Latest news with #Siobhan
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Meet Miss Galway 2025 – a young woman who wants to make a big difference
Nineteen-year-old Roisin was recently crowned Miss Galway 2025 and will compete for the title of Miss Ireland on June 14. The Loughrea native told the Irish Independent she is very proud to represent her county nationally. 'I'm so excited, I cannot wait [for the final]. We have different rounds coming up and I just can't wait to be able to spread my voice and hopefully make a difference. 'My family were over the moon, our family in Galway goes back eight generations, we're very into history in our family. So to be able to represent Galway, especially as a woman, it's a big thing.' Roisin is sponsored by ATU – where she studies business, marketing and sales with French - and Concern Worldwide is her chosen charity. She explained: 'Education has always been really important to me so my sponsor being ATU is such a privilege to have. 'Concern Worldwide work with the poorest countries around the world, and they provide humanitarian aid, they help provide food, shelter, helping children and people in need. 'I chose Concern mainly because of the way the world is in at the minute. I believe that being born in Ireland is obviously such a privilege as opposed to be born in vulnerable countries. She added: 'I just felt it was the right thing to do, how else can I help people at my age?' Roisin explained she wants to use her platform to raise funds and awareness on what Concern Worldwide does, while she works to reach her dream job. 'I wanted to become miss Galway because I always wanted to help people and to work with charities, but I just found that I didn't have the machinery behind, I didn't have the name or the reputation to be able to do anything about it. 'So I kind of felt like 'no-one' as opposed to now that I have a title, I'll be able to do more about it. She added about her future: 'I want to work with a humanitarian organization definitely, I want to travel the world and volunteer, that's my dream. 'I just want to give people the same dreams and ambitions, the same opportunities and the same hope, I want to give them the opportunities that I was given so easily, and that might feel impossible to them at the minute.' She added how all this would have not been possible without her family and, in particular, her mom Siobhan. 'My mom did a lot of work around the world, she was in the red cross. So hearing her stories and how she helped people inspired me. She would be my idol.'
Irish Independent
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Siobhan is queen of fashion at Listowel Races' June meeting
The three-day festival brought crowds to the famous Island for a mixed card of flat and National Hunt action. The ever competitive fashion stakes produced the best in sartorial designs with the winning outfit going to Siobhan, who has been coming to Listowel Races for 15 years but never won a Ladies day title. Siobhan's classic outfit showed a full length black and white jumpsuit from Pure Boutique and a hat rented from Anne Marie Hats Amore caught the eye of judge, designer to the stars, Don O'Neill. As the winner of Style Stakes Sunday, Siobhan was presented with a €500 cash prize as well as generous gift bags sponsored by McGuire's Pharmacy and a pair of exclusively designed earrings by Mary Mulhall of Inish Designs. The joint runners-up were Sheila Casey from Brosna and Aine Wall from Derrymore West, Tralee. Both won €250 in cash, alongside gift bags from McGuire's Pharmacy and a pair of exclusively designed earrings by Mary Mulhall, Inish Designs. Sheila wore a dress from Rose and Crown Boutique Tralee and a headpiece by local designer Teresa Linehan from Brosna, while Aine wore a headpiece by Cathriona King Galway, a suit from Canella Lane, and a gorgeous bag scouted in her local charity shop. Judge Don O'Neill was out and about on the racecourse from 2pm on Sunday looking for his finalists and after a lot of deliberation, he selected nine women of all ages and four beautifully attired juniors. Before the overall winner was announced, each finalist was interviewed on stage by Don O'Neill, with every stylish story making Don's final choice all the harder. The next meeting is the much anticipated Listowel Races Harvest Festival that takes place from September 21-27 with the McElligotts Kia Ladies Day taking place on Friday 26 September. For more information, visit or call (068) 21144. To book corporate hospitality for Ladies Day, please email sales@ or call 021 4319398.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Pub in north Norfolk reopens under award-winning owners
A pub in north Norfolk has reopened with award-winning owners now at the helm. The Ship in Brancaster has opened its doors again under the rule of Siobhan and Caitriona Peyton. The sisters also own Sculthorpe Mill which is best known for holding a prestigious Michelin Bib Gourmand and has been named among the best places to stay in the UK. The Ship in Brancaster has reopened with new owners (Image: Pattie Tobin Photo/The Ship Brancaster) The Ship has nine en-suite bedrooms upstairs, which will undergo refurbishment, and includes four dining areas, a pub bar, a garden and an outdoor kitchen. 'We want The Ship to feel like a proper village pub, somewhere you can have oysters and a bottle of wine in the garden or just pop in for a pint after a dog walk,' Siobhan said. READ MORE: Soap legend back behind the bar at Norfolk Broads pub Head chef Elliot Ketley is going for a Mediterranean theme with the food and will make the most of local resources such as lobsters and seabass from the harbour in Brancaster. The bar menu will stick to the seafood theme with oysters, monkfish, scampi fries and a crayfish club sandwich all on offer. The inside of one of the nine en-suite bedrooms at The Ship (Image: Pattie Tobin Photo/The Ship Brancaster) Rotisserie chicken from the garden kitchen will be available for customers to take away and have a picnic on the beach or to eat in the garden alongside salad and chips. 'The cooking is serious but unpretentious and the setting is as Norfolk as it gets,' Siobhan added. 'Big skies, fresh air and a great local pint.' READ MORE: Wildlife park welcomes arrival of endangered animal Lamb rump is being served at The Ship in Brancaster (Image: Pattie Tobin Photo/The Ship Brancaster) Gareth McAnish has been appointed the general manager and has years of experience in the hospitality industry. He was the former manager and head sommelier at the Sager + Wilde in London.
