All thoughts are, I know, currently focused firmly in the direction of the border and Sunday’s NFL Round 4 meeting with Monaghan at St Tiernach’s Park in Clones. That’s a big one for us but so too is the clash the following weekend back on home turf at MacHale Park against All-Ireland finalists Kerry.
To tie in with the Kerry game, Croí – the heart and stroke charity – have arranged for an initiative that will, quite literally, place them at the heart of the action in MacHale Park on Saturday week.
This is because, thanks to generous support from the county’s main shirt sponsor Elvery’s, the Mayo team will wear a one-off jersey carrying Croí’s logo in the match against Kerry. In doing so, the aim is to put the spotlight on heart health for over 55s across the county and the jersey will call on people to own their heart health and ‘Check it. Sort it.’
This is an initiative that I didn’t need to be asked twice to plug and I’m delighted to give it an airing here. I’m in that same age cohort myself and, thankfully, my own cardiovascular health is pretty good, enabling me to make a serious effort to boost my fitness levels in recent years.
With a high ratio of people over the age of 55 compared to the rest of the country, Mayo is a county that needs to mind its health. Croí Third Age Mayo is specifically designed to promote and support the cardiovascular health and well-being of the over 55 population.
Heart disease, stroke and diabetes are obviously more common as we get older. If detected early, many heart conditions such as high blood pressure, heart valve disease, heart failure and atrial fibrillation (irregular heart beat) can be treated so that people can have a longer and better quality of life.
To tie in with the jersey initiative at the game on Saturday night week, Croí is hosting a panel discussion with key former players from both Mayo and Kerry ahead of the match, which throws in that evening at 7.15pm. The pre-match event gets going at An Sportlann at 5pm and lasts for an hour so you’ll be in your seat in the stand long before hostilities commence out on the pitch.
TJ Kilgallon, Andy Moran and Liam McHale will join the Mayo side of the panel, while Dr Jim Crowley, Consultant Cardiologist and Croí’s Medical Director will open the evening’s discussion. Ballinrobe native and friend of this parish Liam Horan will be the MC for the evening. Space is limited and seats are first come, first served – no pre-registration is needed.
Follow Mayo GAA (@OfficialMayoGAA) and Croí (@CroiHeartStroke) on Facebook for the latest information and more details on the panel line-up as they are announced.
I’m also hoping to have a sneak preview of the one-off Croí jersey here on the blog at some point next week so stay tuned for that too.
This is a fantastic initiative as often the first indication of a heart condition is a heart attack. I can speak from persoal experience having suffered a heart attack four years ago and now have 6 stents as a reminder. I would advise anyone past the age of 55 to get checked out as a blockage of an artery can occur and you won’t know anything about it until it is too late. I know we complain about our health service but once you are in the system the care you receive is second to none. I hope to be in An Sportlan for the discussion before the Kerry game.
Fair play Willie Joe for airing this on your blog as it is a very important issue and worth while initiative and should be to the forefront of everyones mind. You only get one heart so look after it