solitude

The launch of the Cork/Kerry website www.fibromyalgiasupport.ie took place on Feb 4th 2010 at Bru Columbanus, Wilton, Cork City. The Cork group invited Kathy Sinnot as guest speaker on the night. Kathy spoke of her work at European level to have Fibromyalgia officially recognised and supported. She also outlined the benefits of websites for support groups, e.g. to reach a large audience at once. Kathy also highlighted the importance of local groups in providing support to those who may be suffering in the community. This is of great importance to us, as fibromyalgia is a condition that can leave people feeling isolated from friends and family; meeting others with FM who understand how you feel, can be a great relief. The launch was given good coverage in the Evening Echo later that week.

The group is very grateful to the HSE who provided funding for the site; Margaret Lyons and Aidan Warner from the HSE attended on the evening. In addition, a couple of members from the Kerry group travelled up on a very bad night to give support which was greatly appreciated. Sinead Drew, a psychologist in clinical training undertaking research of individuals with chronic pain also spoke to the group; overall it was a very informative, productive evening! We had a good crowd in attendance and there was tea, scones and time to chat afterwards.

Attendance was very high for our next meeting in May, for Dr. Brian McGuire. Dr. McGuire works at the National University of Ireland in Galway as Director of the Centre for Pain Research and at the Galway University Hospital Pain Clinic. There were approximately 80+ in attendance overall. We feel the website has been a positive addition in promoting the group to a wider audience; we look forward to further growth in future as a result.