Loftus Hall set to reawaken 665 years of history

Irish Ghost Hunters; Tim Kelly, Tina Barcoe, Ruth Algera and Wayne Bolger

With almost 666 years of history that has intrigued, spooked and unsettled even the most hardened cynics, Ireland’s most haunted house, Loftus Hall, will reopen to the public tomorrow, March 28^th  following its winter hiatus.

Nestled on the Hook Peninsula in Co. Wexford in barren and austere surroundings, Loftus Hall which has stood on the site since 1350, is not just a mecca for paranormal enthusiasts, but for families, tourists and locals. In fact, many visitors to the area are intrigued to find out more about Hook Head’s incredible heritage and colourful history.

Aidan Quigley, owner of Loftus Hall, is busy preparing for the opening, “From previous years, we know that there is great interest in the Hall, its history, its stories and the mysterious events.”

“There has been a lot of inexplicable activity on the site.  Obviously the most heralded story is that of the “stranger” who was invited to play cards by the then owner, Charles Tottenham Loftus, in the 18^th century.  When his daughter Anne bent to retrieve a fallen playing card, she discovered that the invited guest had cloven hooves.  The stranger flew into a fiery rage, crashing through the roof leaving in his wake a smell of sulphur and brimstone, and the very same roof has been irreparable ever since.”

Last year Loftus Hall hit the international headlines once again, when tourist Thomas Beavis snapped what appeared to be a ghostly apparition in the window of the Hall.  The figures, believed to be that of Anne Tottenham who discovered the cloven hoof of the card playing stranger, and an old lady went viral igniting world-wide curiosity about Loftus Hall and its eerie past.

Aidan added, “While the Hall was closed we undertook some repairs and general maintenance over the last few months.  Even though most of the work was carried out smoothly and seamlessly, there have been a few strange goings-on such as light bulbs not working and frosty temperature drops in certain areas of the house.”

Ahead of the reopening, a group of paranormal investigators took a journey through Loftus Hall.  The Irish Ghost Hunters are a team of spectre seekers, which investigates haunted locations throughout Ireland and further afield.

As part of a TV documentary, IGH visited the Wexford demesne and their findings were somewhat disquieting.  Location Manager and Lead Investigator with IGH, Tina Barcoe recounted some of the team’s findings.  “The team used practical hand-held devices which register temperature and energy readings.  There were major temperature drops, particularly in the Chapel and the Tapestry Room.  We also registered significant spikes in the electro-magnetic fields in some areas of the house, which indicates that something, an energy source, was close by.  We also heard tapping noises within rooms that we were investigating and responses on our K2 meter (EMF) which seemed to be in connection to our questions.”

Tina added “The team in general got an unsettling feeling, and our investigation left us with more questions than answers.  We’re certainly looking forward to coming back again to see if these phenomena can be explained.”

Loftus Hall opens to the public on March 28^th and guided tours are available from 12pm to 5pm.  The tour takes 45 minutes, combining the history and legend of Loftus Hall in an entertaining, informative and interactive package.

To find out more about the House Tour, Nightfall at Loftus or the Loftus Lockdown visit www.loftushall.ie or call 051 397728.

Family carer and senior citizen guidebook-free resource for family and older people.

More than 50,000 people in Ireland are caregivers for elder parents and relatives, almost one third of the adult population. The caregiving role can be rewarding but it’s also one of high stress, low recognition and family strain.

It is always essential that people make informed decisions when it involves care for their loved ones and also paramount that carers look after themselves so as to continue with their caring role. The Family Carer and Senior Citizen Guidebook brings together practical advice and information to encourage and support these men and women who give so much for their ageing loved ones.

“Being a caregiver can be physically and emotionally exhausting. Caregivers often feel overwhelmed by the work and the demands of those receiving their care. Over time caregivers pay a high emotional, physical, social and financial price for caring and giving.”

“The Family Carer and Senior Citizen Guidebook is a support to caregivers and encourages them in their labour of love” says Danette Connolly, Director of Care at Home Instead Senior Care, Waterford.

Produced by Home Instead Senior Care with the support of Age Action, Nursing Homes Ireland and Age and Opportunity the guidebook provides a comprehensive overview of ageing issues and supports available in Ireland including: Allowances and Entitlements, Financial Advice, Legal Information, Community Support and Care Options.

