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Defibrillator raffle to benefit brave Miriam

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A young mother-of-two who is battling with a devastating form of cancer is to benefit from an innovative fundraising initiative to help finance her very expensive treatment.

Primary school teacher Miriam Joy is undergoing a hugely expensive new treatment to help in her battle with triple negative breast cancer. She was diagnosed in May 2017 but the treatment she received was not successful and the cancer has now spread to her brain and lungs.

Medical professionals have told the young mother that her only chance of survival is a change of direction with her treatment, but the required immunotherapy will cost a staggering €7,000, every three weeks, for an indefinite length of time.

Now the team behind a groundbreaking and lifesaving defibrillator in a phone kiosk project has come to Miriam’s aid with a very unique raffle proposal.

The prize is a custom-made traditional telephone kiosk and an AED with all donations generated going to support Miriam who lives with her husband, Pat, and two young children, Noah (10) and Joshua (5), in Castleisland.

Tradesman Tommy Hassett, who manufactures the €3,500 phone kiosks that house the AEDs, is a friend of the Joy family and he has teamed up with the Killarney-based Heart of Ireland crew and Ce-Tek Medical to donate a kiosk and a defibrillator to raise funds.

The AED kiosks are proving in huge demand all over the country since a pilot scheme was introduced in Killarney some years ago.

Heart of Ireland Project official, Damien Baker, said the organisation is glad to be able to help Miriam and her family.

“It is being made possible by the generosity of Tommy donating a phone box and Ce-Tek Medical donating an AED and cabinet,” he said. “We would like to wish Miriam and her family the best during this difficult time and we hope that this small act of generosity makes a difference”.

Miriam’s brother, Eoin, said the family is hugely grateful to all involved for the remarkable gesture of generosity.

“Their incredible generosity, work and vision in the development of this project has given great support to Miriam as well as providing a lifesaving device to a community. Their efforts and goodwill have blown us away,” he stated.

The raffle will run until October 17 and tickets, priced at €20, are available on the raffle link on the Heart of Ireland Facebook page.

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Eight month wait for a driving test in Killarney

A Killarney councillor is calling for action in an effort to reduce the driving test wait list in Killarney The current wait list for a test in Killarney sits at […]

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A Killarney councillor is calling for action in an effort to reduce the driving test wait list in Killarney

The current wait list for a test in Killarney sits at eight months.

Cllr John O’Donoghue raised the issue at Monday’s full meeting of Kerry County Council.

He proposed that driving instructors should be employed to carry out the final test to reduce the current backlog.

At Monday’s meeting he asked that hat Kerry County Council would write to the Minister for Transport to ask him to consider giving driving instructors temporary powers to issue a temporary Driving Licence/Certificate of Competence to those on the waiting list for tests.

“The wait is currently far too long and the system is in danger of becoming completely overwhelmed,” he said.

“The huge waiting list for young drivers is well documented at this stage. In a case I am familiar with, a young person passed their theory test in January 2022 and he immediately applied for his mandatory 12 driving lessons. When these were completed, he applied for his driving test on the 2nd of December 2022. Some weeks ago, he still had not received an application to apply for his driving test. This wait is placing him and his family under considerable extra cost and stress which is completely unacceptable.”

In the course of his research into the matter Cllr O’Donoghue discovered that the next available date for a driving test in Killarney is May 25, 2024, while Tralee is June 3 2024.

“Bear in mind, these are only the dates on which you receive an invitation to book your test, the test itself will then be an estimated three to five weeks later.

“This is an appalling situation and one which needs to be rectified as a matter of urgency. I am proposing that driving instructors, which presumably are fully trained up on the rules of the road, be granted temporary powers to be allowed to issue temporary driving licences to young people. When the waiting list time has been reduced, I would still propose that these people sit the test as usual, but the current pressure needs to be alleviated as soon as possible. There is precedent as I believe that in the 1970s, a cohort in this country were issued driving licences without having sat a test as the wait time for the test was too long.”

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Ballymac charity vintage run on October 1

The Ballymac Vintage Club is hosting a classic car, tractor and Honda 50 run on October 1. The run will leave from and return to the Halfway Bar, Ballymac. Registration […]

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The Ballymac Vintage Club is hosting a classic car, tractor and Honda 50 run on October 1.

The run will leave from and return to the Halfway Bar, Ballymac.

Registration begins at 9:30am and sets off at 11am.

“There will be two separate routes with one for tractors and the other for cars and motorbikes. Proceeds on the day are in aid of Castleisland Day Care Centre and we’ll have plenty of spot prizes to giveaway too in the morning,” said the club’s PRO Kieran Glover.

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