< Previous© February 2018 The Meath Coaster30Council UpdateBy Cllr. Paddy MeadeHello, my name is Cllr. Pad-dy Meade, and I want to talk briefly about two major is-sues for our area – the location of a community centre for East Meath, and upcoming boundary changes for the Laytown-Bettys-town District.A brief introductionIf you’re not familiar with me, I’m one of the seven councilors for the Laytown-Bettystown District and Cathaoirleach (Chairperson) for our district this year. I’ve a keen interest in seeing more facili-ties provided for our area, which leads me on to my first point.Reuniting Gormanston with the Lay-town-Bettystown District Since May 2014 the Meath coastline has been separated into two council areas with Mornington, Bettystown and Laytown be-ing in the Laytown-Bettystown District and Gormanston been in the Ashbourne District. This has meant that Gormanston has been left out of beach development plans, and has led to a disjointed approach to the area.The boundaries of the districts are cur-rently being reviewed, so there is a chance to adopt a common sense approach, and transfer Gormanston to the Laytown-Bettystown District. You can make a sub-mission by email - boundarycommitte@housing.gov.ie or by post to Secretary, Lo-cal Electoral Area Boundary Committees Room 1.67, Custom House, Dublin 1. The deadline for submissions is 5:00 p.m. on Monday 19th February 2018.A community centre for ev-eryoneIn 2016 the council allocated €700,000 towards a new com-munity centre for the East Coast. This was great news, as the facility is sorely needed. So far, the assumption has been made that the centre will be located on council land at Sea Fields, just across the foot bridge from Laytown. While this certain-ly suits some of the local clubs, residents across the East Coast have to decide if this location is the most suitable site to serve everyone.Unfortunately, the Sea Fields location is not particularly central. It is a substan-tial distance by foot, and a long drive around Mosney for most residents from Bettystown and Mornington. The com-munity centre has the potential to be a game changer for families and commu-nity groups within the area. The question needs to be asked - will the centre fulfill its potential for the entire population of East Meath at the Sea Fields location, or does an alternative need to be examined?If you have a strong opinion on this, con-tact your local councilor. Now is the time to make your voice heard. Reaching your local councilorIf you’d like to discuss the community centre or the boundary changes with your local councilors, our full contact details are on the Meath County Council website – www.meath.ie. You can contact me on 0876495907 or at paddymeade@hotmail.com §© February 2018 The Meath Coaster31Know Your Rights Treatment Abroad SchemeFebruary 2018Question. I know that medical treat-ments available in Ireland can be accessed in other EU countries instead. What if I need a treatment that is not available in Ireland?Answer If you are entitled to public health services that are available in Ireland, you can access these services in the European Economic Area (EEA) and be repaid the cost under the Cross-Border Healthcare Directive. If you are a public patient and need treat-ment that is not available to you in Ire-land, you may be able to use the Treat-ment Abroad Scheme to get the treatment in another country in the EEA, or in Swit-zerland. The Scheme may provide help with your travel fare and, in some cases, the fare for a travelling companion.You must be referred for treatment abroad by an Irish-based consultant who is treat-ing you as a public patient. You cannot re-fer yourself or be referred by a GP.You and the consultant complete an ap-plication form and include a copy of your referral letter. Your application must be approved by the Health Service Executive (HSE) before you travel or start treatment abroad. You usually get a decision on your application within 15 to 20 working days. If your application is approved, the HSE will issue a form called E112. This au-thorises treatment abroad so that you do not have to make any payment to the healthcare provider. The treatment you have abroad must be in public healthcare under a registered medical practitioner. It must be in a recognised hospital or other institution that accepts the form E112. If you don’t have the form when you attend at your appointment, you may be charged and not be refunded. Any treatments or consultations that are