Another Busy Week!

Yet another busy week with so much happening in and around the local area.

On Monday I held a Mayoral Reception for a group of Tibetan Monks who were in Clonmel to create a sand Mandala. This is a traditional painting made with vividly coloured sand. It is a painstaking and delicate process and the result is a beautiful, colourful and intricate design.
The purpose of all this wonderful work is to bring peace and harmony to the world and to generate positive qualities in the world. Once the last grain of sand is in place the Mandala is visualised as the residence of enlightened beings/Buddha and the requests are made. There is then a closing ceremony when Buddha is asked respectfully to leave and the Mandala is destroyed. The sand is then distributed into running water so that the grains can travel as far as possible for the benefit of all humankind. What a wonderful thought!
It was an exceptional experience to meet them and their serene disposition and peaceful demeanor was truly captivating.


On Friday I had the pleasure of appearing for the second time on Seoige and O'Shea. Following Cronagh Byrnes recent appearance I had the opportunity to go through some childhood emergencies and the emergency resuscitation of a small child. This is such an important topic, I think that it is vitally important for everyone to know these few steps that really can mean the difference between life and death in an emergency situation.
Information on this topic as well as training is available free of charge from the Heartsafe Program of which I am the secretary. The purpose of the Heartsafe program is to provide the earliest possible intervention to a person in the event of a heart attack. At the moment we are busy installing AED's( Automated Emergency Defibrillators) at strategic points around Clonmel as well as arranging training of key people who work in these areas. Training is provided by Eddie Cooney-Red Cross, Kate O'Flaherty and Liz Ryan both based in South Tipperary General Hosp.

On Saturday I had the honour of opening the Conference for the Association of Ambulance Personnel at the Clonmel Park Hotel. They landed a fully equipped air ambulance which is worth 5 million and I enjoyed a guided tour. After that they went through a full emergency drill. I met so many wonderful people there whose dedication to and professionalism in their work was clearly apparent.

Back from Holidays!

I headed off to Lanzarote on holidays last Saturday week to recharge the batteries after a very busy Summer and to be well prepared for the hectic time that lies ahead. No sooner had I settled in to enjoy the break than I became soooo sooo ill. I didn't see any sun from Monday through to Thursday ( I won't do a "Dominic" on it and give all the gorey details!!!)however, I had to have NINE HUGE injections you know where and, as you'll understand, am standing while I type!!!

Anyway, I'm now back to base somewhat refreshed having made the most of the last two days of the holiday and my heels haven't tipped the ground since I got back home.

Labour Party Annual Collection
On Saturday and Sunday we had the Labour Party Annual Collection, which was very successful and I would like to take this opportunity to thank all who helped with the Collection and of course all of you who very generously contributed.

Belleza
Sunday afternoon I had the great pleasure of opening a new business-Belleza Ladies & Gents Store- an impressive new outlet in Market Place. Every success to Trisha and Louise on their new venture, I have no doubt that they will flourish with the wonderful variety and quality available.

Halloween Club 4 U Disco

Last Tuesday, Halloween night, we held another Club 4 U disco in Danno's, Clonmel.
As always this was really well supported with more than 700 teenagers from several different schools attending on the night. It was such a pleassure to be in the company of so many young people who were simply there to enjoy the night and have a bit of fun.
At a time when teens often get bad press I am thrilled to say that in all my experience of the Club 4 U events we have never had any problems and I can only admire and praise the behaviour of every person that I encountered on these occasions.
A great night was had by all and I look forward to the next event!

Mayors Christmas Fund

Each year in Clonmel there is the Mayor's Christmas Fund for the Needy and when I was Mayor in 2003/2004 I introduced the concept of having a women's-only sponsored walk. At that time we had a significant following and I'm happy to say that the tradition has since continued. Last Sunday at 3pm I lead this years "Ladies 'round the Lake" fundraiser for the Mayors Christmas Fund. The walk was really well supported on the day and I am delighted that people who worked very hard to promote and support the event were among the many prizewinnners of great spot prizes at the raffle afterwards in the Clonmel Park Hotel. I am delighted that this was the case because it means that these wonderful supporters to whom I am so grateful are getting something back too.

I would also like to thank the many sponsors of such fantastic prizes, especially the Clonmel Park Hotel and staff who not only sponsored 1st prize of a week-end away but also gave us a great reception on our return and provided us, some of whom were a little bit jaded and many who were ready to go for a victory lap, with very welcome tea, coffee and biscuits.

I would also like to thank Mr. Brian Jones, Supervalu, Clonmel who does trojan work for all of Clonmel in charitable works behind the scenes and who also supported us with our 2nd Prize by giving us a very impressive Hamper.

Our 3rd prize of 2 bottles of whiskey and brandy was sponsored by Mr. John Higgins of Mulcahys. I would also like to thank the many other businesses and shops that I frequently visit for their generosity with spot prizes in support of this very special event. I have to confess that I would dearly love to have won most of the prizes myself but in that respect, luck desterted me on the day!!

Would the real Phil Prendergast please stand up

I had some trouble setting up the blog starting with opening up a gmail account with my name, it was already taken. I wondered had someone (like my son) set up an account for me without me knowing, at that stage it did not occur to me that there might be another Phil Prendergast. The further along the setting up the blog road I went I realised I did have a namesake Phil Prendergast blogging away in the states.

Ah so that explained why I couldn't register philprendergast.blogspot.com or phil.prendergast as my gmail account. Coincidentially Phil (not me) is a pastor in the New Hope Church Community in Ontario, Canada, being a pastor is a vocation like my own field of nursing.

This week has been busy for me, the mayorality ensures I have always something to do, places to be. Today I opened an exhibition at the Bridge Centre, at the Cashel Road Clonmel. The exhibition focused on disabilities organised by the South Tipperary Disability Forum and the main objective was to highlight awareness about the services available to people with disabilities in the South Tipp area.

As I write this I am supposed to be doing a leaflet drop in Carrick on Suir, however a busy afternoon of meetings has prevented me from this which is a bit of a relief considering the nasty rain outside where you wouldn't put a fox out of a hen house.

First post

This is a test post to try out my blog.


Cllr Sean Ó hArgáin, the Labour Party Leader Deputy Pat Rabbitte and myself at the World Ploughing Championships held in Tullow, County Carlow