Marianne Heron

As I See It

Marianne Heron Sabina, consorts, and doing the thing right

What have Kate Middleton, Sabina Coyne Higgins and Rebekah Vardy got in common? ey are each in a sense a consort. ey are in the public eye through their marriages. If Kate, aka Catherine Duchess of Cambridge, was not wed to William, heir to the British throne, Sabina to President Michael D and Rebekah Vardy to VIP footballer Jamie Vardy it is unlikely that any of them would have made headlines.

Playing second ddle, overshadowed by a spouse who is royal, a president or a sports star isn’t an easy role to play either personally or in public. ere are precious few, if any, rules but a lot of unwritten expectations. As a royal or a presidential spouse there are plenty of duties but no personal pay packet, although there are certainly perks. e spouse of a monarch is supposed to provide company and moral and practical support while the role of an American First Lady or a First Gentleman, is to be a hostess/ host and to focus on causes and social initiatives. And WAGS (wives and girlfriends of sportsmen) might consider keeping in step with the way that their husbands are seen as role models.

Whoever the consort happens to be, it’s hard to get it right, some accept what is involved in the role and adapt as Kate Middleton has done so successfully. But for Meghan Markle being a member of the royal rm was like being an ugly sister with Cinderella’s slipper. It simply didn’t t, resulting in her and Harry’s Megxit to California and rupture with the Royal family.

Getting it wrong can go very wrong. Rebecca Vardy tried to make a name and money for herself selling gossip to the tabloid press. In taking a libel case against Colleen Rooney who had accused her of leaking gossip about her, resulted in a devastating own goal for Vardy ruining her reputation and costing herself and husband more than £3m.

Women in a consort role seem to come in for far more ack than men. Did you ever see clouds of controversy around businessman Denis atcher, the rst ever Prime Ministerial mate? For that matter do we hear criticism of lawyer Doug Emho , Second Gentleman to Kamal Harris’s Vice President: the man is practically invisible. Maybe it’s because it is accepted that men just carry on doing their own thing.

Being able to nd a personal vision in the consort role seems to help. In her book’ Becoming’ Michelle Obama revealed she initially felt overwhelmed by being the rst African American First Lady, until she found her purpose during a visit to a girls’ school in London. ere, many of the pupils came from modest backgrounds and ethnic minorities as Michelle herself had done “I knew they’d have to push back against stereotypes that would get put on them,” she said. But then she saw the young girls’ optimism and, in that moment, she says, she realised that being First Lady would open up a door of opportunity for so many others. e acid test for consorts, it seems to me, is whether their behaviour is appropriate in the circumstances. Is writing a letter to the Irish Times an appropriate thing for the wife of the President to do as Sabina Coyne Higgins did? e answer depends on the letter. In this case Sabina’s letter dealt with the war in Ukraine and demand that “until the world persuades President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Vlodymyr Zelensky to agree to a cease re and negotiations the long haul of terrible war will go on”. e letter supports husband Michael D’s antiwar views but foreign policy is a matter for the Government of the day, outside the Constitutional role of the President. It was not an appropriate area for comment by his wife nor for posting on the o cial Uachtaran na Eireann website.

As it was the letter, which appeared to equate a brutal invader with a president trying to defend his people, that stirred up a hornet’s nest, o ending Ukrainians, putting President Higgins in a di cult situation, embarrassing the Government and giving the Russian Ambassador ammunition by appearing to support Russia.

Would the Irish Times have published the letter which addressed none of the complexities of the situation and had nothing new to say, if some eagle- eyed sub editor hadn’t spotted the by-line Sabina Coyne Higgins? I doubt it, it would have gone in the waste paper basket or the sub would have hit the delete button.

‘In the public eye through their marriages...

Horse Whisperer

But, cycling home from school one day a bee ew up her sleeve, and stung her. She was buried a week later. A huge crowd of devoted crying children, and ex-pupils, attended the ‘two days.’ Moral: for every ogging demon there was at least one gentle angel.

