become very stressed out and I think I just want to be happy in the future…..whatever that means.”
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