not pre-approved will not be covered.The Ombudsman has produced a report that suggests improvements to the appli-cation and appeals process. It recommends that, by the end of February 2018, the HSE produce a plan and schedule for making the suggested changes.To apply for the scheme, contact the Treatment Abroad Scheme Office for an application form. You can get the contact details for your area by calling the HSE Infoline on the Callsave number 1850 24 1850 or online at hse.ie/treatmentabroad. Further information is available from the Citizens Information Service below.Know Your Rights has been compiled by Ashbourne Citizens Information Service Ltd which provides a free and confidential service to the public. Contact InformationAddress: 43 The High Street, Ashbourne, A84FX66, Co. MeathTelephone is 0761 07 6110 and Email : ashbourne@citinfo.iehttp://www.citizensinformation.ieInformation is also available online at citi-zensinformation.ie and from the Citizens Information Phone Service, 0761 07 4000© February 2018 The Meath Coaster32COMPUTER PROBLEM?Contact Oliver 041.988.7526 087.797.0740iPhones Smartphones RepairLaptop/Desktop Repair & UpgradesUnderstanding WifiWifiuse within the home and busi-ness continues to grow with more and more devices demanding use of this technology. The “internet of Things” will mean increasingly non computer devices in your home will rely on this technology to communicate with you. Understanding how it works, why it fails, and how you can optimize can make your life much easier. Confusion reigns, not surprisingly, amongst many users of the technology and it’s failings. From streaming TV to accessing your email from your phone at home you rely on the technology to perform well. Unfor-tunately many factors can affect its perfor-mance.Types of WifiWifiis NOT 3g 4g or 5g. Your phone is equipped with both methods of commu-nication but its important to understand these are separate technologies. For the purpose of this article I will address WiFi only.Wireless B G N and ACThe original wireless technology was wireless B and since its introduction faster versions have been released up to the very latest wireless AC. It is highly unlikely you have more than one device you use that has Wireless AC and even if you do the rest of your con-figuration is probably wireless N. Wireless N can easily support streaming of TV, gaming, and your regular phones but it comes with several caveats as fol-lows:1. Your WifiConnection is only as good as the strength of the signal to the broad-casting source.(usually your broadband modem).2. Your WifiSpeed is only as good as the speed of the connection to the broad-casting device and onward what speed that device has to the internet. 3. The more devices you have on Wifithe more it will degrade the speed of ALL devices using the wifisignal.4. Any single Wifienabled device can hog the wificonnection meaning it can con-sume virtually all of the bandwidth of the wifisignal,5. Wifitechnology suffers from “phantom signals” and also channel saturation. Next Month, God willing, I will continue on this topic.Oliver Reidy is a computer technician and has been in the industry since 1981.You can contact him via email at help.desk@reidyonline.com or at the telephone num-bers listed on this page. This article, and all previous articles, are available to view online at http://reidyonline.blogspot.ie/ or www.reidyonline.com/blogspot.htm § © February 2018 The Meath Coaster33Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh6th classesIt has been a busy few weeks with 6th classes preparing for entrance exams to local post primary schools. Confirma-tion preparation is in full swing now as the pupils are preparing for the four Con-firmation Masses (4th/11th February, 4th/11th March) in advance of the big day on the 20th of April at 3pm. Colmcilles GAA club Coach Neil is training the boys and girls in a variety of football skills. A busy schedule ahead for the next few weeks in 6th class!School BandThere was great excitement in SSN as we heard the wonderful news that our school band has been offered a place in the St Patrick’s Day Parade on March 17th. We are very proud of our school band and huge praise to Fiona O Donnell for her outstanding efforts and dedication to mu-sic in the school. So many of our pupils are in the band and what a fantastic op-portunity for them to learn the skills of marching and how to play an instrument. We now have cym-bals in the band also this year.Sports