Latest news with #MargaretGallagher
CBC
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra 95th Anniversary
NXNW's Margaret Gallagher takes us behind the scenes with the Vancouver Youth Symphony Orchestra as they prepare for their 95th anniversary concert, with members reflecting on why VYSO is vital for young musicians.
CBC
08-04-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
CBC proudly partners with DOXA for 11 days of bold documentary cinema
CBC is proud to return as media partner of the 2025 DOXA Documentary Film Festival, screening in Vancouver theatres from May 1-11. DOXA is Western Canada's largest documentary film festival and this year is celebrating its 24th edition with 11 days of over 65 films including shorts, features, mid-lengths, world premieres and special presentations from across Canada and around the world. Catch CBC's North by Northwest host Margaret Gallagher at the festival's opening night presentation of Elizabeth Vibert and Chen Wang's Aisha's Story, screening on May 1 at The Vancouver Playhouse. This year, don't miss DOXA's inaugural paraDOXA program, highlighting experimental films that push the boundaries of documentary form – including the Canadian premiere of To Use a Mountain.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Woman lives through mega-storm in 200-year-old cottage with no power or nails: 'I suppose I'm a different animal altogether'
Storm Éowyn recently swept across Ireland, causing widespread destruction and leading to massive power outages. It was the region's most powerful windstorm in decades, with winds reaching a record-breaking 183 kilometers per hour (114 mph). While around 768,000 Irish citizens scrambled to adapt to a world without power, Margaret Gallagher of County Fermanagh calmly carried on with her normal routine; the 83-year-old pensioner has lived her entire life in a 19th-century cottage with no power or running water. The 200-year-old cottage was purchased by Gallagher's grandfather in 1887, according to The Sunday Times. It not only has no power and no running water, but it was also built with no nails. It's even more amazing, then, that the vicious storm couldn't manage to sweep away her family home. Gallagher battened down in a chair pressed up against the door of the cottage on the night of the storm. With her was a robin she brought in from its nest on the cottage's thatched roof. With the devastating wind gusts bearing down on her home, all she could do was sit and pray. "I sat up all night and a good bit of the next day, and I prayed for the country, I prayed for myself, I prayed for everyone," she explained to The Times. Apparently, someone was listening because the storm passed over and the cottage still stands. And while Gallagher's neighbors struggled with the prolonged loss of electricity, she was there to light the way thanks to her more-than-old-school lifestyle. "I suppose I'm a different animal altogether," she says. "I was raised with very little, I need very little and I thank God for what I have. Less is more sometimes." Gallagher's story raises an interesting question: "What exactly do we need to survive?" For many of us, electricity and running water can seem like the absolute baseline, yet for this 83-year-old woman, neither is necessary at all. She's totally content with and grateful for her off-the-grid lifestyle. Meanwhile, that same lifestyle saves her tons of money, protects her from power outages, and minimizes her environmental impact. Do you think your house could withstand a hurricane? No way Maybe a weak one I'm not sure It definitely could Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. We don't necessarily need to forgo electricity and running water entirely to save money and protect the planet. For example, signing up for community solar or washing your clothes in cold water can reduce both your utility bills and your environmental impact. And if Margaret Gallagher is an indication, then making small adjustments and sacrifices does not necessarily mean you're losing anything at all. Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
BBC News
09-02-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Living off-grid: The homes that run without mains electricity
The widespread power cuts caused by Storm Éowyn were a reminder of how dependent we have become on our electricity supply for everyday there are a hardy few who already live their lives "off-grid", getting by just fine without mains electricity or mains them is 83-year-old Margaret Gallagher, who still lives in the thatched cottage outside Belcoo in County Fermanagh, where she was born in 200-year-old home has no running water, no central heating, no fridge, nor any of the other mod cons most people would consider pensioner has survived many storms in Mullylusty Cottage, but admitted to being "absolutely petrified" by Éowyn."I was afraid the roof would come in," she told BBC News NI."But when it was over I was the only one that could cope because I had a fire, I had water, I had light."I had everything because I'm totally off the grid." Margaret was 10 years old when her mother died and after that she became a carer for her disabled father until his death in was scarce and their home was never since childhood, Margaret's daily routine has involved fetching buckets of drinking water from a nearby fireplace in her sitting room is her only source of heating, but she also uses that hearth to cook food in cast iron the evenings, she uses candles and paraffin lamps for light and keeps herself entertained with her battery-powered radio and her library of books. 'I'm as warm as toast' In the aftermath of Storm Éowyn, Margaret supplied her neighbours with fresh drinking also provided a warm welcome to visitors who had no heat at home."It's great to have a fire and the kettle boiling when they come," she said."But I prepared well for it – I got in candles and I got in paraffin oil and I got in the all the groceries and I use long-life milk."And I had logs and turf and firelighters."Many householders found it difficult to sleep without power on these cold winter nights, but not Margaret. "I have two hot water bottles, I have one at my feet and one at my head," she also piles on the layers, sleeping under four duvets."I'm as warm as toast and I keep on the fire all night." Having never had the basic household services most of us take for granted, Margaret does not miss them."Quality of life is more important than standards of living," she said."The house bears the footprints of my forefathers – the house to me is on hallowed ground."Keeping Mullylusty Cottage in its original state has meant it is now considered a heritage site of "international interest". A proud custodian of this listed historic building, Margaret said: "The house now is my sanctuary and I just love it." 'We could go without the mains completely' But is there an easier way to be self-sufficient?Michael Wilkinson lives with his wife and children in a house overlooking the Suir Valley in County they moved in six years ago, they faced rapidly rising energy bills and frequent power cuts which Michael said were "very frustrating".In response, the 41-year-old mechanic spent the past two years building his own energy system to wean his home off its reliance on Ireland's national grid. "We just kept adding and adding to it until we had enough that we could go without the mains completely," Michael explained. His design includes 36 solar panels spread across his roof and around his garden."We incorporated a wind turbine into the system and, again, I built the mast and everything for that myself," he said. "The whole thing operates basically with solar as the priority, wind as a backup then, when there's no sun and no wind, there's the petrol generator". 'My bills have fallen by up to 80%' He bought the generator solely for emergencies because the fuel is more expensive than using mains that reason he uses a "change-over switch" which can either isolate or reconnect his home to the grid whenever system not only protects their home from power outages - his electricity bills have plummeted. "You're always going to have your connection charge anyway so you'll never get a bill of zero, but it's taken our bills down roughly about 75 to 80 per cent," he said. "Most of the time we run completely off-grid. "It's only as I say when you have those prolonged periods of no sun and no wind where we use a change-over switch". Their home is not connected to a mains water supply so they use self-generated power to pump water in from a also use an open fireplace with a back boiler which heats their radiators and provides hot water for tech-savvy couple also document their DIY efforts on YouTube."There's very little difference between a modern off-grid life and what I suppose you'd call a normal on-grid life. "You're just simply generating the power yourself," Michael said. But all this equipment comes at a cost and Michael estimates they have spent about €6,000 (£5,030) over two years installing the system, excluding wiring. "We didn't get out loans or do it through any line of credit, we basically just saved up a little bit every month, adding a bit more to the system as we go along."The Wilkinsons also keep costs down by growing their own vegetables and keeping chickens for eggs and meat. But there are still some goods Mother Nature refuses to provide in an Irish climate. "It's very difficult to grow your own bananas. You'll always need to go to the supermarket for something," Michael says. "There is a lot you can do but I don't think it's possible to be 100% self-sufficient without making some very hard sacrifices."
