Picture of the week

The future committee members of South East Clare Show, which takes place on 24 July.

Letter to the editor

Dear editor

I’m emailing you because I found the investigative piece you did regarding childcare in Ireland very interesting.

It’s a subject that I believe isn’t discussed enough, therefore I was happy to read about it in the newspaper.

I am a third-level student currently pursuing a level 8 in early childhood education, but it seems that none of the other 60 students in my course are considering a career in ECCE.

Everyone wants to get a master’s degree in primary education. Reading about the few openings in childcare facilities concerned me a little since it might become more challenging in the future to enroll a child in ECCE as fewer individuals will be entering the field.

Reading about the costs of childcare, which I was unaware of because they don’t emphasise it in the course or don’t bring it up during student placement, was heartbreaking.

Irish early childhood education is such an undervalued sector with such huge potential, so I hope that more funds will be allocated to it in the near future.

Name with editor

Growing Wild

With Dr Catherine Keena, Teagasc countryside management specialist

Foxglove was regarded as mysterious in the past, both feared and respected.

Foxglove

Look out for foxglove with its enormous spike of thimble-shaped, mauve-purple flowers located on one side of its stalk.

Flowers develop from the bottom upwards, so each spike has flowers and fruit at nearly every stage of development.

Loved by bees, other insects shelter in the flowers on cold evenings. Often found on hedgebanks, foxglove thrives on dry acid soil and colonise bare soil.

Containing the powerful drug digitoxin, used to regulate heartbeat, pulse and blood pressure, foxglove was regarded as mysterious in the past, both feared and respected.

Known as folk’s glove, fairy fingers or fairy bells – it is part of our native Irish biodiversity.

€258

the price per week of one of the an en-suite rooms block booked and available to students that attend TU Dublin

Read moreCareers

Chef’s Tip

It’s the time of year when we’re baking with lots of fresh fruit and berries. Do you notice that they tend to sink to the bottom of your cakes or buns while they’re baking?

If you’re looking for more even distribution throughout the cake or bun, simply toss the berries or chopped fruit in a bit of plain flour before folding them gently into the batter.

Alternatively, you could divide the batter in half. Sprinkle the fruit or berries over the bottom half of the batter and then gently spread the remaining batter over the top.

Tweet of the week

Quote of the week

Put simply, if you stop eating you will be dead!” Dr Wall urged us to focus on Life Stage Nutrition. He used the anal­ogy of the pig that goes through nine different diets in 150 days of its short life. The micro and macro nutrients are carefully honed for each stage. In human life, we focus on a baby’s diet

Read moreKatherine's Country