CalendarThis is a very busy calendar at present with the 4th ,5th and pupils from Loinnir participating in gym-nastics and yoga this term. There are many other activitities to be rolled out as we go through the rest of the school year.SET TeamThe Special Education Team are busy working with facilitators from the SESS and the NBSS to adopt new programs in our school. We are continually striving for a fully Inclusive school community.School ProjectThe Board of Management are working very hard with the Depart-ment of Education /Skills to work through the planning process for a new school. We have new enrolments every week and we are striving to ensure we can provide the best educational campus possible for the pupils in SNN.School ChoirThe school choir are rehearsing for both Confirmation and the wedding of staff member Imelda Quinn in March. This a great honour for the choir to perform at a wedding! They photo below is from the Christmas Carol service in the Sacred Heart Chruch §© February 2018 The Meath Coaster34Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisementsTHE VIEW FROM THE KITCHEN TABLE, By Geraldine HughesWhen scientists discovered Otzi the iceman in a glacier in Italy, he was reckoned to be about 5,300 years old, he had his ears pierced. Piercing body parts goes back so far that no one seems to have a definitive reason why although there are various theories, religious, spiritual, ritual or just plain old self-expression. Its said to have originated in the East (although Otzi popping up in Italy puts a hole in that theory). Women used to have a gold nasal piercing given by their husband so that if they died, the woman had enough wealth to live off. I’m presuming if the woman died first, the guys just took out the pierc-ing and lived happily off the income in-stead. Piercing made its way back West during the 60’s, when Hippies began re-turning from Ashrams in India with body piercings, which in turn were taken on by the Punk Rock movement as a form of social non-conformity. Which, being Punks, they took to the ex-tremes with multiple pierc-ings and a ton of chains hanging off them which had to have been uncomfortable at the very least.Piercing has become almost mainstream now and while I wouldn’t expect a bank manager to sport facial jew-ellery, it wouldn’t bother me if they did.My first encounter with piercing was having my ears done with my mother, ! Oasis Childcare Centre Mornington Co. Meath Crèche Montessori Playgroup After School Telephone 9888135 + Purpose Built + Fully Insured + HSE Inspected + Fire Certified + Intercom Entry + Large Safety Tiled Playground + Large Car Park + Easy Drop Off and Collection + Small Groups + Dedicated Staff + 7:30am to 6:30pm ONE CHILD! ONE LIFE! ONE PRE-SCHOOL EXPERIENCE Limited places remain for our ECCE and PLAYSCHOOL classes for SEPTEMBER 2018. Book now to ensure that your precious child gets the highest quality & happiest pre-school experience possible! East Meath’s Leading Childcare Provider since 2005 only because she wanted her own done, and needed company. I remember my earlobes burning for a while but overall it wasn’t traumatic. Some years later I pierced them a second time with an ice cube, a darning needle, a gang of friends, a bit of peer pressure and a lot of bravado. (Children – don’t try this at home!)Apart from the fact that we didn’t do any-thing as scientific as measure where we were putting the second hole (I can only wear 2 earrings in one ear if they are very skinny), there was no blood and I didn’t suffer as a result, except when my mother saw them. I should point out that if my mother had wanted hers done a second time, it would’ve been all good.So anyhow my daughter wanted the top of her ear pierced and I thought about it only for a nano-second because, I had always fancied getting my nose pierced, and just like my mother before me, I wanted com-pany. She went ahead and took it like a boss I was up next, and I had an audience of fascinated kids whose moth-er was having her lip pierced next, so I too had to take it like a woman. It wasn’t sore – more uncomfortable, and apart from a dramatic half faint the next day in work when it bled slightly, it’s been ok. What has been truly amazing is that no one noticed! So why did I do it? well I’ve wanted to decorate my nose for a long time, so why not?! Otzi might give us the same answer if we could ask him about his ears. . §© February 2018 The Meath Coaster35Please mention The Meath Coaster when replying