The information and advice available is for family carers and older people making it easier to navigate the caring and ageing terrain in Ireland. The guidebook also contains real life stories and case studies from people who age “ successfully “- these are people who are prepared for their senior years or have cared for ageing loved ones and taken steps to safeguard their health, safety, social and family needs.

“While ageing and caring for loved ones may present many challenges, it presents an opportunity to continue to live a happy, healthy and independent life. We encourage older people and family carers alike to take the time to read the guidebook and stop, think and plan for the future and think about what is necessary to age successfully” advises Danette.

Your free copy of the Family Carer and Senior Citizen Guidebook is available from local G.P.’s and pharmacies or why not come along and collect it from the Home Instead information stand at Dungarvan Shopping Centre on Friday March 27th where the Home Instead team will be available to answer any questions you may have on the carer’s role or ageing successfully.

For more information on our homecare options or to arrange a FREE Care Consultation call 058 75298 or visit www. homeinstead.ie  

Internationally renowned Chef back on home turf!

At the age of 21 newly qualified chef Adrian O’ Herlihy graduated from Dublin College of Catering in Cathal Brugha Street, armed with a freshly pressed set of whites and a toque ready to take on the culinary world.

In a highly impressive career spanning thirty three years and nearly as many countries O’ Herlihy has returned home to Ireland.  You could be forgiven for asking why an award-winning Executive Chef who has worked in the most prestigious hotels and restaurants in the world, including the Sheraton Hotel in Addis Ababa and the Park Plaza Beijing is returning to Ireland.

According to O’ Herlihy Ireland is experiencing a resurgent food movement and he is looking forward to being part of it. “The Ireland I left behind in 1982 is very different from the Ireland of today.  The food and hospitality sector is rightfully reclaiming its place as one of the world’s leading food tourism destinations.”

“It’s an exciting time for Irish chefs and for the Irish hospitality sector, in general.  The economy is on the up, VAT is stable at a favourable 9% and the investment in great chefs, great suppliers and great producers is creating a food tourism economy that’s the envy of many countries.”

On March 19^th, Adrian will also showcase indigenous producers to a small gathering at Bellissimo. The Waterford restaurant, under the helm of renowned Head Chef Paul Power, has been championing local producers for almost 15 years.

According to Tony McMahon, proprietor of Bellissimo Restaurant the idea came about when he met Adrian on his return to Ireland. “From the outset it was obvious that we both shared the same vision and passion about good food.  There is a growing movement in Waterford of people passionate about promoting a great dining experience.  Many restaurants and hotels in the city are working in tandem, to create a quality, enjoyable and accessible dining culture.”

“By having someone of Adrian’s exceptional calibre, who brings a myriad of international experience, working alongside local producers is energizing and will certainly put the spotlight on the wonderful array of raw materials and resources that Waterford has to offer.”

Adrian will merge the characteristic styles of African, Asian and Eastern cooking with local ingredients from local producers.

Hailing from Tallow, Co. Waterford O’ Herlihy is no stranger to plaudits.  Following graduation from Dublin College of Catering, his career began its stellar trajectory and he has worked in the U.S.A, U.K., Germany, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, China, Africa and Japan. He has cooked for Royalty, Presidents, Heads of State, international diplomats, celebrities and has received personal commendations from many including Her Majesty Queen Sirikit and HSH Prince Bisadej of Thailand.  He also cooked for President Michael D. Higgins on his working visit to Africa last November.

For more about Bellissimo Restaurant check out www.bellissimo-waterford.com or visit www.adrianwohelihy.com to find out more about Adrian’s international career.

Whitfield Clinic serves up Fuel for Life

As part of its commitment to patient’s well-being, Whitfield Clinic introduced a Food and Health Initiative which ran in tandem with RTE’s popular health programme Operation Transformation.

For the last two months an Operation Transformation hot meal option was made available each day at the Atrium Café and also on inpatient menus. The meals were developed to provide a similar nutrient profile to the RTE Operation Transformation recipes and clearly labelled to help patients, staff and visitors make a healthier choice.

While nutrition plays a big role at Whitfield Clinic, so does taste and quality menu choices. Good nutrition is especially important to patients because illnesses and their treatment can affect one’s energy levels, ability to recuperate and appetite. Certain treatments can even affect ones’ body's ability to tolerate certain foods and best use of nutrients. 

