usaI was desperate”: Cork woman jailed for sneaking across Mexican border

I was desperate": Cork woman jailed for sneaking across Mexican border

Delia O'Callaghan spent a month in prison after trying to enter the US illegally after 15 years of living in Boston. Now she's written a book about her experiences.

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Delia O'Callaghan

Image: F22 Photography

CORK WOMAN DELIA O' Callaghan went to America for a short trip, and loved it so much that the next time she went back, she stayed there.

Without a visa.

Fifteen years passed, and the moment O'Callaghan never thought would arrive did: she was caught.

On the way to her sister's wedding in Ireland, authorities in Shannon realised that she had been living in Boston with no visa.

American Dream

When her passport was stamped 'denied entry', O'Callaghan refused to let her American Dream come to an end. She had a home in Boston, a boyfriend called Frank, great friends, and a career.

She wasn't going to let it go without a fight.

That led her to the Mexican border, in a friend's car, practicing her Boston accent in an attempt to sneak back into the country.

I was just so desperate, so desperate to get back. The worst thing I thought was going to happen if I'm caught I'll be locked up for night or two and send me home.

Her attempt failed. The American dream ended with a month's stay in prison.

Writing

Today, she lives in Cork and dreams of returning to American again soon. Her five-year ban on travelling to America is nearly up, and she's hopeful she'll one day get a holiday visa.

But it's unlikely she'll ever live in her beloved Boston again.

O'Callaghan has now written about her life-changing experience in a book calledHoneysuckle to Handcuffs, which she self-published.

"It's great material but it's an awful thing that's after happening. I made lemonade out of lemons," she said of her jailtime.

She took copious notes while in prison, and took two years off to write after her return to Ireland. O'Callaghan doesn't quite describe the experience as cathartic.

Time is a great healer. So nothing I would have done would have made it easier or harder. Because it was an awful thing, I had to put a funny spin on it. In the last four years I've had so many downs – more so than ups. Not at one point did I ever say 'I'm not doing this'.

The book is light and funny, rather than intense or dreary. There's not a day that goes when O'Callaghan doesn't think about what happened.

"Has it changed me? I suppose, yeah. I really did go into a sort of depression when it all happened. I really loved America and I didn't want to be here."

Even though there are kind of humorous bits in there about food and not being able to call my family, that was very, very difficult. I think I kind of put a lot of it to the back of my mind. There were lots of tears and lots of sad days. But you'd be surprised what you can do when you have to do it.

'I always though the law would change'

She misses America – "I loved Boston itself, I loved my life, my job" – and the sense of freedom she had there. Over the 15 years she lived without a visa, she came home to Ireland many times, which gave her a sense that she'd never get 'caught' living illegally.

"I always thought the law would change," she admitted, adding that she applied for the green card lottery regularly.

"In a way I did get a little bit cocky in that I did come home 22 times in 15 years. I don't know if that's being brave or stupid."

She knows that she broke the law, and stresses that in her book.

"I got what was coming to me," said Delia. "But then again I was never on benefits. I was there 15 years, I was never out of work, I gave donations, I never took anything from the system."

These days, she believes that people who have been in the US illegally for a long time, and who don't have a criminal record, should be awarded citizenship.

Her story bears a number of parallels to that of Piper Chapman, whose book the US TV series Orange is the New Black is based on. But O'Callaghan hasn't watched that show yet, partly because of the many similarities.

Of her jail experiences, she recalls feeling fearful – about her elderly parents, what her friends were up to, and about her own safety. Some days, she "couldn't get out of bed because I was just so nauseous with worry".

I would be a strong person – not a lot would scare me to be honest. But I suppose it was the isolation and I knew that was the end of my life in America.

Her Irishness made her stand out. "It was in my favour, yeah definitely. Even the police officers, they'd chat and want to know what  happened to you," she recalled.

O'Callaghan described the experience as "humbling", and warns people thinking of emigrating to the US to learn from her mistakes.

"Just make sure you have your papers. I always thought 'I'll get married and it'll be fine – I'll meet an American'. One year ran into the next. My advice would be to definitely have the proper papers and don't be thinking you're above the law – because you're not."

From Honeysuckle to Handcuffs is available in Eason nationwide, Porters, Waterstones, Book Station, Amazon.com and other local book stores.

Fw: HBOT &Recom.

 

 

From: Cyril Moore

Sent: Friday, February 21, 2014 6:55 PM

To: thomaschambers@eircom.net

Subject: HBOT &Recom.

 

<!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->

 

HBOT & Recompression Chambers in Ireland.