Belfast Telegraph
26-05-2025
- Health
- Belfast Telegraph
‘Planning for our ageing society is paramount. The demographic shift is a huge challenge'
'When you take on a challenge it's wise to get help from wherever you can,' she adds. There is no wetsuit today though, but a tidal surge is well underway — there are more older people in society than ever and the number is rising year on year. This, for Siobhan, is the day job. The voice for challenge and change. And much like the tests she sets herself during the down times, she's taking on a to-do list certain to test her. The 62-year-old — originally a Derry girl — is six weeks into her tenure as Northern Ireland's new Commissioner for Older People. While she leaves behind an impressive 15-year career with Age NI, it was the chance of having a greater influence and a louder voice that prompted Siobhan to take up the responsibility of holding Stormont to account on behalf of our rapidly growing older generation. And her CV is impressive. European vice-president of the International Federation on Ageing, a senior Atlantic fellow for equity in brain health and a member of Age UK's Services for Older People's Consortium. She was also part of the UKRI Healthy Ageing Advisory Committee (2022-24). A graduate of Ulster University, she holds multiple post-graduate qualifications in business, marketing, and brain health. But there has also been life experience. 'My background is in business and marketing but away from that I was born to older parents,' she said. 'My father was in his 50s when I came along, the youngest of 11. 'He developed dementia in his late 70s so I was always around it from an early stage of my life. My mother, well she was forever young. She kept active and seemed to get younger with age. I carried all that with me and when the marketing job with Age NI came up my husband Niall was the one who told me it was a perfect opportunity. 'I was very lucky to get it. Age NI was a great opportunity doing something I loved, using my marketing career to promote services for the elderly. 'But I have had my eye on the Commissioner's job for a while,' she admitted. A mum of two, son Rory is not long home from the US and daughter Cara is living in England, with both in their mid-20s. They still keep Siobhan on her toes, as do her two collie dogs. 'They need walked every morning before work — the dogs, not the children!' she smiles. 'It's been quite a comfortable introduction for me,' she admitted of her new role, taking to it like a seasoned sea swimmer to the deep blue ocean. 'Given my background with Age NI, I have been all too aware of the issues facing older people, so none of the issue surprise me. But that doesn't mean they don't have to be addressed. I'm learning a lot more about the governance of being a statutory arms length body, working more closely with government departments. 'The role is first and foremost to promote and safeguard the rights of older people. That's holding government to account for policies and practices, really making sure the needs of older people are central to the thinking and that there is an understanding of what aging these days is like. 'A big part of the role in these early stages is identifying where we can actually make changes for the better. 'We know we're in a society of austerity and cuts. Identifying where we can actually move the needle is going to be key, but there is a great opportunity to tackle ageism in our society and change the narrative. 'We do still have stereotypical views of what an older person is,' she said. 'Just because someone is over 60 doesn't mean they should be left to one side. They are part of today and today still needs them to be active in the workplace, contributing to society. We are not dealing with a homogeneous group.' No older person is, as she says, the same. But with age comes an increased reliance on a health service. That pressure is only going to increase in future. 'We have some very strong health inequalities. Life expectancy in areas of high deprivation is much lower' 'Planning for an ageing society is paramount,' said Siobhan. 'The demographic shift is one of the biggest challenges society is facing. We now have more people over 65 than under 19. That's going to increase. At the minute one in six people here is over 65. By 2040 that's likely to be one in four. That has consequences on the demands for services and that's something we need to be planning for now and not pushing down the road. 'We know there will be limits on budgets, but that doesn't mean there has to be a limit on thinking. We can, and the Health Minister has made it a priority, try to stabilise the health service, but we can plan for the future at the same time. All that costs is some thought. We need to make sure we are in a position to provide what's needed when that need arrives... and it will. 