President of Ireland: Congratulations Feelgood on milestone achievement
May I congratulate all of the editors, writers, and production staff, past and present, of the Irish Examiner's Feelgood section on reaching the significant milestone of its 25th anniversary.
Over the course of the last quarter of a century, Feelgood has provided an important public service in offering readers access to quality articles on topics such as health, fitness, and many related issues.
In particular, Feelgood has helped to encourage and build awareness around life-threatening challenges such as breast cancer.
The special edition, edited by the late Vicky Phelan for International Women's Day in 2019, where she highlighted the importance of women continuing to get cervical screening tests, provided vital and trusted information at a time of great worry for so many people.
The importance of choosing screening was something that the section returned to as a special campaign to mark and pay tribute to Vicky's legacy on the first anniversary of her death.
The important work of building awareness around cancer has continued in the special edition on bowel cancer last month, a collaboration with Dr Sarah Fitzgibbon.
Other issues given prominence in the supplement over the years include fertility and pregnancy, menopause, men's health, and raising children, among many others.
In its coverage of such a broad range of issues, Feelgood has encouraged conversations that may have been avoided in the past due to the risk of causing embarrassment. This might have led to a reluctance to make that vital first necessary visit to a doctor.
Feelgood's campaigns and publicity have helped to provoke a more positive public conversation on topics which affect the health of all members of our society.
I have no doubt that articles such as those found in the section will have encouraged people to take actions which will have made a crucial contribution to their personal health.
As we look to the future, it remains more important than ever that all countries meet their commitment, including those in relation to health, under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Goal number three aims to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all people at all ages.
Some of the targets included under this goal include such important global necessities as reducing maternal mortality, ending all preventable deaths under five years of age, fighting communicable diseases, and achieving universal health coverage.
I am pleased to note that Feelgood has continued throughout the years to cover health and fitness issues across the full spectrum of life — from childhood through to old age.
There is now a welcome greater and necessary recognition than ever of the importance of positive ageing, and the section continues to provide evidence-based information and expert views to assist people in making healthy choices throughout their life.
Feelgood has evolved over time, meeting its audience with new means of communication. Podcasts and videos have helped expand coverage beyond the limits of the physical newspaper, and I am sure that such innovation will continue into the future.
As we look forward to the next 25 years, may I, as President of Ireland, extend my best wishes to all those who have been associated with Feelgood, as well as all of its dedicated readers, listeners and viewers, on this special occasion.
Mo bhuíochas libh uilig. Traoslaím libh agus gach rath don todchaí.
Beir beannacht.
- Michael D. Higgins, Uachtarán na hÉireann
Read More
Workplace Wellbeing: Most of us benefit from connecting with colleagues in the office
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
€20k greyhound race prize paid twice after positive substance test sparks confusion
Confusion surrounds the final destination of a €20,000 first prize for a greyhound race, which was paid out twice after it emerged the original winner had tested positive for a banned substance. Carrigmore Dante emerged victorious in the Time Greyhound Nutrition A4 Derby Final on July 6 last year, receiving the top prize of €20,000. The dog was subsequently confirmed last November, four months later, as having tested positive for a banned substance in an earlier round of the derby last June. The Irish Examiner understands the winner's prize-money of €20,000 has now been paid twice, with the runner-up in the derby, Crokers Hugo, receiving the first prize last month, while the status of the original payment to Carrigmore Dante remains a mystery. On the official results site of regulatory body Greyhound Racing Ireland (GRI), Carrigmore Dante is noted as the winner of the July 6 race, but with no attendant prize money. Prize money in greyhound racing is partly funded by funds which GRI receives each year from the State via the Horse and Greyhound Fund. Some €19.82m was allocated to the body in last October's budget for 2025. Efforts to contact the owners of Carrigmore Dante were not successful. Greyhound Racing Ireland said the 'matter of the prize money issued to the greyhound Carrigmore Dante is subject to legal correspondence and [GRI] is not commenting on the matter'. Last month, details of a hearing regarding Carrigmore Dante's positive test for fluxinin — an anti-inflammatory product banned for racing greyhounds — were published, which revealed the dog had been fed category 3 meat 'as recommended' by GRI, which comes with 'a low risk of contamination but not zero risk'. The racing control committee concluded the 'positive sample returned from the greyhound Carrigmore Dante was not deliberate or intentional' based on repeat testing of the same dog 'within a short period', before imposing a fine of €100 on the owners. 