 

 

1. Bandon Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre, Town Hall, Bandon, Co. Cork. Ph. 023 8843677.

2. East Antrim MS Therapy Centre, Unit 24, Ledcom Ind. Est., Bank Road Lane, Co. Antrim. BT40       3AW.      Ph.028 28274670   Contact name:  Joanne McAuley.

3. MS Therapy Centre, Manorlands, Trim, Co Meath. Ph. 046 9436474.  Contact name: Angela.

4. Newry and Mourne MS Therapy Centre, Shepherds Way, Carnbane Ind. Est., Newry. Ph. 028 30263301

5. MS Therapy Centre, Ballytrivnan, Co. Sligo. Ph. 071 9144748. Contact name: Tamara Gormley.
 
6. Galway University Hospital Recompression Chambers - UCHG. Ph. 091 524222 .. is back on line with a new Chamber for Decompression Injuries and Carbon Monoxide poising only from the 26-1-11.                                         Contact name: Miss Pauline Whyte. E-mail:-docwhyte@hotmail.com They just shut it down again 6/2011!

No…They have re-opened 8/2011…. 9 to 5, Monday to Friday for emergencies only….?!

7. The National Hyperbaric Centre, 53-54 Gt. Strand St., Dublin 1… Ph. 01 8733044

    Both Recompression (10 Person) and Therapeutic (11 person) Chambers.

 

8.  Craigavon Hospital, Northern Ireland have a new chamber is situ. However it has an operating depth of 18-30 metres (TT6). Diving causalities, CAGE and AGE victims may not be resolved at this shallow depth of pressure. N.B. Table 6A has a 30 min. AIR stop at 50 metre (165 ft.) as a set Protocol. They will not do a COMEX 30. There are three basic decompression tables, TT6, TT6A and Comex 30.

 

It is imperative that the chamber you attend can achieve the correct pressure for your protocol, otherwise you are simply wasting your time and it may not work! i.e. Taking half a pill or dosage instead of a full one….    Please remember, over 90% of Therapeutic protocols are at 10 metres, (1 Bar or 2 ata)

5, 6 or 7 metres is NOT 10 metres and never will be!

 

Kindest regards,

Des Quigley.
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]-->
<!--[endif]-->

(Some of these phone numbers are 'Old!'…  Google the centres for 'New' contact numbers Etc.)

The National Hyperbaric Centre,
53-54 Gt. Strand St.,

Dublin 1, Ireland.
www.hyperbaricireland.com

hyperinfo@eircom.net
Ph: -353 1 8733044   Fax: -87339699

Fw: draft letter to county council

 

 

From: Castlebar CIS

Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 3:39 PM

To: thomaschambers@eircom.net

Subject: draft letter to county council

 

Hi Tom, see below contents of letter as drafted today.

I am writing to you with regard to a number of issues as follows-

1.      On March 12^th 2011, the Clerk of Works for the Belmullet area, Mr. Tony Gallagher, wrote a report on the condition of my house. I was to be given a copy of the report bur have not received it so far even though I have requested it a couple of times.

2.      Since then the condition of the house has deteriorated, for example more cracks have appeared and plaster and paint bits have fallen off in every room in the house. It is very depressing to live in this environment.

3.      The heating was serviced in 2012 and since then I have had continuous problems with it for example it regularly gets air locked and this means that there is no heat from it until the boiler is bled. I am not able to do this myself, being a paraplegic T7 complete.

·        The problem escalated in the first week in January this year when one of my home helps turned on the heat, water started to seep through the ceiling in the hallway. The home help took it up with her boss as a health and safety issue. A plumber came out and went into the attic and he reported to me that there was a bend in the overflow pipe and he said that he had fixed that and the problem was solved. He bled the boiler and got the heat going.

·        On Jnaury 14^th the water started to come through the ceiling again when the heat was turned on.

·        I rang John Friel, the maintenance man from Mayo Co Co. He went into the attic and he said that he had to order a new tank and he stopped the flow of water onto the ceiling.

·        On January 27^th John returned and replaced the tank and said that there should be no further problems.  He got the heating going again.

·        On February 3^rd the water came again through the ceiling so John returned and he went into the attic and said that he cut a piece of pipe and started the heat again. Each time he had to bleed the boiler to get the heat going.

·        On Feb 15^th I again had no heat, it just would not turn on, and so a private plumber was sent by the county council. He replaced a pump in the boiler and the starter and got the heat going.

·        On Feb 17^th the plumber had to come back again to get the heat going. At this stage I was fed up and didn't bother to ask him what he had done.

