Move to Phase 4 Delayed Review at the end of August
The Taoiseach has confirmed that the reopening of pubs, hotel bars and nightclubs will now not go ahead on 10 August as planned.
The second major decision that has been taken on COVID-19 is that face coverings will be mandatory in shops and shopping centres across the country from 10th August.
Thirdly, following reports that there was an issue with people in Direct Provision settings being reluctant to come forward for tests because of fear of losing income, Government has decided that Direct Provision residents will be treated the same as any other citizen in terms of social protection supports when it comes to COVID-19.
Micheál Martin also said the size of crowds gathering will remain at 200 for outdoors and 50 for indoors and he said the evidence will be reviewed again in three weeks' time.
Additionally, five countries – Malta, Cyprus, Gibraltar, San Marino and Monaco – have been removed from the Government’s Green List for travel following increases in COVID-19 infection rates. People travelling to Ireland from the countries will now have to restrict their movements for 14 days as a result of the move. The countries remaining on the list are Finland, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Greece, and Greenland. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has stressed that the safest thing people can do “in terms of their own health and the health of the country is to stay in Ireland.” Read more in the Irish Independent.
Comic Relief Funding Applications Open Until 30th September
Applications for the Comic Relief Funding are now open until the closing date at 4.30pm on Wednesday 30th September.
Non-profit organisations are invited to apply fir this funding made available thanks to the incredible success of RTE Does Comic Relief.
On 4th August, the Community Foundation for Ireland held the RTÉ Does Comic Relief: How to Apply webinar now available online here. The webinar goes through the different strands within the RTÉ Does Comic Relief Fund and is
More details are available on the Community Foundation for Ireland website here.
Update from Chime The National Charity for Deafness and Hearing Loss
Face Shields:
The Department of Health has confirmed that face shields, (including Perspex shield and similar), particularly for people with communications difficulties and those who are deaf/hard of hearing, are encompassed in the definition of “face covering” in the Regulations. Read more here. Chime have face shields available for sale on their website.
Connect Project:
Chime also have a current ongoing project with Alone, where they are able to provide a listening device for elderly, isolated hard of hearing people. Read more here.
From August 10 to 16 Galway Community Pride will have 25 events taking place. On Monday evening the Pride Launch will take place where the Community Awards 2020 will mark important role models, campaigns, and community groups. Gaeilge will again be a core part of Galway Pride as it is a bilingual event with many Irish language events throughout the week.
Several panels will also take place across Pride with topics on anti-racism, mental health, workplace well-being, activism, and trans and non-binary voices. And, of course, there will be some much needed entertainment with music nights, movie watch alongs, and a rainbow cake tutorial.
Read more here.
Galway International Art Festival
Autumn Edition | September-October
The Galway International Arts Festival Autumn Edition programme has been recently launched and it includes in-person and online events during September and October 2020. Despite COVID-19, key elements from the summer line-up are ready for an autumn showing.
Guest speaker Gwenda Own of Cycling UK- Wales will address the online monthly meeting of Galway Cycling Campaign to talk about the Welsh government proposal to reduce urban default speed limit from 50kmph to 30kmph.
As Galway considers revising our city speed limits during this period of consultation, this is an excellent opportunity it to hear from a grassroots community organiser on how our Celtic cousins have embraced lower speed limits in the towns, villages and cities of Wales.
If the Welsh government passes the legislation, Wales will be the first country in the world to embrace speed reduction as a key action to reduce violent death, as recommended by the UN Stockholm Declaration in February 2020, which was signed by over 160 countries, including Ireland.
Galway Cycling Campaign welcome the proposed inner city speed limit of 30kmph and want it extended across the city in areas with schools, colleges, hospitals, places of worship, community centres, primary centres and sports grounds: public places where people gather and often arrive by foot or by bike.
Join Drop Your Hip Hop and learn to produce beats, create instrumentals and compose spoken word and rap lyrics.
When: August 10th, 12th and 14th - 2 hours per day
Where: Zoom
Drop Your Hip Hop is an online course in association with Music Generation, the Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture Small Towns Big Ideas project and ATMOS Galway.
By joining, you get to be part of a final album called "Galway Sound Harvest", you will learn some cool skills and tricks and you will most probably be blown away at just how much you are able to find your inner creativity. Musicians and their instruments are welcome but no musical, or rap experience is necessary.
Watch this video here and meet Theo, Alice and Benjamin from ATMOS Galway who tell you about the amazing free workshops.
Good Governance Awards 2020
Closing Date: 11th September
The Good Governance Awards (GGA) is an initiative that recognises and encourages adherence to good governance practice by non-profit organisations in Ireland.
Being shortlisted for a GGA award recognises the hard work that goes on in your organisation to adhere to good governance practice. Winning an award boosts credibility and increases awareness of your organisation which can help convince even more people that you are a cause worth supporting.
The 2020 Awards are now open for entries until the 11th of September.
Love This Place, Leave No Trace
National Awareness Campaign launched promoting responsible behaviour outdoors to combat increase in littering
A new Government of Ireland campaign has been launched to tackle a growing littering issue throughout the country, particularly in some of our most scenic locations which have recently become littering hotspots.
The campaign aims to promote responsible outdoor recreation practices that will ensure a healthier and sustainable future for all. It calls on everyone to take care of the outdoors to ensure it is preserved for future generations. There has been a notable increase in littering throughout the country in the last number of weeks since the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, and areas affected include National Parks, Nature Reserves, Forest Parks, OPW National Heritage Sites, rivers, beaches, forests and special areas of conservation.
Read more about this campaign on the Leave No Trace Ireland website here.
Individuals, communities, organisations and the public can sign up to get guidelines on how to be responsible in the outdoors by visiting www.leavenotraceireland.org . All information is available here.