'The Greyhound Racing Control Committee, having considered all the evidence in this matter, was satisfied that the case presented by [GRI] was proven,' notes from that hearing state. William Rigney, founder of Time Nutrition, expressed surprise the result of last year's derby final was the subject of questioning, saying 'we haven't heard anything about that'. 'It's the remit of GRI, they are responsible for regulation. We haven't heard anything, we wouldn't be getting involved in that sort of thing,' he said, while confirming the prize money for the race is sourced from both the sponsor and GRI. Asked why it took four months to confirm the presence of a banned substance in Carrigmore Dante, GRI's spokesperson said in order to confirm the positive, a more definitive test, known as liquid chromatography mass spectrometry, needed to be performed on the sample, with the positive finally confirmed on November 7 last year. Read More Irish greyhound regulator knew of welfare issues at kennels last year, months before its closure
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork woman with stage 4 cervical cancer urges women to continue screening and get vaccinated
A Cork woman with stage 4 cervical cancer, following two misdiagnosed smear tests, says she still urges women to attend regular screenings and get vaccinated. Mother-of-two Leona Macken received an apology from the HSE at the High Court on Tuesday after two of her smear tests — first in 2016 and again in 2020 — were misread. The 38-year-old hairdresser said she has since been overwhelmed with messages of support from the public, and that the apology meant 'the world' to her. She told the Irish Examiner: 'I still want women and young girls to get their vaccinations and to have their smears done. 'I paid privately for my first smear at 21 years old. I was always conscious of this'. She said taking the case to the High Court was about more than her personal experience — it was to highlight that the national cervical screening programme is 'not working properly' and must be 'properly examined.' 'This happened to me two years after Vicky Phelan, this is not ok, things need to be properly examined, how did this happen again?'. Leona Macken settled her legal action against the HSE, arising from what they said were failures in the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2016 and 2020. Picture: Collins Courts Following the High Court apology on Wednesday, Ms Macken appeared on Newstalk Breakfast and RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne before heading to hospital for chemotherapy. 'They (the HSE) has publicly said they have failed me, there were failures in the system that led to my stage 4 diagnosis' she said. 'I read the apology before it was read in court, and I was really happy with that. But I know it's not easy to get an apology and it's rare and that was really so important to me and my husband and our children and our family'. Ms Macken has been documenting her journey on social media in recent months. 'Having a smear is so important' she said. 'I get so many messages from women telling me they had a smear and are now having a biopsy or laser treatment because they have abnormal cells. 'I wish I had that opportunity' she continued. 'But I didn't, and instead I discovered I was at stage 1, then stage 3 and now stage 4. 'My abnormal cells were missed and I missed a chance to treat them. I really wish I had that chance to have stopped it in its tracks that's why I say to people, get your smear done." She added: 'I will make sure my daughters get their vaccines, I am speaking for them and for the other women who are going to be possibly missed in the system too. 'I trusted the system, but it let me down. Someone needs to investigate why it's going wrong'. Leona Macken and her husband Alan settled their legal action against the HSE, arising from what they said were failures in the CervicalCheck screening programme in 2016 and 2020. Picture: Collins Courts Medical negligence solicitor Cian O'Donnell, who has represented several women affected by screening failures, supported her call. 'Leona Macken is right to encourage people to use the system, because screening does work. 'It didn't work for her, unfortunately, but Leona is clear in her message to other women and that is to engage with regular screenings and look after your health." He added: "The Minister for Health and the HSE and those in charge need to be honest with themselves and not to have this blind insistence that this programme is working. 'Not a single patient in the cervical screening programme has been investigated – Vicky Pelan's screen was never investigated. 'We need to look at the individual screeners and follow the patterns and audits must be done, but that has not happened and that is not norm in laboratories.'