 

·        On Feb 19^th I had to get him back again because I had no heat. I plucked up the courage to ask him what was wrong this time and he said it was a fuse.  He put a timer on the wall beside the boiler and he set it to run for the next hour, then to go off for an hour and then to come back on. I explained to him that the location of the timer was not suitable for a wheelchair user, as I could not reach it from my wheelchair and would have to get help to set it. The home help tried to set it but did not know how.  

I feel that the whole heating system needs to be renewed or replaced as soon as possible. Can you please arrange to have this done?

Can you also send me a copy of the report that was done in 2011.

I anxiously await your response.

Yours Sincerely,

 

_________________________

Tom Chambers

P Before you print think about the ENVIRONMENT

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legless

Legless In Dublin

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Tuesday, February 18, 2014

From Sticks to Wheels

Crutches are not just for walking.

I had initially written this piece five months ago for another website but they never published it so here we are.

I was born with a walking disability so when I first learnt how to walk, it was with a Zimmer frame. My mother tells me that I first went into motion by chasing ducks in Stephen's Green. I like to think that that's how we should all live our lives...

At the age of four, I started to use crutches and they remained as an extension to my arms for the next 20 years. I was good with the crutches - especially when it came to showing off at the long jump in school as my sticks added an extra boost as I leapt. They were also nifty for beating the Jaysus out of somebody in a testy game of Red Rover.

I attempted everything. When line-dancing was all the strange and nationwide rage in Ireland circa '94, I was in the front row. When Wimbledon fever hit us every summer, I'd be out in my garden hitting a ball against a wall and, even though I was no Steffi Graf, I was happy to be doing what I was doing. I did all the dances at the ceilí in the Gaeltacht and I even tried to look like Britney Spears in her 'Slave 4 U' era at Wesley disco. Thankfully every other teenage girl at the time made that hazardous error.

All through my teen years, I was known as the girl with the crutches but I made sure that they weren't my defining feature. I made sure I was known as the girl who was loud.  I liked to sing, I liked to dance and I liked to have a damn good time. My college years were no different. Whenever someone thought that I had broken my ankle, I was pleased. If they didn't realise that I had a walking disability, then I was fooling them and, on another level, I was fooling myself.

Front row at a Boys Noize gig. This photo screams 2008.

Things didn't stay this way. When I was 23, I noticed that things became difficult. I was always told by my doctors that I would inevitably end up in a wheelchair but I was stubborn and ignored them. As time went on, my energy levels were fighting with my desire to be everywhere and do everything. I couldn't walk at the pace I wanted to anymore and I was putting so much strain on my body that I soon became afraid to leave the house. I didn't want people to see me struggling or working up a sweat. I was putting my life on hold.

I felt like a hindrance to everyone. I was slowing people down and I could hear whispers of my friends. "Is she ok," they'd ask each other. "Maybe we should just stay in again tonight," they'd say unwillingly.


I had to announce through an email to my closest friends that I was struggling and I could not keep up with life. At this stage, I couldn't walk the length of Grafton Street without stopping two or three times for a breather.

One day, I decided to make my life and everyone else's so much easier. I started using a wheelchair. At first, it was to cover long distances, like big music festivals, or just as a back-up plan if my legs were having a bad day and wouldn't cooperate.

Eventually, the wheelchair became a full-time accessory and my crutches were cast aside - I now use them to open up windows that are too high for me, a trick I had learnt when I was younger/shorter and couldn't reach a light switch.

This wasn't an easy decision to make. Many tears were shed and I had built up a lot of anger. Anger at myself for being in this tricky situation and, because I couldn't express how I felt, anger at others for not understanding.

As the months and years went on, I've managed to accomplish so much more.

My body had restricted me for so long and by admitting to my decreasing mobility, I had given my life a new freedom. My mind is at ease now and, more importantly, my body doesn't hate me anymore.

The benefits of using my wheelchair over the struggle of crutches are huge. I don't have to worry about slipping on wet surfaces when it rains or worry about someone accidentally kicking my crutch over.  One big difference is that now I don't sweat when getting from A to B. Crutches work every muscle in your body, carry your entire weight and burn up more energy than you have to offer. It seems minor but now that I am no longer a Sweaty Betty, my make-up remains intact and I can wear any clothes that I want to. My hair doesn't get in my way and I can wear it in any style. I can actually put effort in my appearance - something that would have been a waste of time before - and it is so bloody liberating.

