Mayo GP launches book linking rural Ireland and Kenya
A unique collection of stories connecting rural life and healthcare on Ireland’s westernmost islands with community health and development in rural Kenya, will be launched at The Beehive Craft and Coffee Shop, Achill, at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 21.
The book titled ‘Rural Eye – 10 Years of Scribbling’, is written by Achill GP Dr. Noreen Lineen Curtis, and brings together stories she has written over a ten-year period for Forum, the official publication of the Irish Colleges of GPs.
Born and raised on Achill Island, Dr. Noreen Lineen Curtis has worked in general practice on Achill for more than 20 years and now works with the Mayo offshore islands – Clare Island, Inis Biggle and Achill Beg. Her stories offer a personal and often poignant insight into life and work in a remote rural community. They explore the challenges facing rural GP practice, the realities of travelling to work by currach and ferry, conversations about death, motherhood and teenagers, the arrival of Hollywood on Achill, and the many experiences and challenges of working through the Covid-19 pandemic.
Across the ten-year period covered by the book, Noreen's writing also reflects how her thoughts and perspectives have evolved, while her deep affection for Achill and the Mayo islands remains a constant thread.
A connection between two rural worlds interspersed between Noreen's stories are chapters describing the work of Brighter Communities Worldwide in the rural communities of Kericho County, Kenya. Noreen's connection with Africa began when she spent three months in Ethiopia as a medical student before her final year of medicine. She first visited Kenya and became involved with Brighter Communities Worldwide in 2019. During that visit, she was struck by the similarities between providing healthcare in remote, rural communities in the west of Ireland and the challenges of delivering healthcare in remote, rural parts of Kericho County. That connection has continued to grow, and Noreen has become a staunch supporter of Brighter Communities Worldwide and the West of Ireland Kenyan Partnership.
The chapters about Brighter Communities Worldwide work have been written by people living and experiencing that work themselves – mothers, health promoters, teachers and the doctor who first crossed the distance from an island off the coast of Mayo to a hospital ward in Kericho County.
Rural Eye – 10 Years of Scribbling has been published by the Irish College of General Practitioners, which is covering all the costs associated with producing the book. As a result, every penny raised through book sales will go towards supporting the work of Brighter Communities Worldwide in Kenya.
The book is available for €20, or €30 including postage, and can be purchased directly from Dr. Noreen in Achill, from the Brighter Communities Worldwide office in Cobh, and at Sweeneys Craft and Bookshop on Achill Island. Copies can also be purchased online through the fundraising page here.
For a posted copy, please email drnoreenlineencurtis@gmail.com