'Long term planning is central to this. There is an acceptance at Stormont we need to plan to an ageing society. Keeping them to that is something I will be working on, though it was disappointing to see very little mention of older people in Stormont's programme for government. That's something I will be working hard on to change.' It's not the only thing Siobhan wants to see changed. 'We do, unfortunately, have some very strong health inequalities. Life expectancy in areas of high deprivation is much lower than it would be somewhere else,' she said. 'And one of the biggest concerns for older people is access to services. That means waiting lists for hospital treatment, the ability to be able to get an appointment to see a GP and even down to the simple filling in of forms, much of which has now moved online and left too many people behind — with a concentration on a medium some of that generation struggle to understand or simply can't. 'We need to start speaking to people in language they understand,' she continued. 'Changes in technology are wonderful for those who can adapt. There are too many who are being left adrift. 'Northern Ireland is the only place in the UK where there is no legislation on goods, facilities and services. We need to make sure there is no room for discriminating because of age.' A meeting with MLA Claire Sugden is next on Siobhan's agenda for the day to discuss her private members' bill on that very issue. Seeking that help where she can and giving help where it's needed. 'But we also have to focus on the positive side of things by celebrating that positive contribution older people make to all our lives.' she added. '45% are volunteering, 37% are caring for others in some form and 16% still working in some way. 'People need to be supported to live healthier lives. One of the things I'm proud of from my time with Age NI was working with Lady Mary Peters on her Move With Mary programme. 'Yes, we are living longer, but we're not necessarily living better. We have to try to stay motivated to be as healthy, active and connected as we can be, but for some people that is very difficult. That's where we need to be providing more support. 'We need a transformation. We need to think differently. 'I love the challenge,' she added. 'It's about seeing what we can achieve and getting the right commitment to achieve it.' The most immediate task for Siobhan, though, is away from the office. Helping her son drive to Kerry. 'I'm not letting him go on his own,' she said. 'It's all about collaboration. It makes things so much easier when you work together to get to where you want to be.'
Irish Examiner
23-05-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
Prostate cancer: The later you get diagnosed, the greater the risk
Whenever I'm asked, 'How are you?', I have a stock reply, which I've had for decades: 'If I were any better, I'd have to take a pill!' It's an inherited attitude, the O'Flynn/O'Leary (my mother's side) approach to life: Embrace it, love it, live it. Be alive; not just head down and trudging through, but, even in this ever-darkening world, keep all the senses wide open to all the goodness still out there. And yet, were it not for the diligence and the expertise of the medical profession, I might not be here. I've always been a fitness fanatic, ever-active, even now. Because I occasionally push things physically, this has also meant regular visits to the GP, which guaranteed regular health checks. Probably when I was about 50, my GP decided that this should now include a PSA check. I don't know when I was first diagnosed as being at risk of prostate cancer, when I was put on a watch-list, or when I was finally told I had the disease, but it was a good number of years ago, long before I went to Brussels to work for MEP Luke Ming Flanagan. I know that because during those five years, I let things slip a little, didn't get the PSA tested, the biopsies done, as often as I should. And I almost paid the price. Diarmuid O'Flynn on his cancer diagnosis: "There are no guarantees with any surgery, but the latter offered the best chance of ridding myself of this cancer. I was on my own when I got the news and very quickly, no hesitation, decided: Go in, get it out. I could have waited to consult my wife, Siobhan, but knew she'd fully support my decision — she did." Picture: Larry Cummins. On my 66th birthday, June 25, 2019, I had to retire from Brussels; it's mandatory for parliamentary assistants. Back home in Ballyhea, when I went to get checked with a new consultant in Cork — the previous one had also retired — it was discovered that the cancer had spread around the prostate, and immediate action was required. I can't say I was overly concerned — I wasn't. My attitude to this kind of thing is fairly pragmatic: Do whatever can be done, and after that, what will be will be. I was given the usual options. I remember that some involved treatments with radiation — direct or with pellets inserted in the prostate — and chemotherapy. Another was surgery: go in and cut it out, all of it. There are no guarantees with any surgery, but the latter offered the best chance of ridding myself of