Latest news with #Sheelagh
RTÉ News
4 days ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Munster leaning into emotions after difficult week at the province
Midway through Tuesday's media call in Durban, interim head coach Ian Costello asked if he could interrupt the questions from those back in Ireland to say something on behalf of Munster Rugby. In the last week, the province have had to share condolences with two families close to the organisation, following the deaths of Sheelagh Foley and Michelle Payne. Sheelagh, wife of former Munster player and current Munster branch president Brendan, and mother of their late captain Anthony, died peacefully last Friday. That news came a just a few days after the province remembered Michelle Payne, a former Munster Rugby employee and wife of their former full-back and team manager Shaun. Michelle died at home in South Africa last week following a two-year battle with breast cancer. "They were two very important people in the Munster community and a massive loss to us this week, and that's very close to our hearts," Costello said of both Sheelagh and Michelle. "Brendan and Sheelagh were here [in South Africa] this time last year, and Brendan picked up the phone and rang me Sunday morning to almost apologise for not coming and wished us the best. "Obviously Michelle and Shaun were huge in the club as well. That's really important to the group this week especially as we're in South Africa as well, very close to our heart." Munster Rugby would like to express its deepest condolences to the Foley & Collins families after the passing of Sheelagh Foley, the wife of Munster Branch President Brendan Foley and mother to Orla, Rosie and the late Anthony Foley. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam 🌹 — Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) May 23, 2025 The province are in Durban this week for a BKT URC quarter-final against the Sharks, and Costello says discussions have been taking place about an opportunity to honour the Foley and Payne families before the game on Saturday at Kings Park. Perhaps more than any other Irish side, Munster have always leaned into the emotional side of the game, most notably after the deaths of Anthony Foley, Tom Tierney and Greig Oliver in recent years, and Costello says it remains an important part of the team's identity. "Rugby is a very, very emotional game and I think any contact sport is. People talk about physically and mentally where you have to be. I think the third part of that is emotionally are you ready to invest everything you have and leave everything out on the pitch. Munster Rugby are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Michelle Payne, a former Munster staff member and wife of former team manager & player Shaun Payne, after a two-year battle against breast cancer. Our immediate thoughts are with Shaun, their children Dylan and Amy &… — Munster Rugby (@Munsterrugby) May 21, 2025 "That's you as an individual and you as a team, and when emotionally you're connected to a purpose or to a cause that comes out in any team sport, especially one as physically demanding as rugby, and then when you add in pride in terms of our province, our identity and what we stand for, what we represent, the people, how much we want to make people proud of our performance, so they can identify with who we are and what we're about, I think all of that amplifies a lot of the good that's there already and I think a lot of sports teams do it really well. "We really leaned into it the last couple of weeks to represent people that we really care about and what they mean to the organisation and that came out in the performance. We will continue that on this week as well." Even before the events of recent days, emotion had been a major part of the team's preparations for the wins against Ulster and Benetton, as they gave Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Stephen Archer their final games in Limerick and Cork, barring some surprise results in the play-offs. But Costello says while emotion will always be an important motivating factor, it has to be used in balance. "That's exactly the crux of it. And that's where I think the quality of the coaches [comes in] and the experience they have, the situations they have been in and also the senior players. "I won't go into what was said but Tadhg [Beirne] and Peter [O'Mahony] over the last couple of weeks, supported by other key guys like Jack [Crowley] and Craig [Casey], they spoke so well about the balance of using that emotion but also making sure it's balanced with a performance that's build on execution and accuracy and being really smart. "Same thing as discipline, if you're over-aroused you give away too many penalties but you want to be playing right on that edge. "When you've got coaches who are on it the way they are on it, and senior players that have lived it so many times, that really helps."
NZ Herald
15-05-2025
- Health
- NZ Herald
Frank Film: Finding the Light; Canterbury artist Sheelagh McHaffie
But the light McHaffie draws is born out of darkness. The 43-year-old says her childhood was 'adult-centric and pretty tough at times'. 'Everybody else's needs were my priority and they kind of had to be,' she tells Frank Film. McHaffie grew up as the only child of a solo parent. Her mother, Julia, struggled with mental illness. '[Mum] was diagnosed correctly when I was about 15, with bipolar, and finally got the help she needed. But the road in-between was very, very hard.' McHaffie says her mother was 'amazing' when her condition was stable. Julia was a motorcyclist, wrote poetry, spoke three languages fluently, and was incredibly social. 'She was a girl boss,' says McHaffie. But her mother's 'highs' were often met with intense lows. 'Some of her lows would go on for a long, long time, and she didn't even feel well enough to get out of bed, or have a visitor, or eat,' says Sheelagh. 'Sometimes it got so bad that she didn't even know who I was, but I would look after her and make her food, and pay the bills.' How does a child cope when faced with raising a parent? McHaffie had three jobs by the time she was 15 – working at a dairy, a hair salon, and washing dishes at an Irish pub. Most mornings, she got up and made her mother tea before getting herself ready for school, where she says she was 'horrifically bullied'. McHaffie was sent to Cholmondeley Children's Centre in Governor's Bay for respite care. It was here, every second weekend for five years, that she could simply be a kid. 'I was able to play, and I found my childhood here,' she says. 