
17 minute read
Paul Hopkins
The Fact OfThe Matter

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PAUL HOPKINS PAUL HOPKINS Women with their rifles under their ruffles
ree months into the pandemic I interviewed the globally-renowned photographer Kim Haughton for the Sunday Independent. During a wideranging interview from Washington DC, where — masked up and sturdy Nikon to hand — she was covering the #blacklivesmatter protests, the Dublin native told me she would wish to have photographed Countess Markievicz.
“ at idea of her in petticoats but with her ri e under the ru es appeals. She’s at once feminine and then not feminine,” said Haughton.
Women have played many roles in warfare down the centuries, from keeping the home res burning to supporting the military with domestic back-up to taking up nursing roles near the frontlines of the Crimean War and the trenches of WW1. It was WW2 that saw the role of women expand, with millions working to supply the militaries on all sides with the weapons of war. I had two Irish aunts who joined the Wrens, Britain’s women’s naval service, as did many young Irish women.
Markievicz aside, women’s contribution here in 1919 was in setting up Cumann na mBan branches, providing safe houses and distributing money from the White Cross. ey procured and smuggled arms. ey were spies, too, described as “the eyes and ears” of the con ict.
Ukraine o ers a unique insight into the roles women play in defending a nation and as leaders in their own right.
Tens of thousands of Ukrainian women have taken up arms during the war sparked by Russia’s invasion. Women constitute as much as 15% to 17% of the Ukrainian ghting force. In the rst two weeks of the con ict, social media was replete with images of women training for combat.
Ukrainian women have historically shown strength, bolstered by enjoying an independence not common in other parts of the world. One reason for this is, actually, the country’s geography. A temperate climate and fertile land has combined to enable independence for hardworking people. Fathers didn’t need to trade their daughters for a dowry to plough the land, nor were they indebted serfs to wealthy landowners. A widow could remain unmarried if she chose to and thrive by cultivating her garden and tending to her animals.
In Ukrainian folklore, there is a recurrent character of a single woman, often a widow, who can survive and thrive without a man.
Since the war began, the Ukrainian Government has been highlighting the country’s tradition of women’s empowerment. However, their representation at government level could be a lot better and, no doubt, the life of many Ukrainian women has been no fairytale, given the history of Soviet domination and the ongoing con ict since 2014 and, indeed, further back.
Since the start of this invasion, several remarkable videos have shown Ukrainian women opposing armed Russian soldiers. One woman was famously shown o ering sun ower seeds to the troops, instructing them to “at least put these seeds in your pockets, so sun owers will grow when you all die here”. Another showed a woman yelling at a heavily armed Russian soldier atop his tank in Konotop: “Don’t you know where you are? You’re in Konotop. Every other woman here is a witch. You’ll never get an erection, starting tomorrow.”
Ukrainian women not already in the armed forces or confronting Russian soldiers with sharp tongues have been volunteering on the frontlines. is practice traces its roots to the 2014 Revolution of Dignity, when volunteers created a de facto second State while the o cial State failed, crippled by Russian-led corruption and cronyism.
In 2014, female volunteers delivered meals, clothes and fuel to the men who defended Maidan – Kyiv’s Independence Square, which became the stage for months-long protests against riot police and proRussian mercenaries. Volunteers supplied hospitals and ambulances with medicines; they assembled rapid-response defence teams to shield locations where attacks were imminent; and they made camou age nets and hid the wounded from persecution.
In 2022, some of the same Ukrainian women have stepped into what are now familiar roles, working day and night to address the needs of the army and of the volunteer forces, stranded civilians, the disabled and elderly, medical practitioners and even abandoned pets.
Grandmothers are using their sewing machines to make ak jackets and military uniforms. A joke on Ukrainian social media is: “If you tell Ukrainian volunteers that a nuclear warhead is needed, it will take them about two hours to put one together and deliver it to the speci ed address. Along with tea and biscuits.”
While not every volunteer in Ukraine is a woman, reportedly they do form the majority of the volunteer force.
As with the Kurdish women known as the ‘Daughters of Kobani’ who fought in Syria and Iraq, there are powerful psychological e ects when women take up arms. Soldiers who perceive they could lose against women might feel emasculated, which was the e ect of YPJ, the Women’s Protection Units of the Syrian Democratic Forces, on Isis ghters in 2014-2016.
