< Previous© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 40 Dementia & Covid-19 in Meath R ecent months have been a challenge . For the over 1,700 people living with dementia in Meath, and their families, it has been especially difficult. Many have been cocooning or staying at home to minimise the risk of contract- ing COVID-19. To protect people with dementia from COVID-19, some of our services had to be changed, and they may also have been missing important social connections and activities so crucial for wellbeing. As society and healthcare ser- vices start to return to normal, and we be- gin to enjoy the things we missed, for peo- ple with dementia and their carers this too brings challenges. Upheaval and changes in the person’s condition and routines may make some people with dementia more reluctant to return to community life. Every one of us can play our part in reach- ing out to, and supporting, people with dementia and their carers, as together we navigate a new way forward. Here’s how you can help: 1. Make contact safely. Though we all need to protect ourselves and each other, staying connected is important in supporting people with dementia, their carers and families. If you’re planning a visit, agree the time in advance. Take your cues from the person you’re meet- ing and be prepared for a short visit. 2. Do an activity together. Whether it’s enjoying a craft activity, joining in an online sing-along or spending time gar- dening – engaging and enjoyable activ- ities are vital for mental stimulation and physical wellbeing. 3. Offer to help. While there are times al- located by retailers for older people, the medically vulnerable and carers to shop, some people may still be reluc- tant or unable to get out. Offering to do the groceries or other errands could give the carer a well-earned break. When visiting a friend or family member who is at greater risk from COVID-19 in an indoor location or where social dis- tancing is difficult, you should wear a face covering. Seeing you with a face cover- ing could, however, be confusing for a person with dementia. Try showing your face from a two-metre distance or through a window before you put the face cover- ing on and explain why you’re wearing it. A face covering in a cheerful or favourite colour can also help. If you haven’t seen a family member or friend with dementia for a while, the per- son’s condition may have changed. That is all the more reason to make the connec- tion and to help bring joy into each other’s lives. The HSE’s Dementia: Understand To- gether campaign has a range of resources to support people with dementia during COVID-19 including an At Home Activi- ties booklet and Weekly Activity Planner available at www.understandtogether.ie. For information and support on dementia, Freephone 1800 341 341 (Monday to Fri- day 10am-5pm & Saturday 10am-4pm). For the latest health information, includ- ing how to make and wear face coverings, and how to protect yourself and others, visit www.hse.ie. It may be a different world right now, but together we can make it a better one. Yours sincerely Dr Suzanne Timmons HSE National Dementia Office Block 6, Central Business Park Tullamore, Co. Offaly §© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 41 Laytown United SFC www.laytownunitedsfc.com / www.facebook.com/LaytownUnitedSFC A fter over 100 days without football, we were delighted to hold our First Covid-19 compliant training session on the 25 th of June. Our Covid Compliance Committee have worked extremely hard over the past few weeks to ensure that all procedures and protocols were in place to ensure a safe return to football for us all. We are looking forward to welcoming back all teams in due course. This month we have a guest spot from our u12’s player Alex, pictured here with Drogheda Utd Mid-fielder Sean Brennan, speaking about his Instagram Account Drogsblog. Well done Alex we wish you lots of suc- cess in the future and it would be great if people could pop over and show Alex some support on Instagram. “Hi everyone, this is Alex Conroy and I run a Drogheda United fan account on Instagram. I started the account on the 30 th December 2019 and it now has nearly 500 followers! I post daily and do interviews with current and former Drogheda players weekly. I am a huge fan of the club and have been since 2015. I think everyone in the area that is into football should start going to Drogheda matches, because you won’t find atmosphere like it anywhere else in the world. They also have a great youth set up for u13’s, 15’s, 17’s and 19’s. It is a great experience and opportunity for young people and old to go to games like these. Get behind the club of your town.”© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 42 C2 General Stamullen F.C. Club news W e hope you are all safe and well. We still aren’t back playing foot- ball but we have been notified on how and when we can so we have been busy work- ing in the background putting procedures in place to make it safe when we do. In the meantime please keep practising and we can’t wait to see you all soon. Congratulations We would like to say how proud we are of Phoebe Coyne, one of our u8 girls. Dur- ing lockdown Phoebe who is only 6 took up running with her Dad and decided to run a marathon in 30 days with her Dad and raised money for balbriggan cancer support. She is such an inspiration and we are so proud, she managed to raise over €2000, well done Phoebe, and well done to her Dad, Mam and of course her sis- ter Emily who is also one of our super u8 girls who helped her all the way! What a super star and an inspiration Phoebe is, the Club is very proud. New Sponsors We are looking for a new sponsor for one of our teams. If you think you would like to do this, please contact the club on the details below. Thank you. Club Contact Details: Email - stamullenfc@gmail.com Facebook - www.facebook.com/stamullenfc Club Secretary Marcus Kelly – 0851477825 Website – www.stamullenfc.com § Phoebe and her cousins and aunt, uncle and sister who ran some of her runs with her Phoebe and her Dad and very proud coach© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 43 Phoebe on her last leg of the marathon East Meath Hospice Foundation Aldi Grant Aldi Community Meath Grants A total of five Meath charities have re- ceived donations as part of Aldi’s Community Grants Programme across the last 12 months. The programme has seen Aldi donate €2,500 to charities across Meath who provide vital services and make a huge difference within their community. benefitted from a €500 donation from one of Aldi’s Meath stores. Aldi’s Community Grants programme helps fund local charities and organisa- tions that contribute vital work and ser- vices in their local communities. Each local charity supported is chosen by Aldi employees, enabling them to help the lo- cal good causes they are passionate about. Over €250,000 has been donated to more than 340 different local charities across Ireland since the programme began four years ago. To mark its 20 th anniversary in Ireland in 2019, Aldi staff across its Naas and Mitchelstown regions also voted for two charities, The Society of Saint Vin- cent De Paul and Pieta House Cork, to receive a further €5,000 in Aldi vouchers late last year. Through its partnership with FoodCloud, Aldi's six Meath stores have donated over 51,500 meals to local charities to date. . § East Meath Hospice Foundation, Meath River Rescue, Ashbourne Cardiac First Responders, Trim Family Resource Cen- tre and Special Olympics Ireland each © July 2020 The Meath Coaster 44 Cilles Athletic Club www.cillesac.ie www.facebook.com/CillesAC H ere we are, July already! Kids are on holidays (hard for them to tell re- ally!) , the sun is making the odd appear- ance. We’re slowly but surely getting used to our new freedoms. Life is starting to turn to the new normal as restrictions ease and with that our won- derful club is back on the road again! I’d firstly like to thank all the members of Cilles AC for their patience as we grap- pled with figuring out how to return to training under the new restrictions. Much appreciation to the committee and coach- es who worked through all the documen- tation and protocols to create the training sessions we have at the moment. These sessions are limited in numbers and have a plethora of rules and restrictions but everyone is adjusting and fun can be had within the rules. We’re currently restricted to groups of 15 but that will be lifting soon. As running isn’t a contact sport we don’t have to deal with all the requirements that arise from that but be assured all precautions are be- ing taken to ensure the safety of all ath- letes and staff. Looking forward to run- ning with you all this Summer. Virtual B-5 There was much disappointment when we announced that our race The B-5 was cancelled due to Covid-19. The race won’t go ahead this year in its traditional format, however, we are delighted to an- nounce that you can still get some of the feel-good race factor in and help out with © July 2020 The Meath Coaster 45 two wonderful charities. The race will cost €10 and this includes, what we think is our best medal to date and postage. You complete your 5 miles in July on a day that suits you, send in your completed race details and you can check them out on the leader board. www.popupraces.ie/race/the-b-5-vir- tual-cillies-ac/ You can check out our website www. Cillesac.ie or our Facebook page for fur- ther updates. We’ve chosen two charities, very close to our hearts in Cilles AC - Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, who do wonder- ful work all year round and, in all cir- cumstances, but they’ve been particularly important to a lot of families during this very challenging time. The Irish Hospice Foundation give support and comfort to patients and their families through very difficult times, they›ve also launched a support service for those bereaved by Covid-19. All profits will go to these hugely worthwhile charities. Hope you all enjoy your 5 mile, wear your bling with pride and we’ll see you all in person next