'It was always safe.' On turning 12, McHaffie was no longer eligible for the respite care service but she returned to Cholmondeley for an extended period when she found herself homeless at the age of 14. She was allowed to stay there, in the staff quarters, until she found somewhere else to go. When she was 18, Sheelagh had her daughter, Maxine. Her mother died just four years later. It wasn't until her daughter started school, and was clearly struggling in the new environment, that McHaffie realised her daughter had autism. 'She needed me to interpret the world for her... I provided continuity and consistency and pace and security,' says Sheelagh. Still living with her two children – Maxine, now 24, and Boston, age 12 – McHaffie remains passionate about learning and advocating for the needs of children with autism. Still, she says, it is 'quite terrifying to be that powerless in your own life, and especially when you're doing it on your own'. She credits herself for having a lot of hope for the future, and an ability to always see circumstances as temporary, but at times she felt her efforts weren't enough. There have been moments, she says, when she thought 'it doesn't matter how hard I try or what I do, things are still really, really tough'. When she has felt helpless in her own life, helping others has certainly helped McHaffie. Over the years, she has run school programmes and puppetry groups. She's door-knocked for various charities, sometimes carrying Maxine on her hip. She's spent five years working for the Salvation Army, and almost 10 years for World Vision as a regional representative. She worked with the Red Cross, providing social support to those in elderly homes, and was a team leader for Tony's in Australia, feeding the homeless. Three years ago, Sheelagh decided to try her hand as an artist. Although she loved drawing from a young age, her life had afforded little time to chase her passion. With enough extra time now to explore her art, Sheelagh says her world is opening up again. 'Through all the darkness, there's always that light,' she says. 'That's part of the reason I celebrate my art to the degree that I do... I'm not ashamed to enjoy it and appreciate it, and I don't take it for granted. And it might seem arrogant, but I'll shout it from the rooftops. Because I'm so bloody happy with where I'm at.'
Otago Daily Times
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Canterbury artist raised in the shadows
By Eva Kershaw for Frank Film When Sheelagh McHaffie draws, she uses white pastel on black paper. 'I'm drawing the light,' says the Canterbury artist, from her studio in the Christchurch Art Centre, 'instead of the shadows.' Over the past three years, McHaffie's work has featured in exhibitions, magazine articles, and the World Art Awards, garnering attention for its moody, largely black and white figurative illustrations. But the light McHaffie draws is born out of darkness. The 43-year-old says her childhood was 'adult-centric and pretty tough at times.' 'Everybody else's needs were my priority and they kind of had to be,' she tells Frank Film McHaffie grew up as the only child of a solo parent. Her mother, Julia, struggled with mental illness. '[Mum] was diagnosed correctly when I was about 15, with bipolar, and finally got the help she needed. But the road in-between was very, very hard.' McHaffie says her mother was 'amazing' when her condition was stable. Julia was a motorcyclist, wrote poetry, spoke three languages fluently, and was incredibly social. 'She was a girl boss,' says McHaffie. But her mother's 'highs' were often met with intense lows. 'Some of her lows would go on for a long, long time, and she didn't even feel well enough to get out of bed, or have a visitor, or eat,' says Sheelagh. 'Sometimes it got so bad that she didn't even know who I was, but I would look after her and make her food, and pay the bills.' How does a child cope when faced with raising a parent? McHaffie had three jobs by the time she was fifteen – working at a dairy, a hair salon, and washing dishes at an Irish pub. Most mornings, she got up and made her mother tea before getting herself ready for school, where she says she was 'horrifically bullied.' McHaffie was sent to Cholmondeley Children's Centre in Governor's Bay for respite care. It was here, every second weekend for five years, that she could simply be a kid. 'I was able to play, and I found my childhood here,' she says. 'It was always safe.' On turning 12, McHaffie was no longer eligible for the respite care service but she returned to Cholmondeley for an extended period when she found herself homeless at the age of fourteen. She was allowed to stay there, in the staff quarters, until she found somewhere else to go. When she was eighteen, Sheelagh had her daughter, Maxine. Her mother died just four years later. It wasn't until her daughter started school, and was clearly struggling in the new environment, that McHaffie realised her daughter had autism. 'She needed me to interpret the world for her... I provided continuity and consistency and pace and security,' says Sheelagh. In still living with her two children – Maxine, now 24, and Boston, age 12 – McHaffie remains passionate about learning and advocating for the needs of children with autism. Still, she says, it is 'quite terrifying to be that powerless in your own life, and especially when you're doing it on your own'. She credits herself for having a lot of hope for the future, and an ability to always see circumstances as temporary, but at times she felt her efforts weren't enough. There have been moments, she says, when she thought 'it doesn't matter how hard I try or what I do, things are still really, really tough.' When she has felt helpless in her own life, helping others has certainly helped McHaffie. Over the years, she has run school programmes and puppetry groups. She's door-knocked for various charities, sometimes carrying Maxine on her hip. She's spent five years working for the Salvation Army, and almost 10 years for World Vision as a regional representative. She worked with the Red Cross, providing social support to those in elderly homes, and was a team leader for Tony's in Australia, feeding the homeless. Three years ago, Sheelagh decided to try her hand as an artist. Although she loved drawing from a young age, her life had afforded little time to chase her passion. With enough extra time now to explore her art, Sheelagh says her world is opening up again. 'Through all the darkness, there's always that light,' she says. 'That's part of the reason I celebrate my art to the degree that I do... I'm not ashamed to enjoy it and appreciate it, and I don't take it for granted. And it might seem arrogant, but I'll shout it from the rooftops. Because I'm so bloody happy with where I'm at.'
