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  e w s l e t t e r

a t e w a y

 

Unit 1, 2 Parker Hill, Rathmines Road, Dublin 6 ( opposite the swimming pool )  

E-mail : thegatewaynewsletter@gmail.com Blog : projectgateway.blogspot.ie  

Phone : 085 752 1220 OR 01 4977005 ( Office hours )  

Hours : Monday and Thursday 1.00 pm - 5.00 pm JAN 

2 16

Hello readers and welcome

to the year of our Lord,two thousand and sixteen, but sure

what’s another year, as that fellow

sang about many years ago.

Anyway we hope that we all got

over the festive season without any

difficulty and went easy on the

mince- pies and Ferrero Rocher. (as

if).. 

We appreciate all the articles that

you the members send into us here,

 because without them, we would

have 4 blank pages, and howexciting would that be. So thanks

again to all who participate in the

 Newsletter. We would also like to

thank all those members who

volunteered to man/woman the

meet-ups over the Christmas, their

efforts were really appreciated.

On a sad note though, we have to

say good- bye to the one and only

John Kelly who is skittling off to

the inner regions of India at the end

of December and will be gone for afew months. We wish him a bon 

voyage and look forward to seeing

him again sometime in the future. A

huge thank you to John for all his

enthusiasm and hard work that he

 brought to Gateway. Good luck to

you JK... Happy New Year..

The Newsletter Team.. 

Have you a song in your head?

I have been playing piano for a while, creatively

more than classically, if that matters!

Instruments are great to learn, but you don’t

need to play an instrument to write a song.

Some instruments I started later in my life – the bass

guitar, the electric guitar and the drums. That was the

thing I missed the most when I became unwell. For my

21st birthday party to celebrate getting a bit more well-

er, I got a piano! I lost the old piano which was sad,

and the new one didn’t really suit my style, but it was

great to have it. A few years ago I did a course in

musicianship in Ballyfermot – it was great. It was my

first time to play publicly. I got to write songs and

 perform them and play grand piano! 

I’ve been writing songs for years, but I’m choosy. This

is beside the point, but I used to walk around Dublin

City singing all the time.

Because I studied music production, I learned how to

use equipment, and my big goal is to invite people to

somehow collaborate to write songs, organise writing

songs or to sing or play. That’s my ambition! Please

 please get in touch if you are interested, and please

don’t be afraid to. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t got

any skills, the only thing that matters is that you want

to be involved. Drop an email to

thegatewaynewsletter@gmail.com or phone or text

Gateway on 085-7521220 and leave a message for

Clodagh. Or talk to me in drop-in if you see me! 

PS. I have some instruments for people to play

including a bass, drum-kit, two pianos and slider lead

guitar. Clodagh

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Welcome to First Fortnight 2016

For those unfamiliar with First Fortnight, it is a

volunteer led charity that aims to challenge mental

health stigma through, music, theatre, film , dance,

spoken word and more. The First Fortnight Festival

2016 begins with a Proclamation, an

event in Christ Church Cathedral where they invite

some of Ireland’s best known faces to proclaim their

Vision of how to improve our collective mental

wellbeing as Ireland marks its past by looking to the

future.

Article about 2016

I feel strongly that a major opportunity has been

missed, as we trundle into 2016 , without a world

class show, of the magnitude of the opening of an

Olympics, to showcase Irelands talent in the fields

of Music and Drama, and to honour those of 1916. 

I feel the graves of our 1916 leaders, will shakewith anger, as the last bell of 2015 tolls, as an

excuse for a celebration is rolled out. We will

wearily watch this damp squib peter -out in the

murky waters of old civil war politics. 

Even an article in the Albions Financial Times

encouraged us to celebrate, what we do best, a

huge spectacle as I mentioned above. 

But our Leaders have chosen differently , and a

great opportunity is forever lost. Tom

The experienced John

Laverty made it to his

first final only to come

up against the young

 pretender who fought

valiantly against the

defiant John only to be

undone by the finest of margins and unfortunately went

home empty handed . Mark walked home with a skip in

his step holding the paper pool trophy. Congratulations

to Mark and commiserations to John. 

The Pool Competition report by our intrepid Pool

reporter Stephen 

The Our state of mind  campaign is asking you to remind every candidate you meet to make mental health a

 priority and to seek five key improvements: 

As the General Election draws nearer, it's time to ask candidates to make mental health a priority.

There is one thing that all political parties and candidates agree on – that’s the need to improve our mental

health services. Mental health difficulties touch people of all ages and backgrounds, but services are struggling

and what is needed is effective action. 