July. §© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 46 Naomh Colmcille C.L.G. www.cilles.com We Are Back ! F inally after almost 4 months the pitch- es are back open. A huge well done to everyone who worked so hard in the battle against the Coronavirus. Let’s hope we keep winning the battle now. Keep up the great work everyone. Keep washing those hands, respecting the guidelines and taking all the necessary precautions Return To Play Things are a little bit different than they were in March and previous seasons with onerous demands put on all teams. Play- ers must complete Covid 19 training and Return to Play Health Questionnaires and equipment needs sanitising. We also need to monitor numbers in our grounds and we ask for patience from everyone as we phase teams back over the next two weeks and learn as we go through A huge thank you to everyone who has volunteered to help as Covid Officers. The work you are doing really takes the pressure of our coaches and we are very grateful for your time The games are starting later in the month and membership will need to be paid in advance Summer Camps Unfortunately the Kellogg’s Cúl Camps and Graham Reilly Camps are at full ca- pacity. There is some suggestion that ex- tra camps may be added but there is noth- ing confirmed as we go to press. Please keep an eye on social media channels (Fa- cebook, Twitter and Instagram) for further updates The Games Are Back The last week saw the Adult and Minor Championship draws made and we face some challenging tests. In the Ladies Championships we face Royal Gaels, Ratoath and Dunsany in the Intermediate Championship and Slane/ Rathkenny and Seneschalstown in the Junior C Championship. © July 2020 The Meath Coaster 47 If the Division 1 Minor Boys are to retain the Delany Cup then they will have to do it the hard way facing Ratoath, Skryne and Dunshauglin in the Group stages. The Division 3 Draw has not been made at the time of going to press. In the Men’s Senior Football Cham- pionship its another tough draw as we face Gaeil Colmcille, Dunshaughlin and Dunboyne. The Premier 3 (B Team) face Dunderry, Donaghmore Ashbourne and Dunsany whilst the Premier 5 (C team) play Simonstown, Skryne and Moynalty A Better Life For Livie And Drogheda Women & Children’s Refuge Fundraisers We are so proud of the efforts of everyone in the club during this Corona Crisis. The Volunteer and “Can-do” spirit is alive and well. A huge well done to our Ladies and Boys u15 teams who worked so hard over the last month in their fundraisers for the Bet- ter Life for Livie and Drogheda Women’s Refuge charities. Thank you to everyone who supported the teams Looking forward to welcoming you all back© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 48 Shane Black Property Advisors Cúl Cilles Academy – Returns ! Save the date, the Shane Black Property Advisors Cúl Cilles returns on Sunday 12 th July. Given the current pandemic, the Monday hurling nursery will be incor- porated into the Sunday academy. Keep an eye on social media and our website www.cilles.com Club Lotto Our club lotto continues online and with our intrepid lotto sellers unable to sell at usual retail outlets or door to door, it would really be a great support for the club if you Pictured earlier this year at the launch of the 2020 SHANE BLACK PROPERTY ADVISERS ACADEMY. Pictured with Shane are Chairman and President, Keith Loughman and Pat Haigney, Hurling Co-Ordinator Gwen Lanigan, Academy Co-Ordinator Sam Madden, GPO Conor Brennan and young referee Niall McElearney. We return on 12th July and we look forward to welcoming everyone back© July 2020 The Meath Coaster 49 could support us by playing our Club Lot- to by playing online at https://cilles.com/ club-lotto/ You can play weekly, monthly or annually and all funds go towards day to day running costs like maintenance, schools coaching, insurance costs, light and heating etc. Your support no matter how small would be greatly supported # Cilles And Affinity Advisors Link Up And It Could Save You Money ! It’s important at this time to support all our sponsors and we ask all our members to ensure you support local business at all times but especially now in these pandem- ic times. One such sponsor are Affinity Advisors www.affinityadv.ie/ , the mortgage and protection specialists. Affinity support our ladies senior teams and team mentor, Mark Murphy is one of Affinity’s special- ist advisers Did you know that many mortgage hold- ers can make large savings by switching mortgage providers? Very often we don’t have time to think about our outgoings and very often the effort involved can seem like a huge chore. However voted as Mortgage Broker of the year 2018 and 2019, Affinity Advi- sor can cut through the complexity and provide you with high quality, independ- ent and professional mortgage advice and services. If you would like to review your current mortgage and consider if savings can be made then why not contact Mark Murphy Super work by the u15 boys and ladies teams in their recent Solo Run Challenges Next >