The Whitfield Clinic catering department’s Nutritionist Charlotte Cummins emphasises the importance of a healthy and nutritionally balanced menu. As patients present themselves at Whitfield Clinic it is essential that the menu offered provides optimum nutrition for people with illnesses and recovery plans. “I nutritionally analyse the operation transformation meals to ensure the nutrient profile is suitable for patients; these meals are low fat, low salt, source of fibre, suitable for vegetarians or made from ingredients containing no gluten to ensure there is something healthy for everyone.”

Whitfield Head chef Romain Bierry outlined his team’s commitment to giving patients a healthy choice.  He said, “Our commitment to patients and visitors is to ensure that we provide them with daily, tasty, fresh and nutrient rich choices.  We work with local producers to ensure market-fresh ingredients in all our recipes. Each morning the kitchen team creates every meal from scratch to ensure that our customers enjoy higher quality food with more taste.”

“We are determined to ensure that all patients at Whitfield are assured of a meal that is fresh, tasty, packed with nutrients and in some ways goes to assisting recuperation.  The Operation Transformation healthy meal options were a resounding success and we intend to continue offering a varied and tasty selection of health options for all our patients.”

The daily menu at Whitfield included Operation Transformation favourites such as Stir Fried Pork with Ginger, Lemon Aioli Marinated Chicken, Chorizo Spiced Haddock and a range of vegetarian options.

 “We are delighted to see that our patients and visitors supported our Food and Health Initiative with almost 70% of patients choosing our Operation Transformation option,” explained Whitfield’s Catering Manager, Alan O’Connor.

“Every day we invest a huge effort into helping our patients and visitors eat right by making the healthy option the easy option. The food on our plates is the result of intensive work and commitment by our dietician, food development team, chefs and local suppliers.”

 If you would like to learn more about Whitfield Clinic’s health food options, offer some suggestions, or if you just want to see what they have for lunch, please contact us on whitfieldclinic@ksg.ie

Home Instead Senior Care Teams up with An Garda Síochána to Keep Seniors Safe

Given the increase in crimes against older people by bogus callers, Home Instead Senior Care is partnering with An Garda Síochána and sponsoring the provision of 300,000 bogus caller check cards to help older people feel safe.

Many people routinely employ door-to-door traders and repair people and unfortunately, some of these people carry out very little work and charge exorbitant amounts of money for their services. This is criminal behaviour and if you suspect bogus callers are in your area or are working in a vulnerable neighbour’s home, never hesitate in contacting the Gardaí immediately.

The initiative is supported by Home Instead Senior Care Waterford and according to Ray Power, Manager, Home Instead Senior Care, “It is a sad, but true fact of life that there are people out there who will take advantage of the elderly.  In many cases, seniors are seen as soft targets to extort money from by offering dubious and deceptive services.  We cannot stress enough the importance of checking the credentials of any service person who cold - calls to the door offering maintenance or repair services.”

“The provision of these bogus caller check cards will allow older people to feel more confident and secure in their own homes.  They are available from local GP’s and pharmacists across Waterford City and County.”

Genuine tradespeople will not be offended by any enquiries the Gardaí may make and may indeed welcome them. If an unknown person calls to the door, it is advised to give them a bogus caller check card to fill out their details. A genuine person will typically co-operate and not have a problem filling out the card and the older person will have peace of mind answering the door.

An Garda Síochána advise that the bogus caller check cards are used in the following manner:

• Look out the window

• Have a viewer fitted on your door

• Have a door chain fitted and keep the chain on

• Make sure your back door is locked before you go to the door

• Ask for ID – a genuine caller won’t mind

• Don’t be embarrassed to tell the caller to write and make an appointment

• The basic rule is: if you don’t know the person at your door, you shouldn’t let them in

• If anxious contact your local Garda station

Waterford on a plate!

25 restaurants collaborate to produce the essential guide to dining in Waterford – “Eat Waterford”

“EAT Waterford”, the definitive guide to dining in Waterford, puts the spotlight on the city as an exciting food tourism destination.