Like those women, Ukrainian women now have rose to the occasion. ey are courageous and deadly e ective.
Behind every successful man is a woman goes the old adage. is war shows that, perhaps, behind the relative success of the Ukrainian army is an army of Ukrainian women.
A mindful workplace is a successful workplace
ANDREW MCDONALD HYPNOTHERAPIST
Mindfulness makes the workplace a more productive environment for both employees and employers.
Once simply a Buddhist practice rmly rooted in the East, mindfulness has seen a popularity boom in the Western world. Yet, it is something which is still frequently misunderstood.
Neither weird nor wonderful, mindfulness is beautiful in its simplicity. All it means is being aware of what is going on both in the external and internal world. In other words, awareness of occurrences within, and outside the practitioner’s body. e rst bene t to the workplace is an increase in focus. Places of employment are, by nature, busy. With so much going on, it is easy to get distracted. Concentration quickly becomes very di cult.
In fact, despite being an overly used buzzword, there is good evidence that multitasking is impossible for human beings. Workers are almost expected to do what they cannot by nature. No wonder then, that, with mindfulness training, employees score higher in tests on readingcomprehension, working memory capacity and ability to reduce the frequency of distracting thoughts.
A focused worker is a healthier, less stressed, and more e cient worker. Not only is this advantageous for the employee, but the employer bene ts from a more productive workforce. Potentially, it also cuts down on sick leave, too. Productivity increases and burnout reduces. A study conducted in a chemical factory in America demonstrated that a mindfulness programme led directly to a $22,000 saving per employee for the company.
As a direct result of being less stressed, mindfulness practitioners become more helpful. A study carried out by ve leading international education institutions found that employees who are mindful are more willing to spend time helping colleagues. Again, the plus points for both workers and bosses are obvious.
Communication also improves dramatically. When a boss is mindful, it signals humility, compassion, and authenticity to sta . A manager becomes a team player. A leader, yes. A dictator, no. By being more approachable, heads of companies encourage their employees to engage both with them, and with each other in a more honest and productive manner. is also lters down through an organisation’s hierarchy.
It seems almost silly to point out that teams comprised of helpful, more communicative co-workers encounter less con ict. Workplace arguments and power politics demotivate sta , leading to them being less e cient, and cost employers serious time and money in bringing resolution. Furthermore, it causes another headache for bosses through high turnover.
Whilst it is, in reality, easy to understand, it does take time to build mindfulness as a habit. You simply cannot go from near zero to fully aware overnight. All this means, however, is regularly taking a couple of minutes to be mindful and increase that time, and the frequency of those periods, over weeks and months.
Don’t be hard on yourself if you struggle at rst, you’ll get there. And when you do, your workplace will be transformed!


€500,000 for women's refuge
Twilight Community Group and Amber Women's Refuge, in Co Kilkenny are among 68 community projects to receive nancial support from Bank of Ireland’s Begin Together programme in 2022.
In total, €500,000 is being allocated to groups across the island of Ireland in year three of the fund, delivered in partnership with the Community Foundation for Ireland. is will bring the total value of grants issued via the Community Fund to €1.5m.since 2020. e fund is one strand of the Bank of Ireland Begin Together programme, a threeyear, €4 Million initiative to support community groups, local enterprise and the arts across the island of Ireland. e Community Fund aims to support initiatives that are improving the nancial, mental, or physical wellbeing with initiatives receiving up to €20,000 each for projects spanning nancial literacy and wellbeing, mental health, disability, inclusion and diversity and social isolation.
Laura Lynch, Chief Marketing O cer, Bank of Ireland, said: “We’re immensely proud to support a wide range of community groups, charities, and social enterprises working across Ireland. What they do unites, supports and protects local communities and the most vulnerable in society.
“Communities across Ireland still face many challenges. At this time, we are acutely aware of the pressure on resources of community groups, and notably those supporting migrant groups, like Together-Razem, who, along with their existing range of counselling and educational supports, are providing urgent assistance to Ukrainian refugees. "It’s our hope that support from the Begin Together Fund will help them continue to provide the practical nancial counselling and also provide education that is vital to the wellbeing of the communities that they support,” she said.