Also close to Kells villa ge were the Comerford brothers - ‘Tonni’ and Paddy. When Paddy left school, he was discovered to have a great talent – an unusual a nity with horses! Boys from worker’s cottages seldom saw anything of the gee gee, except his rear end – as the equine lad dragged the plough or harrow. But P Comerford was a real ‘eye opener!’ As a chap, he’d wander down the village when the local Hunt crowd were having the ‘Stirrup Cup’ – a naggin of whiskey or brandy, generally. Maybe the tasty ‘jorum’ gave them a bit of courage to face the heinously high ditches and endishly broad deep dykes of the times. e tipplers would, of course, be saddle-seated. at was the form. e haughty horses under them would be rather bored with the wait for action, and sometimes would give one another a crafty nip, or a polite swift boot. e doghounds would just sleep or go around roaring.

Paddy C would appear on the scene, as a young teen. Nothing special about him – but ne shoulders for a lad. As soon as he showed up, horses would start behaving themselves, and all would neigh ‘g’day’ to the youth. He’d tickle the cheeks of the most brutish of the beasts, and said savage gee gee would start whickering with delight. If they were doggies, they’d have their forelegs on his shoulders, licking his face, for sure! No beastie was immune to this young lad’s charm. You could even sense equine jealousy if he spent too much time with one bronco. When the Stirrup Cups had been emptied, the ne mounts were reluctant to leave the village, stealing sideways glances at their little ‘pal’ as they went. Paddy’s way with the animals didn’t go unnoticed by the {mostly wealthy} riders, and very soon he was working for lads like Mick Costello of Goodwinsgarden – a ne fellow indeed; I worked for him myself as a youth. Treated everyone well, did Mick – as did his sweet wife Ellen – mother-in-law to the late, great, Willie Duggan

I remember well that Mick had a horse called Patsy Fagin. A snotty beast, he’d always have a toothy snap at you as you passed his half-door – upon which he lounged, cool as a breeze. But he could jump, and gallop like a rocket. His love was split between Costello and Comerford. I was a nobody in that nag’s lofty opinion. Didn’t know which C he loved most – But I was a distant 3rd

I knew Paddy C quite well. But most of my info on his young days came from three local men: ‘Big Jack’ Quigley – main drummer in the famous Kells Pipe Band – ‘Cully’ Walsh of the Crab Lane – and Della Power of Upper Haggard, just past Daphne Hutchinson’s estate. I don’t know how Paddy C nished up. But, being a bachelor and liking a gamble – old age would have been a problem.

He has a nephew still around. Pat comerford of ‘Flower Power’ in Kikenny City.

Ned E

Revive the family for back to school

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Legislation in Ireland allows hospitals to charge patients with health insurance as private patients, even though all patients are entitled to free public care.

So, patients considering giving up their right to public healthcare in hospital should not do so until sitting in a private bed, a leading health insurance expert has advised.

All patients are entitled to free public care, but legislation allows hospitals to charge patients with health insurance as private patients. According to a report in the Irish Examiner, this was the subject of a High Court judgement in July outlining details of a previous decision which said patients can only be charged if they agree to this.

Hospitals usually seek agreement by asking patients to sign a waiver form. e High Court said patients should also be told about “consequences that ow” from opting for private care.

Dermot Goode, founder of TotalHealthCare, said there was a “mistaken belief” people with health insurance must sign.

“We will say to people even if they (the hospital) say to you will get a private room, don’t sign the form until you are in the private room, and in the bed,” he said.

“Lots of people have signed those forms, expecting to get the private room and it never materialises. We advise all of our customers you don’t have to sign the form.” e judgement indicates if a private room cannot be found and the person is treated on a shared ward, the charge still applies.

“I always say to all of our clients, if somebody approaches you in a hospital and asks you to sign that form, your response should be ‘no problem at all, what changes for me if I sign that form?’,” he said.