1. A nationwide school programme to build good

mental health 

2. Easy access to counselling 

3. Access to 24/7 crisis supports 

4. A right to advocacy support 

5. A right to make one’s own decisions about mental health

What you can do 

1. Give a Mental Note to candidates and canvassers when they call to your door as a reminder to prioritise

mental health reform. You can order your Mental Note pack from Mental Health Reform. 

2. Tell candidates and canvassers why mental health matters to you. Talk about the one Mental Health

Reform recommendation that means the most to you. 

3. Share the campaign with every candidate in your constituency. Share it on your own social media using the

hashtag #Ourstateofmind 

4. Come to our candidates' debates on mental health in Dublin on 13th January 6.30-8.30pm at City Council

Civic Office, Wood Quay, to have your say and to hear what the various parties' plans are for mental health, if

elected. 

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Film and leadership course 2015

Gateway is currently

running a Film and leadership course on Tuesdays and

Wednesdays. This is the first time that such a course

has been held in Gateway. Over the 8 weeks,

 participants have learnt how to use a camera, plan

scenes, negotiate, improvise and have fun. 

At the completion of the course, it is hoped that a short

film of about 3 minutes in duration, will be ready to

 provide an informative overview about what the

Gateway Project is all about. Thanks to Gateway,

Dublin Bus (who funded this course), Amy and Tim

(our tutors), the course participants and to all the

members of Gateway who

agreed to be part of this

initiative.

We will inform you when the

finished film is ready to be

viewed..Stay tuned...Richard.. 

The 3 wise women 

Oh Holy Night !!!!!! 

Loads of goodies for the Goodies…. 

It’s good to have a shoulder to lean on... 

Waiting patiently for Santa.. 

Wondering whether we were good or bad….. On Yer Bike Emmet…. 

Part of the Peace Process…. 

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These are a few of my favourite things . Deirdre S. 

Pastime  : Watching movies 

Smell : Cut grass 

Food  : Duck in orange sauce 

Person : Barack Obama 

Season : Springtime 

Clothes  : Casual

Colour : Blue 

Song : Walk the Line  

Sound: Music 

Thanks and appreciation to all our supporters  MY MIND in Ranelagh is offering discounted

counselling services. Vouchers are available to

Gateway members at €10 per session for 5

sessions. Contact Gateway on 01-4977005. Thank you to

the ESB for supporting this service. 

That Special Child

Although I’m only nine years old, I hate to let it out, 

These adults of mine, They rant and rage, and tell us

not to shout. 

Sometimes I get frustrated, And jump and run about, 

And when I do, the adults leave me out. 

They tell me I am silly too, this gives me such a

shock  

I know I’m not silly, I know I’m really not. 

So how do I get around the kids? 

Do any of you know? 

Because I need the help of kids, 

Because adults cannot grow. 

Just take a quick look at them and see, it’s really

quite a shock, 

They say they’ll sort out everything, with the

recession I know they’ll not, 

They say if you have a problem, to come and talk to

God, But when we do they say it’s time for tea. 

So how do we get around the kids? 

Do any of you know? 

I need the help of the kid’s because the adults cannot

grow, make a show, don’t know 

And go, go, go, 

I’m like grandma and granddad, 

Slow, slow, slow. Siobhan Walsh

Important Dates to keep in mind 

Educating Gateway Workshop part 2: Tuesday

January 12th. Time 2-5pm 

Music in Mind – vocal workshops to reconvene with

Amy in January 13th 

Creative writing: Reconvening on January 15th…

spaces open. 

Film & Leadership to conclude in January [Dates

TBC] 

Voter Awareness workshop/doorstep priorities talk

with Lara Kelly. [Date TBC] 

Outreach Workshop [Date TBC}

Guidelines for member led activities Workshop [DateTBC] 

The Gateway Express 

I 

n November a group of us started singing

classes. On the first day, we all introducedourselves and most people said they didn’t have

much experience of singing. We did a quick

warm-up and then started singing. 

I had been unsure about joining the group because in

the school choir I had been told to mime instead of

singing. However I found myself singing along with

the group. We started off with some well known songs

and then moved on to African songs.

Everybody seemed to be enjoying it, and I was happy

to have the opportunity to sing again in a group. 

We have called ourselves The Gateway Express andwill be singing Christmas carols at the Christmas

 party. 

We’d like to thank our wonderful teacher Amy Ryan. 

Abbie..

Doctor, doctor, No one believes a

word I say. 

Tell me the truth now, what's your

REAL problem?