Together-Razem provides nancial counselling, education and supports in native languages for Polish, Romanian and Ukrainian immigrants – have been recipients of the Begin Together Community Fund since its inception. e 2022 Begin Together grant will bene t a new nancial education project taking place over 14 weeks.
Ballykeeffe Reserve will benefit from capital fund
Following the launch of the NPWS Review and Action Plan at Ballykee e Amphitheatre in Kilkenny, Minister of Housing and Heritage Darragh O’Brien TD and Minister of State Malcolm Noonan TD have announced capital funding for infrastructure works at the nearby Ballykee e Wood Nature Reserve.
Ballykee e Wood Nature Reserve is a popular woodland walk, 55 hectares of a young ash woodland, pedunculated oak and an abundance of bramble and bluebells.
e car park at Ballykee e Wood is used for access to the Nature Reserve and also to Ballykee e Amphitheatre and currently has limited capacity for visitors. A greater number of visitors could be facilitated at this picturesque site if parking capacity was improved.
Minister O’Brien and Minister Noonan are happy to announce that capital funding of €30,000 has been secured in order to improve the infrastructure and car park, extend the tarmac cover and provide revised pedestrian access. CUT
Have you seen sisters Helen and Melissa?


At tie of going to press, sisters Helen and Melissa McDonnell are missing from Killeshin Road, Carlow, since early Sunday morning, May 1. Helen (right) is 15 and described as being 1.54m (5'1") in height, of slim build and with brown hair and blue eyes. Melissa is 14 and also 1.54m (5'1") tall and of slight build. It is not known what either girl was wearing when they left home.
Gardaí are concerned for their safety and anyone with any information on their whereabouts should contact Carlow Garda Station on 059 9174300, the Garda Con dential Line 1 800 666 111 or any Garda station.
We here at e Kilkenny Observer hope that, by the time your are reading this, both girls have been found safe and well.
Calling agri-innovators
Agri-innovators and entrepreneurs in Kilkenny are invited to enter Enterprise Ireland’s Innovation Arena Awards 2022, which will return to this year’s National Ploughing Championship event. e Innovation Arena competition, which is run in partnership with the National Ploughing Association, is an annual competition that invites businesses and innovators in the agritech sector to enter their pioneering agrirelated products and services for consideration.
For the last two years, the awards have been held virtually. However, this year will see the return of the hugely popular ‘Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena’ at the three-day National Ploughing Championship, one of Europe’s largest outdoor events, which is being held in Ratheniska, Laois from September 20 to 22. ere are a number of prizes across several categories, and those who are short-listed will be invited to showcase their products and innovative agritech solutions at the ‘Enterprise Ireland Innovation Arena’, alongside the winners from the virtual competition in 2020 and 2021.
Ireland has a long and proud history in the agricultural sector, and now global leaders are increasingly turning to Irish ag-tech innovators for solutions. At the Innovation Arena at the National Ploughing Championship, the future of Irish agritech will be on display, including a wide variety of future proo ng solutions along with the latest advances in agri machinery.
Kilkenny-based innovators and entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector are invited to enter the competition now, and the closing date for applications is June 1.
Last year’s competition attracted more than 50 entries.
Categories in this year’s competition include the Established Company ‘Innovator of the Year Award’, the Start-up Company ‘Innovator of the Year Award’, the Sustainable Agriculture Award, Agri-Safety Award and Young Innovator of the Year.
* To enter this year’s Innovation Arena Awards,
visit www.innovationarena.ie.
Where are you, Walter Lally …
Part 2
Nearly seventy years ago, and I remember that kind woman. May her God be extremely good to her, and may she sit forever in His Innermost Sanctum. A Roscommon woman – bless the county and parents who produced her.
Now, I get to Walter Lally. From the very rst day I spent in the San, I had heard tales of derring-do related to him: stories about this youth, which would rank him up there with the likes of Beau Geste or Huckleberry Finn. ere was no adventure he hadn’t starred in, and his prowess in all things was absolutely accepted, and beyond question.
In all gatherings of humans, whether they be male or female, little or big - you will always nd a dissenter to the almost unanimous perception of an alleged hero. But in the case of Walter Lally - there was no nay-sayer. He was revered and worshipped by one and all. Handsome as they come, he looked like Sinatra.