to advertisementsThe Stamullen Roundup By Grace TierneyThe Get Ireland Walking strolling group takes place every Monday and Wednesday evening at 7p.m. and Satur-day morning at 10.30a.m. on the running track in St. Patrick’s GAA club grounds. If you’re following along on Operation Transformation or just want a breath of fresh air, drop by.Hope for Homeless are looking for local volunteers to give time to collect supplies and help with packing up items for their Monday night soup run at the GPO. If you’re interested contact them via Hope for Homeless - H4H on facebook.Good luck to all the singers from our local national school who will be participating in the Peace Proms on the 3rd of February at the RDS along with hundreds of other school-children from around the country, professional soloists, and a full orchestra. Apparently tickets are like gold dust!If the start of the Six Nations this month inspires a youngster in your house, you should check out Balbriggan R.F.C. There’s boys and girls training for ages 12-17 each Wednesday from 7.15p.m. at their club in Balrothery. Contact Leigh at 085-8422094 or www.balbrigganrfc.com for more information.Here’s a date for your diary – the annual cycle races in Stamullen will take place on the 7th and 8th of April this year.The Irish classes upstairs in Whyte’s will be resuming shortly. All are invited. Jun-ior and Leaving Cert students are wel-come to come along too and try a few words. Details available from Brian at brainograinne@gmail.comIf you’re looking for something differ-ent to try in 2018, there are jiving lessons continuing on Tuesday evenings in the Glenside Hotel. Beginners dance at 8p.m. while improvers come along at 9.10p.m. It’s great exercise and no partner is re-quired. Details available from Declan at 087-7557163.Another good way to get out and contrib-ute to the village is to give an hour or two to the Tidy Towns group. They meet at the church every Saturday at 11a.m. and al-ways need people to give a hand improv-ing the look of our community.Got Stamullen news? Send it to Grace (087-9074145) or grace@meathcoaster.com Classes Available InPiano, Keyboard, Ukuele, Guitar - Classical, Acoustic, Bass And Electric, Violin - Traditional / Classical, Piano Accordion, Viola, Drums, Singing - Voice Coaching - Classical And Musical TheatreJunior And Leaving Cert Music.Private one to one classes also availableTel Olive On 087 2603079 For DetailsEstablished Since 1990.Lessons Based In Drogheda Grammar School, Mornington Road, Drogheda.Toccata House Music School, Drogheda.041 98 444 98 041 98 111 98086 838 4444www.eastcoastcabs.comEAST COAST CABS(FORMERLY SULLIVAN CABS)EAST COAST CABS SERVICING MEATH COAST & DROGHEDA REGIONS CABS - 4, 6 & 8 SEATERSMINIBUSES AND COACHES - 16, 24, 36 & 54 SEATERS AVAILABLE© February 2018 The Meath Coaster36Funeral Payment Helping HandThe death of a loved one is always a traumatic time. But, in the midst of the grieving process, a funeral needs to be arranged and ultimately paid for. This is done by means of a grant of probate. This process can take a long time to complete. In such cases, the probate process must be complete before a full claim is paid. Re-search indicates that, on average, it takes 489 days to receive a grant of probate in Ireland.This could cause a significant impact to your family’s financial position during the intervening period. This means that even though you have taken positive measures to protect your family financially, if you were to pass away there may not be imme-diate funds available to pay for a funeral.A leading Life Company has introduced a feature which can help to bridge that gap. The company will pay for Funeral Direc-tor costs where they accept a death claim but payment is delayed due to probate. They will pay an advance payment of the cover in place, up to the value of €10,000, to cover Funeral Director Costs. The Fu-neral costs will then be deducted from the lump sum the policy will provide, as soon as a grant of probate has been achieved.The PaymentThis advance payment is only available to cover costs from Funeral Directors, which can include: a coffin, burial costs, church fees, cremation, death notices, plot, ser-vices of Funeral Director, e.g. hearse/car.The payment will be made to the Funeral Director directly or to the Executor(s) of the estate. Brokers and Executor(s)/So-licitors acting on behalf of the family will be notified of this payment once it has been made. This feature is limited to death claims and only covers Funeral Director costs up to a maximum value of €10,000.How can my family avail of the Funeral Payment Helping Hand?