this cancer. I was on my own when I got the news and very quickly, no hesitation, decided: Go in, get it out. I could have waited to consult my wife, Siobhan, but knew she'd fully support my decision — she did. The risks attached to prostate surgery were explained to me in great detail, and they were serious, potentially life-changing. The big ones were incontinence (urinary and/or bowel), the possibility of having a bag or two attached for the rest of my days, and erectile dysfunction, with a few associated add-ons. Not very appealing, but neither was the alternative. Erectile dysfunction I underwent keyhole surgery, and had several apertures opened in my stomach. It went smoothly, and the results were positive. All the cancer was cleared, the biggest tumour being about 35mm. I woke up to a new attachment: A catheter. This would be my companion for a few weeks to allow my nether regions time to adjust to the new reality. It was awkward, but you get used to it. Those few weeks would also decide whether the first major risks outlined above had come to pass. I was a bit nervous about it, but also hopeful — the odds are excellent that you'll recover both the bladder and bowel functions. I did, and quickly. The erectile dysfunction, however, was a different matter. Diarmuid O'Flynn at work building a greenhouse in the back garden of his home. Picture: Larry Cummins The nerves that control an erection pass through the prostate — removing this entails cutting through those nerves. When the prostate is gone, the surgeon will rejoin those nerves, but there will be fallout, and most of us who have prostate cancer surgery will need either chemical or mechanical help to have an erection again. One such treatment is an injectable alprostadil, directly into the penis, and the first time I got it still sticks out — pun intended. This was because the injection didn't just work, it overworked, with the result that because I had a train to catch from Cork, I lied to the nurse about the effect — 'Oh yeah, it's gone down now' — and headed off, only to have to try to hide the very obvious bulge in the trousers as I waddled to the bus and then the train. It was bloody painful, too. I related that story to much hilarity to my golfing buddies in Doneraile — that and a few others, all based around the operation. That's how men often deal with stuff like that, isn't it? We joke about it, make little of it, and get on with things. And, in truth, I do make little of it. I'm upbeat, but it's no joke Yes, I'm macho, but not so macho that I'd prefer to be dead than suffer erectile dysfunction. I'm physically diminished — a side effect is reduced penis size, and a new kinky shape — but not so that it affects me in mentally or emotionally. While I'm not keen on the injections or the pump (a mechanical aid), the blue pills are a tonic. It helps, of course, that I'm at an age where my family is complete, sex drive long gone from overdrive to 'What's for dinner?' However, make as light of it as you like, but prostate cancer is no joke. According to the Irish Cancer Society, 4,000 of us are diagnosed with it every year, which means one in six Irish men will have that diagnosis in their lifetime. The later you get diagnosed, the greater the risk — running from it, delaying the testing, that doesn't work very well. But if it's so serious, why do I take it so lightly? I assure you that it's not because I'm not familiar with death. From nine siblings, over the last few years I've lost two sisters to illness, Réidín and Gráinne, the two who probably, above all of us in the family, loved and lived life to the full. Before that, I lost two brothers, Jack, from pneumonia, and Tiger (Tadhg), in a single-vehicle car crash. Diarmuid O'Flynn: "The news in the last few days that former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer surely reinforces the fact that any of us, all of us, are vulnerable." Another brother, Donal, has had my back through thick and thin for decades, but, for the last three years, due to serious health issues, his courage and mental strength are being tested in ways that few of us ever experience. His suffering is our suffering, so I know pain, physical, and psychological. I know both the reality and the finality of death. I'm also taking medication now for a rare blood cancer, which was caught early with a good prognosis. Before that, I had skin cancer treatment. And in July, I'll be having a dodgy lump in my thyroid removed ('It started with a cyst…'). But that's life, isn't it? I still feel I'm one of the lucky ones. The news in the last few days that former US President Joe Biden has been diagnosed with prostate cancer surely reinforces the fact that any of us, all of us, are vulnerable. I write this in the hope that out there, there is a man who'll read it and think: 'You know what, I'm going to my doctor, get my prostate checked out'. Do it today. Read More Scaling Ireland's highest peaks in aid of charity supporting adult survivors of child sexual abuse