The biggest and most important thing I've realised since using the chair is that I, as a person, am unstoppable. I had placed boundaries before because I didn't want people to see my at my weakest. This wheelchair has given me strength to push myself further and the only barriers are poorly constructed buildings or a pesky flight of stairs. For the first time in my life, it's not my fault that I can't do something - it's the bad designs of an architect or engineer. For the first time in my life, I am excelling and I can finally focus on me instead of worrying about every little detail of every day.

Fw: Tom Chambers, “The Billy Ranch”, Knocknageeha, Newport, Co. Mayo

 

 

From: Michael Ring

Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2014 12:18 PM

To: thomaschambers@eircom.net

Subject: Fw: Tom Chambers, "The Billy Ranch", Knocknageeha, Newport, Co. Mayo

 

Dear Tom,

I enclose the reply which I have received from Padraig Brogan in the Council. I am aware of your second telephone call to my office.

With kind regards,
Yours sincerely,
MICHAEL RING T.D.
Minister of State for Tourism & Sport

----- Forwarded by Michael Ring/Members/Oireachtas on 20/02/2014 11:53 -----

From: Brogan Padraic <pbrogan@MayoCoCo.ie>
To: Michael Ring <michael.ring@oireachtas.ie>
Date: 19/02/2014 16:08
Subject: RE: Tom Chambers, "The Billy Ranch", Knocknageeha, Newport, Co. Mayo

---

Dear Minister Ring,
 
I refer to your email on behalf of the above named in relation to his Council dwelling. I understand Mr Chambers had been in contact with this Office earlier today regarding a number of issues with his dwelling.
 
I wish to advise you that I have referred same to the Council Clerk of Works for his urgent attention.
 
Your representations in this matter have been noted.
 
Regards,
 
Padraig Brogan S.S.O.             
 
Comhairle Contae Mhaigh Eo                 Mayo County Council,              
Áisleann Bhéal an Mhuirthead                 Belmullet Civic Centre,
Bóthar na h-Eaglaise                             Church Road,
Béal an Mhuirthead                                Belmullet,
Co. Mhaigh Eo                                      Co. Mayo  
 

Oireachtas email policy and disclaimer.
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Beartas ríomhphoist an Oireachtais agus séanadh.
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chair

Irish children are being 'squashed' in wheelchairs too small for them

About 40,000 people use wheelchairs in Ireland today.

6 hours ago 4,205 Views  17 Comments

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Image: Wheelchair via Shutterstock

IRISH CHILDREN ARE using wheelchairs that are too small for them, resulting in boys and girls being 'squashed', something that could have major consequences on their development.

That is the worrying finding of new research published by the University of Limerick today.

The study's leader, Dr Rosie Gowran, says using incorrectly-sized wheelchairs can impact children's limbs and put them at risk of chest infections and pressure ulcers.

Long waiting times often mean growing children are left in the same chairs for too long.

"The focus of this research was wheelchair and seating provision in the Republic of Ireland, which has developed and grown rapidly over the past twenty years, seeing an increase in localised, more accessible specialist services and the availability of advanced technology," explained Dr Gowran.

"However, even with these positive developments, current wheelchair provision, as with many other countries, lacked uniformity and could not be regarded as sustainable.

A wheelchair becomes a person's legs, it becomes part of their skin, and it is a person's freedom.  A wheelchair, if you need one, is essential for survival and it should be seen as a priority.

"As one participant said when the wheelchair breaks down it is like cutting their two legs off. The current system or lack thereof in Ireland needs to be addressed urgently by Government," she added.

Currently, about 40,000 people use wheelchairs and seating assistive technology in Ireland.

The HRB-funded study – completed in partnership with SeatTech, Enable Ireland as the host organisation and the University of Limerick – highlighted some major issues with wheelchair provision, including:

• The length of waiting times also impacts people with progressive conditions.
• Breakdown and repair services can be ad hoc and inadequate.
• Refurbishment, reissue and recycling services are not yet regulated appropriately.

According to the researchers, this is a human rights issue.

"This research has highlighted that the importance of wheelchair provision is misunderstood and    there are four key processes which need to be addressed nationally, these include access to services, assessment and delivery, tracking, tracing and taking care of equipment and education and research," continued Dr Gowran.

"I call on the Irish Government to bring these issues onto the programme for government and sanction a national review of wheelchair services as a matter public priority, equating the importance of appropriate and regulated provision to the prescription of pharmaceutical drugs.

As one research participant told me, you wouldn't let someone do heart surgery on you if they hadn't been to college, why should I let someone fix my wheelchair if they don't know what they are doing?

"While the impact of inadequate and unregulated infrastructure may not be immediately apparent, the side effects may have long-term and or lethal consequences."