• They can make contact with your Fi-nancial Broker as soon as possible and where probate may be an issue or delayed, your Broker will explain the policy and make contact with the Life Company on your behalf.• The Funeral Director’s invoice or re-ceipt will then be required.• Payment will be made to the Funeral Director directly or to the Executor(s) of the estate.• The Broker will let the relevant peo-ple know, e.g. Executor(s)/Solicitors, once the advance payment has been made.If you would like more information on this feature, why not contact your local Financial Broker who can give guidance based on your individual needs. §Drumgoole Financial Services is regulated by The Central Bank of Irelandoran@drumgoolebrokerage.iewww.drumgoolebrokerage.ieHOUSEHOLD SERVICESBG PAINTING & DECORATINGInterIor & exterIor25 YEARS EXPERIENCE REFERENCES AVAILABLEFREE CONSULTATIONS & ESTIMATESWALLPAPER ALSO AVAILABLEContact Brian 086 7308449Call Nicky - 041 9887128 087 7734344 A Local BusinessCosmic Cleanwww.cosmicclean.ieT&Cs & Minimum Charge appliesMAJOR DISCOUNTS for Multiple RoomsRug Collection & Delivery Service AvailableProfessional Carpet & Upholstery CleaningSPECIAL OFFER!Noel SavageElectrical Services20 Years Experience • Security LightingFuseboard Upgrades • Rewires, Extra Sockets • Lights, Fully Insured and RegisteredNo Job Too SmallBettystown, Co. MeathMobile: 086 2518898 Bettystown AlterationsCommunion & Confirmation AlterationsPremises located behind the offices in McDonough Caravan Park on Triton Road (Opposite Tesco) Phone: 086 775 3 776Tues - Sat 10am - 5pm Lunch 1:30pm - 2:30pm Close Tue 2pmClothing Alterations•Wedding/Evening Wear • Leather/Suede Repairs •CurtainsSame Day ServiceMoloney Boiler MaintenanceBarry Moloney - Heating Engineer• Oil Boilers Services and Repairs• Aga Cookers• Central Heating Power Flush• Installation of Central Heating Filters• All Aspects of Heating & Plumbing - Commercial / ResidentialFree Quotations, All Work GuaranteedMobile: 087 3337488barry@moloneyboilermaintenance.ie Grant Electrical96 Betaghstown Wood, BettystownPhone: 041 988 6908Mobile: 087 275 4057• Electrical Installation and Maintenance• Extra Sockets & Lighting• Electrical Shower Installed & Repairs• Immersion Heater Installed & Fitted• Free Estimates NO JOB TOO SMALL!TREE SURGERY Trees Topped, Trimmed or Removed incl. root destruction and removal. Stump GrindingHEDGE CUTTING & SHAPING. OLD GARDEN SHEDS & FENCING REMOVED All green waste removed, Driveway, Patio, Power-washed, Gutter cleaningSpecial OAP RatesFree Estimates, Fully Insured, Long Experience4 SEASONS GARDEN SERVICESContact Jim 085 1163631-042 6822585No Job Too Big or Too SmallStamullen, Co. Meathwww.mammydaycare.comCrèche, Montessori & After schoolPhone:01 6905333 Purpose Built Fully Insured Experienced staff Fire Certified Intercom Entry Enclosed safety tiled play area Private car park Nutritious meals cooked in house© February 2018 The Meath Coaster38Fundraising Table Quiz NightFriday February 16th - 8:00pm"Have A Heart For Belarus" My Name is Vicky Gregory. I live lo-cally and I work as a Hairdresser in Tresses and Tallons Hair and Beauty Sa-lon in Bettystown Square.Since 2007 I have been travelling to Be-larus to an orphanage in a town called Vilejka. This orphanage is home to 180 children aged 4 to 16 years. The charity I travel and work with is called "Pashli". Over the last 10 years this charity with the support of many just like me, have been able to refurbish bedrooms, classrooms , bathrooms and halls for these children. We have also been in a position to refur-bish the shower blocks by replacing the 120 units that were previously not fit for purpose. We have fund raised to re-place draughty wooden windows to triple glazed PvC windows which have made a huge difference to the quality of accom-modation for the children living there. Each year when I travel to Belarus I have to raise €1,000 to cover the costs of mate-rials for any proposed refurbishments. I have done so in the past by kind donations from family and friends and some small local sponsorship. This year is special to me as I have the op-portunity to bring my two sons with me on this annual trip . They have both seen pho-tographs and videos of each years projects and all the children involved. I have in the past had some of these orphans stay with me here in Ireland for