He had left Peamount many moons before I arrived, but had never forgotten his little friends, and arrived out, regular as clockwork, twice every month, to visit his former efdom.
Apparently, because of his wise ways and kind nature, and despite the fact he was well into his teens, he’d been deputised – {had ‘the nod’ – from Sister Boyle – of course!} to spend all his spare time with the children in our Wing – a good ‘big brother’ to them all.
All through the week before the Sunday of his rst visit of my hospitalisation, the ward was in a state of high excitement. Close friends of his basked in his re ected glory, telling ever more dramatic tales about their hero. He had, indeed, the status of a Sultan, and we all - even those who had never met him - tried to make up tales that would add to his luminous legend.
On the Sunday he was due, we were all agog. He was, it seemed, just as popular with the sta as he was with the children, and was escorted down to our ward by a Sister.
When he came in the door, I saw someone who was most unusual, someone who seemed out of reach - exotic as a Prince of far exotic Realms. is tanned young man, immaculately dressed, had an aura about him that set him apart from the rest of our simple raw brigade of know-nothings. He was our rst contact with civilised man. Although we knew it not, at the time.
Walking around amongst his former lieutenants, he asked how were things going, and if he could be of assistance. Many a letter was handed over, to be stamped and posted - at his own expense, and uncensored - to some poor mother waiting for news of her son.
For a couple of hours, he circulated amongst ‘old friends,’ giving hope and encouragement to those whom he could de ne, from experience, as not being in the greatest of health or form.
I had stayed over in my bed in a corner, too shy to approach this Grecian god who had appeared amongst us. en, to my amazement, he walked down to my bed! e other lads didn’t seem a bit surprised. Nor jealous – they were a lovely crowd of children.
“And who have we here”, he go, ashing that great big lightning-strike of a smile, “and where in Erin’s Isle are you from”?
I could hardly answer, I was so dumbstruck. He sat down on the edge of the bed, and said: “I was new here myself, a few years ago. I was lucky that a lad from Ballyragget - Jimmy Moore - made me feel at home. I got on well with everyone, after that. Don’t believe all the stories these lads tell you about me - they have to have a hero in a place like this - and I happened to t the bill. I tried not to let them down - and they never let me down. Now, what did you say your name was”?
So I told him I was Ned Egan, a son of the famous footballer of the same name, captain of Tipperary. It was all I had to brag about. “Well, the great Ned Egan of Tipperary!” he go - “ e famous man! Bejay, but you’re a lucky lad!” And he went on to praise the ‘great Tipperary Football Team’ to the rafters, and made me feel that, indirectly, I amounted to something, in the great scheme of things. {It was only many years later that I realised he’d have had no idea at all about a junior match that took place in 1912. He was just boosting me up. And it worked.}
He then - in a completely unexpected {by me} gesture - shook my hand and said “See you next time, Neddy boy!” and went on to the another bed, where he used his magic to cheer up Danny, a desperately long thin and lonely reclusive bed-wetting Donegal boy, who had just few painridden months to travel along, before the mercy and nal comfort of the box embraced him.
All through that dark winters afternoon he talked to us, and encouraged and entertained us. He produced several bags of sweets, and some marbles for those lads - like myself - who hadn’t managed to acquire this magic glass currency.
Yes, he gave them only to those who had nothing. And not one boy tried to cheat their way into getting a tiny shimmering ball: his magic rubbed o on all - even on the tough chaws - or what passed for hard cases in that innocent place.
He sometimes brought his beautiful girlfriend along, and she was as kind – and as welcomed – as himself.
When he nally left, although we were sad to see him go, we gave him a great cheer. He assured us that he’d be back in a few weeks, and waved to us all the way down the driveway, until cut o by the trees.
I saw him many times afterwards, and he never changed. e only sad thing about it was that when I went home, it was a sudden thing, and I never got the chance to say ‘good luck’ to him.
So, if you ever see this story, Walter Lally, you’ll know that your legacy of kindness wasn’t wasted.
You live on in my life, and always will. And, when I thank you, I am sure I speak for many other small lonely victims of a hard life, to whom you were a real hero. Ned E

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e opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed by the author do not necessarily re ect the opinions, beliefs and viewpoints of e Kilkenny Observer.