The Irish Sun
3 days ago
- The Irish Sun
I never knew being loud & angry was toxic until Ercan asked me 1 thing during a row – it changed me, says Vicky Pattison
VICKY Pattison revealed the one poignant question husband Ercan Ramadan asked her during a petty row which changed her forever. The reality star, 37, said on Pete Wicks' Man Made podcast how her clothing brand owner partner, 41, has been helping her unlearn 'toxic' habits. Advertisement 5 Vicky Pattison Credit: Fabulous Magazine 5 Vicky tied the knot with Ercan Ramadan in 2024 Credit: Instagram 5 The reality star, pictured on Geordie Shore, shared how she used to 'shout' and be 'angry' - until Ercan made a comment Credit: MTV She shared: 'I had always saw communication from a very young age, being the child of an alcoholic, communication was loud. 'It's often quite scary but you quickly adapt to that, children do. 'I assumed in a relationship when you loved someone, you shouted basically. 'That's how I communicate, I'm angry, I'm loud and I never thought it was toxic. It was what I assumed you did.' Advertisement More on Vicky Pattison However, former Geordie Shore star Vicky said everything changed when she had a 'little row' with her then-boyfriend six months into their relationship. She continued: 'Honeymoon period's over. He's seeing the real me. 'I'm not pretending I like football and kebabs anymore, I'm giving him the full Vicky Pattison experience which is terrifying. 'I remember we had this little row and I instantly escalated it because that's what I did.' Advertisement Most read in Celebrity Vicky said that the sentence that Ercan said to her made her rethink her behaviour in relationships. She explained: 'He stood there really quietly and he looked back and said 'why are you shouting at me when you're meant to love me?' Vicky Pattison reveals 'difficult' first year of marriage with husband Ercan 'I'm not often speechless and he completely stopped me in my tracks. 'All of my defences, all of my walls, all of my anger, it all just melted away in an instant. Advertisement 'I was like 'I don't know why', because this is what I have always done and this is what men have always done to me and I didn't know there was another way to communicate even when you loved someone, I thought that's what you did.' Vicky and Ercan have been together since 2019, and Speaking of her husband, the TV and radio star said: 'Ercan's taught me an awful lot about what a healthy relationship should look like, what communication can be, what a man can be.' 5 The couple said 'I do' at The Old Marylebone Town Hall in 2024 before an Italian wedding Credit: Splash Advertisement TOUGH YEAR Despite only getting married in August 2024, Vicky has previously opened up about it being a Speaking to the BBC's Woman's Hour, she said: "I don't think it's how anyone anticipates their first six months of marriage , you know, it's a very alien experience. "I mean it has been difficult, I have been frustrated, I have been upset and I have been overwhelmed quite a lot. He [Ercan] stood there really quietly and he looked back and said 'why are you shouting at me when you're meant to love me?' Vicky Pattison "So even without thinking about the deepfake itself, I haven't been a joy to live with quite frankly and I do feel for my husband but he's very supportive." Advertisement Vicky was referring to her husband supporting her as she faced backlash over her deepfake porn documentary called My Deepfake Sex Tape, which some victims criticised as a 'PR stunt' and 'deeply disrespectful'. The documentary involved her directing actors to simulate a sex scene, then allowing AI to add her face to the footage. FUTURE KIDS 5 Vicky said Ercan has shown 'what a man can be' Credit: instagram She previously opened up to Advertisement Vicky shared: 'Everyone thought we'd try for kids quite quickly – so did we! But we're going to enjoy being married, for at least a year. Ercan's taught me an awful lot about what a healthy relationship should look like, what communication can be, what a man can be Vicky Pattison 'I'd love a honeymoon first! A little week in the Caribbean would be lovely. "We're just desperate to sleep in the same bed together. "I sleep with the dogs and he sleeps in the spare room!' Advertisement Vicky Pattison's Career History Geordie Shore (2011-2014): Vicky Pattison first gained public attention as a cast member of the MTV reality series. The show, which premiered in 2011, chronicles the lives of a group of young adults living together in Newcastle upon Tyne. Vicky quickly became one of the standout personalities on the show due to her outspoken nature. She remained a key cast member until her departure in 2014. Ex on the Beach (2014): In 2014, Vicky Pattison joined the first ever season of Ex on the Beach, an MTV reality series that brings together singles and their ex-partners for a dramatic beachside experience. She navigated complicated relationships and explosive confrontations, particularly with her ex-boyfriend, Ricci Guarnaccio, who also appeared on the series. Vicky's time on the show was marked by her outspoken nature and candid approach to resolving past romantic issues. I'm a Me Out of Here! (2015): In 2015, Vicky participated in the fifteenth series of I'm a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!, where she emerged as the winner. Her down-to-earth personality and resilience throughout the series won over both viewers and critics, significantly boosting her popularity. Celebrity MasterChef (2019): Vicky showcased a different side of her personality as she competed in the celebrity cooking competition. She made it to the final after demonstrating her culinary skills, and later joked that her family fell out with her because they "think I've been able to cook for years and have just hidden it". Loose Women (2015 - 2019): The celeb made appearances as a guest panelist on the show, but later criticised the production team for encouraging her to 'push' guests to open up on emotional topics when they were on the verge of tears. Vicky ended up in tears on the chat show herself in 2016, when she participated in an experiment about self image. The star could be seen breaking down as she listened back to a video where she listed all the negative comments she makes to herself in her mind. This Morning: Made several guest appearances. In one she spoke about being traumatised by her break up with fiancé John Noble, and in another Vicky delved into a personal documentary she made about alcoholism. Second-Hand Showdown: Vicky currently hosts the fashion show on Channel 4.