a holiday. Each year my two sons have expressed a wish to travel with me and now I think they are ready to do so. They want to experience for themselves the fantastic work carried out by the charity "Pashli" in Belarus and assist with works that may need to be done at the orphanage.The only way I can make this happen is to raise €3,000. I am having a Fundraising Table Quiz “ Have a Heart For Belarus “ in the Neptune Beach Hotel, Bettystown, Friday February 16th at 8:00pm . Tick-ets will be sold on the night at €10 each per person with a maximum of 4 persons per team for the table quiz . We will have a raffle with spot prizes on the night too. For further details , sponsorship or if you want to donate a prize please contact me - Vicky Gregory - on 0872222568Please come and support us and "Have A Heart For Belarus"Search To Find 2018 Texaco Children’s Art Competition Winners LaunchedChildren’s Art CompetitionThe search to find the young artists who will excel in this year’s Texaco Children’s Art Competition has begun. Last year five students from Co. Meath won prizes in the event which is now in its 64th year and widely acknowledged as the longest running arts sponsorship in Ireland.The closing date for entries is Wednesday, 28th February 2018 with judging to take place in March.Winners will be announced in mid-April, with prize giving to follow in May.Details are available through Texaco ser-vice stations and online at www.texaco-childrensart.com §© February 2018 The Meath Coaster39Signs Your Partner Is A Passive Aggressive Abuser.Passive Aggressive Abuse is rare-ly talked about. Victims are shat-tered, disillusioned, betrayed aban-doned and feeling like the 'crazy' one. YOU are never to blame for abuse. Abusers do not love you They want to destroy you for their own gratification to feel superior. A sadistic way of improving their own lack of self-esteem. Someone who loves does not abuse. I'm writing about Passive Aggressive Covert Abuse over the next few months. Stonewalling. When someone shuts down from com-municating or just" bails” your efforts at communication, refuses to take you seri-ously; to engage in a discussion of your concerns, coldly Stares while you talk, rolls their eyes, walks away as if no con-versation has happened, makes no com-ment, listens without offering a thought a respectful response or acknowledgement of the conversation, is totally dismissive and smirking. Then this unthoughtful, lazy, dismissive, flat-out non-response to your feelings and concerns captures the essence of stonewalling and reflects pure contempt, disregard, and disrespect for you. Your abuser will take no responsibil-ity. Abusers use all or some of these traits In their mind, you're a boring windbag, who never stops talking, looking for con-frontation (though you're looking for con-versation compromise or resolution) and will never own their insistent refusal to listen properly. Your words are meaning-less, insignificant, of no importance. That STONEWALL rigid face, THAT eye glare and smirk all say "You are not worthy of my time" You are below them. When concerns pertain to the relationship the rebuff feels especially cruel leav-ing you feel helpless. Stone-walling, is nasty, and hurtful leaving the victim feeling negated. The result your Abuser wanted. They learnt this technique aged 4 to 5 yrs old either by neglect, trauma, abuse on themselves by one or both parents or Learned Behavior from bad parenting. YOU are a victim of their childhood. This is not your fault Their absence of empathy, the relish of messing with your head watching you at-tempt efforts to be heard is quite sadistic. Stonewalling elicits feelings of anger, rage, infuriation, humiliation, desperation (to be heard), helplessness, and a sense of being driven crazy. Done for this exact reason by your abuser. Yes, they are aware of it AND enjoy it. Stone Wallers are seriously disturbed com-municators. Their indifference is chilling. One of many passive aggressive abuses used and often reflects character pathol-ogy. They won’t change. EVER. Unless they come for some long-term Psycho-Analysis with me. Destructive partners are best to avoid or leave, for your sanity and dignity Stop banging your head against the “wall” (apt pun) trying to help your abuser. You will feel depressed hopeless and lost .Time to get them out of your life completely. Stay Strong. I am here to support you. Call or text me now on 0858126677. Bernice. (Psychotherapist/ Psycho Ana-lyst) Next >