Launched this week, EAT Waterford offers locals and visitors alike a comprehensive insight into the world class dining experience available in the city and surrounds.  The informative guide provides details such as theme, price range, menu options, and accessibility on 25 Waterford restaurants.  The restaurants involved in the initiative range from classical French fine dining to traditional Asian cuisine and casual American style dining to time-honoured fresh Irish fayre.

EAT Waterford is the brainchild of Fiona McHardy, CEO of The Viking Triangle, Waterford’s cultural and heritage quarter.  Commenting on the launch of EAT Waterford, Fiona said, “This collaboration is an exciting example of the strength of co-working and what can be achieved by businesses who ordinarily compete with each other to attract visitors to our city.  In essence, the businesses, tourists and locals will all benefit."

“The seed, to form a coalition amongst local restaurateurs, was sown at the end of last year’s tourist season.  In partnership with the local tourist office, we gathered extensive feedback from visitors not only about their overall experience of Waterford, but also their experience of dining out in the city.”

“In the main the feedback was extremely positive, however there was no overall guide to inform them about all of the fantastic restaurants Waterford has to offer.  As a result, EAT Waterford came into being and we intend to let locals and visitors know about the array of great restaurants and talented chefs that Waterford has.”

Another area this collaboration is keen to promote is the role that local producers play.  All of the restaurants are ardent supporters of artisan producers and there is currently an exciting cohort of local producers who supply these restaurants in Waterford.  The home of the blaa, rashers and even the humble cream cracker has inspired a generation of producers of great meat, seafood, breads, vegetables, beer and spirits.

EAT Waterford is supported by Waterford City and County Council and Lar Power, Director of Economic Development, welcomed the initiative.  “It’s great to see businesses working together to promote the city, its food culture, its hospitality, its producers and ultimately its calibre of restaurants” he said.

“At a glance visitors can get a real feel for Waterford city and all that it has to offer.  The restaurants and hotels working on this initiative have proven that sharing a common goal and working together can only enhance the food offering of Waterford city as a whole.”

To find out more about the EAT dining experience visit http://eatwaterford.ie/ or follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

Whitfield Clinic partners with major health insurers

Mr. David Beirne, CEO Whitfield Clinic

If a venue in the South East stated it had 25,000 through its doors in 2014 you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a tourist attraction. However, this figure represents the number of patients that attended a private and independent hospital in Waterford.

These patients attended Whitfield Clinic for elective procedures, thus avoiding the main stream system, availing of their health insurance and proactively choosing Whitfield. 

This volume of elective work places Whitfield as a major player in healthcare in the South East of Ireland.

Whitfield Clinic, Waterford’s private healthcare facility, now partners with all the major health insurance companies, in order to provide the best level of health care to its patients.

Commenting on the partnership with the main health insurance providers, Mr. David Beirne, CEO, Whitfield Clinic, said, “Since Whitfield Clinic opened in 2006 we have strived to provide the best level of private patient care in the South East region. This standard of quality is endorsed by our CHKS accreditation and ISO 9001:2008 certification. We are the first private hospital in Ireland to achieve this prestigious dual award; it is something we are very proud of.  Our services are growing rapidly and along with 60 consultants, a further 300 medical, surgical and administrative professionals are employed here.”

Whitfield Clinic provides 40 private beds, a 24 bed day surgery unit, four operating theatres, an endoscopy suite and an oncology day ward.  Private health insurance customers can avail of the extensive range of services, all available to view on www.whitfieldclinic.ie.

Mr. Beirne added, “By partnering with the main insurance companies, VHI, Laya, Aviva and GLOHealth, anybody that has private health insurance can benefit from Whitfield’s resources to ensure their hospital experience is as comfortable as possible.”

“As all procedures carried out at Whitfield are elective, this reduces the waiting time to as little as one week for most procedures and an average inpatient stay of two or three nights.”

“Patients get invaluable peace of mind knowing exactly when they will be seen and when their procedure will be undertaken.  More often than not, it is this uncertainty that causes undue stress and anxiety to anyone who is unwell. That’s why by choosing Whitfield that uncertainty is alleviated.”

Whitfield Clinic also provides a wide range of diagnostic and support provisions including MRI, Ultrasound, X-Ray and CT, with almost 1,100 patients availing of these services last December alone.

To find out more about Whitfield Clinic and the Whitfield Radiotherapy and Cancer Treatment Centre, visit www.whitfieldclinic.ie or call 051 – 337400.