County Mayor's Diary

Cllr Danny Collins

I was deeply saddened to hear of the death of Vicky Phelan and I opened a book of condolence in her memory. The book of condolence is available for signing in Cork County Hall and can be signed online by visiting Corkcoco.ie.

I have no doubt the citizens of Cork county would like to honour this inspirational campaigner for women’s health.

I was asked recently: ‘why are books of condolence opened?’. The simplest answer is, it gives us a chance to express our sympathies and commit to paper or online our thoughts and feelings about this person or tragedy.

I think it is a great comfort to families who have lost their loved one, that people cared enough to take the time out to sign. When the book is closed, it is sent to the family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.

Cork County Council Library and Arts Service chose ‘Not My Problem’ by Ciara Smyth as the One County, One Book read for teens and young adults for 2022. I couldn’t but think how apt a witty and headstrong girl is the main character dealing with difficult issues such as addiction, toxic friendships and written with humour and sensitivity.

Our library service supplied 800 copies to schools and Youthreach Centres and in celebration of the book, those same students were invited to Vertigo at Cork County Hall for a book discussion with the author Ciara Smyth.

Teenagers, those in transition year, were the focus of another event this month. I addressed the opening of the Teen Talk, an event attended by 450 students in person and another 3,000 online via the 33 schools taking part.

Developing resilience, growing awareness and the importance of positive mental health were the themes.

Being a teenager in the world today is so challenging and we adults should take the time to reflect on what our teenage years were like, how we felt? What bothered us? Compound it with Covid, social media, mobile devices, global warming, political unrest. When you do that, it starts to become very daunting to be a teenager nowadays. What advice do you listen to and from whom? Therefore, events such as this are necessary and very worthwhile.

I’d have loved to attend something like this as a teenager, to hear about different experiences and perspectives from the speakers, to hear about topics such as positive mental health and reliable sources of information.

The Late Late Toy Show has come and gone and so the countdown to Christmas, the most wonderful time of the year is well underway. In the meantime, be safe, be seen, be winter ready.