It’s a positively Good Morning for vulnerable Cavan people

The severe arctic conditions that have prevailed over the past couple of weeks have left many people stranded in their homes, writes Sean McMahon. It has been an isolated and lonely time for elderly people in particular, but organisations like Good Morning Positive Age are working hard to get through the snow and reach vulnerable residents. Its members have made telephone calls to more than 260 elderly people across County Cavan in the last few days, even as temperatures plummeted to minus 15 in Ballyconnell and Stradone on Monday night. Margaret Basmajian is the former co-ordinator of the programme and now handles PR person for it as a volunteer; she explained that its members regularly telephone 260 clients, including 90-year-old Eileen Hannigan at Cootehill Road, Cavan Town, who The Anglo-Celt visited on Monday. While she was in great spirits, she explained that she has not been out in this cold spell. “My neighbours are great – they get me my groceries and my daughter only lives a couple of miles away,†said Eileen. With a twinkle in her eye, she suggested that “laughter†is the secret of her longevity and she urged people to enjoy life as much as they can and take an interest in everything. She said the current financial crisis is horrific and the country is once again losing all its educated young people to emigration.