Changes should include a private bed, and consultantled care, he said, adding: “Nine times out of ten the answer will be that nothing is going to change, there are no private rooms.”

Dermot Goode also warned of risks for people who were new members of an insurance scheme.

“If you are a new member, and there is a risk you are being admitted for a pre-existing condition, then there is a risk your claim may not be paid by the insurance company,” he said.

“You need to make sure you know exactly where you stand. is is nothing to do with the HSE, it’s could be just somebody who has not been insured long enough.” e HSE told the courts of a €170m potential exposure to loss since the disputed waiver form started being used. Private patients are charged between €813 and €1,000 per night compared to €80 per night for public.

Single approach

Patient advocate Stephen McMahon also urged caution.

“Certainly the Irish Patient’s Association would like to see the protocol and guidelines for obtaining consent from patients,” he told the Irish Examiner .

SPECIAL REPORT Don’t be bullied into private care in a public hospital

High Court ruling exposes people coerced into giving up ‘rights’

“You have to have a single approach everywhere, and you can’t have people feeling they are being coerced into one route or the other route.”

Mr Goode said patients having emergency treatment may nd decision- making stressful.

“I’ve had anecdotal reports of people being asked to sign this waiver in the Emergency department, going out the ED door or bring approached there,” he said.

“ ey were very vulnerable and sick. People have said to me in the past ‘I’ll sign it because it will make a few bob for the HSE’ rather than feeling like a burden.” e judgement also clari ed it was the patient and not the insurer who is charged though insurers have direct settlement arrangements with most hospitals.

What you should know about monkeypox

Monkeypox is usually found in multiple countries in Central and West Africa, where it is transmitted from the natural wildlife hosts (likely rodents) to humans. ere is diagnosis and tracking of annual cases in those countries that could number in the hundreds. Because of travel between those countries and others, monkeypox sporadically shows up in places where it is not usually found. What’s di erent about this outbreak is that there has been sustained community transmission of the disease before it was diagnosed. Also, this speci c monkeypox virus appears to be from the group known to be less severe, the West African clade, and has a lower case fatality rate than the more severe Central African clade monkeypox. e way that it’s showing up is also not the classical description of monkeypox. ere aren’t a lot of lesions, but rather a few scattered lesions.

Who is most at risk?

It is important to know that anyone can be infected with monkeypox. If you’re in contact with someone who has been diagnosed with monkeypox, you’re at risk. It’s a viral disease that spreads through close contact. So that means being in physical contact with somebody who has the disease or anything they’ve touched for a prolonged period, if they have an active lesion.

How does testing work?

It isn’t something that’s done in an urgent care clinic. And there’s no rapid test, like the one available for Covid-19, where you get the results in 15 minutes. is is a PCR test done in a referral lab, so samples are collected and sent o for testing.

What can a vaccine do? After exposure, yes, it can be a race between your immune system’s response to the vaccine and your body being a ected by the virus. ere are other well-known diseases for which we vaccinate in the face of exposure. Rabies is a classic one.

If you think you have been exposed to monkeypox, it is important to inform your doctor and get tested and possibly vaccinated as soon as possible.

A monkeypox vaccine given within four days of exposure has the best chance of preventing disease, but even up to two weeks after exposure it can reduce the severity of the symptoms.

e myths about monkeypox

It is not a sexually transmitted disease like chlamydia or herpes. It’s transmitted by close physical contact, and sex is just one of many ways for close physical contact to happen. ere has been some confusion around sexual transmission, because the disease is primarily showing up in networks of men who have sex with men. ere is appropriate concern about stigmatisation and marginalisation of people who are not getting appropriate care.

It’s shades of HIV and AIDS all over again, and we know we can’t go down that road, because it’s harmful to individuals, communities, and overall public health. It’s critical that we provide the right care to those who need it when they need it. The virus does not discriminate, and we shouldn’t either.