THE MAY BUSH & MAY ALTAR:

The May Bush is a tradition in Wexford mainly, the general belief was the whitethorn and the yellow of the primroses keep the fairies and bad luck away when you put them up on May Eve. The May Altars were put up in houses & schools as the month is dedicated to Mary.

GIVE BLOOD: Thur 4th May; Rathkeale Hotel. 16.45-20.00. Sun 7th May; 11.45- 15.00; Greenhills Hotel. Mon/Tue, 8/9th May; Castletroy Hotel; 16.15-19.30. Wed/Thur, 10/11th May; Limerick Racecourse, Patrickswell. 16.15-19.30. Please call 1800 222 111 to book an appointments.

DAFFODIL DAY: The final total for the 2023 coffee morning is €2,769.95. Since Mary Morrissey began holding the coffee mornings for the Irish Cancer Society, a total of €18,581.47 has been raised. What an achievement, imagine how many people have been helped on their cancer journey.

PALM OIL:

Have you heard the news? Sham Palm Industries Ltd is digging up St. Stephen’s Green for a Palm Oil plantation! On Tuesday 2nd, the Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights (which includes Trócaire, Oxfam, Front Line Defenders, Friends of the Earth, Christian Aid and others) organised a public Palm Oil campaign stunt in Dublin. The aim was to highlight the human rights abuses and environmental impact of Palm Oil plantations. The idea of a palm oil plantation in St. Stephen’s Green was absurd, of course, but it was used to draw attention to how, in the absence of strong legislation, big business is getting away with human rights and environmental abuse.

Palm oil is widely used in food because it is economical to grow and has a neutral flavour and it’s about ten times as productive as soya bean or rapeseed.

It’s a super efficient crop,it doesn't require as many fertilisers or pesticides and is healthier than other common alternatives. Palm Oil is found in many everyday items: e.g. breakfast cereals, peanut butter, shampoo, lipstick, instant noodles, chocolate, detergent, soap, cookies, chips, crisps, butter, cakes. It can be difficult to know if a product contains palm oil or its derivatives, because they can appear on ingredient lists under two hundred different names. One helpful tip, is to look out for these four words: Palm, Stear, Laur, Glyc.

The downside is that Palm oil production is a major driver of deforestation of the bio-diverse rainforests. This forest loss, coupled with conversion of carbon rich peat soils, are throwing out millions of tonnes of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. Deforestation occurs in Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, Honduras and Guatemala.

It is wiping out the habitat of endangered species such as Orangutan, pygmy Elephants and the Sumatran Tiger & Rhino. A global average of 8kg of palm oil is consumed by each individual in a year. In order to produce palm oil on such a massive scale, it is said that the equivalent of 300 football fields of rainforests is cleared every hour i.e. bulldozed and burned. This causes serious human rights abuses, where people are being forced off their land by companies that want to use their land. Many community members that try to get their land back face violence, harassment, intimidation and even murder.There’s a key vote in the European Parliament in June, our MEPs are requested to demand that stronger laws are introduced to prevent human rights violations from all companies operating in all sectors.

CUCKOO:

She is due, haven't heard her yet. " The cuckoo comes in April. She sings her song in May. In the middle of June, she changes her tune and in July she flies away " DOWNTOWN MOVIES: Bealtaine is Ireland’s national festival which celebrates the arts and creativity as we age. The festival is run by Age & Opportunity, the leading national development organisation working to enable the best possible quality of life for us all as we age. Age & Opportunity Arts provides opportunities for older people to be more creative more often, to create meaningful participation and representation for all older people in cultural and creative life and to demonstrate and celebrate how our creative potential can improve with age. This is a FREE event - No Booking Required, Schoolyard theatre, Charleville. Sunday May 7th at 3pm MATINEE Movie: ' A Bunch of Amateurs'. Friday May 12th at 8pm Movie: ' LIVING'.

CONGRATULATIONS: Sending happy birthday wishes this week to Tom Noonan and Marian Sheehy. Karen O'Donoghue and Tom King have welcomed their second little girl, baby Fiadh. UPCOMING EVENTS: Fri 5th May: Charity Golf Classic, Newcastle West Golf Club in aid of Down Syndrome Limerick. Sun 7th May: Memorial Run, Meanus, in aid of Blood Bike Mid West & Cliona's Foundation. Thur/Fri, 11/12th: 7.30pm. Variety Show in Cappagh Community Hall. Sun 14th: 12pm, Granagh/Ballingarry Camogie Club, fundraiser, sponsored walk from the Hall. 19th & 20th May: Rathkeale GAA Golf Classic in aid of The Butterfly Club. Fri 26th May: 12 -2pm; Granagh Pebbles; Parent - toddler / baby day. All welcome for a cuppa & chat.