I am always amazed at the way the Catholic Church makes a fool of itself. In its bid to have the Prime Minister of Britain amongst its faithful, it allowed itself to be drawn hook, line and sinker into allowing a horrible piece of humanity into its midst. Now I […]
Married life
Poor Phil Is Dead. “That Is No Country For Old Men”
Well poor old Phil is dead. He died yesterday 9th April 2021 two months short of his 100 years. Would Lizzie have written to him then as is her want with centenarians or would she think she has said enough in their 74 year married life? Do you know I […]
Historic Boyle Part 2
On my walk into town from our abode at the Wooden Bridge we have come to Shilling Hill, in the townland of Knocknashee, a reasonably modern area, with Boyle Abbey and Abbeytown Bridge on our left. This road and roundabout area was reconstructed about 30 years or more ago when […]
Out of Darkness Into Loving Light
As most of you will know Helen my dear wife of nearly 44 years passed away on Christmas Day 2016 and what followed was six months of darkness, loneliness and absolute hell, poorly controlled by foreign travel to England, Malta, Morocco, France, Belgium and Italy. Travel I thought might help […]
A Trip To Malta
Helen, my wife, had died on Christmas Day 2016. The late winter and early spring of 2017 were real hard days for me but by April the corona of light that signifies the end of the tunnel, the dispenser of gloom and despair was growing larger by the week. Helen […]
Helen Patricia Teresa Malpas nee Towey
She died at 5.30pm on Christmas Day 2016 in an isolated single room in the Women’s Medical Ward of Sligo Hospital. 43 years and 252 days after our “I wills” were said on St Patrick’s Day 1973. 43 years and252 days of hard work, six kids, much happiness, some sadness, […]
A 21st Century Comedy of Errors
The main players in this incident packed story are Dr Kathleen Finan, medical consultant at Sligo General Hospital, Dr Una Clyne, urological consultant at Sligo General Hospital and Dr Kilian Walsh, urological consultant at Galway University Hospital. There are two separate scenes, Sligo University Hospital ( now referred by SGH) […]
The Glorious Days Of Late Spring
Well the panic station weeks of April are thankfully now over and Helen is recovering well at home under my immaculate and dutiful nursing skills. The District Nurse now sees her every other day to tend the massive wound which became infected after the angiogram procedure and had to be […]
Two Weeks Of Trauma – Part 3
Monday 18th April An early phone call from Galway ICU telling us not to come down as Helen was being bundled into an ambulance and being taken back to Sligo and to ring Sligo ICU that afternoon. I rang at 4.00pm and was told that Helen had arrived but that […]
Two Weeks Of Trauma – Part 2
Tuesday April 12th After a night of disturbed reflective sleep, I was up early at 6.00am. The management of the hotel had given us a splendid suite of rooms, two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a fully equipped kitchen. All night long I was pondering on the resuscitation […]