Helen McLean

Artist - Art studio Wexford town - designing and creating art using paint, glass and mosaics.

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@NiallHarbison Wow 👏👏👏

[RTÉ One @RTEOne]

The first lady of Celtic music, Moya Brennan 🤍

The lead singer of Clannad, who passed away yesterday aged 73, appeared on The #TommyTiernanShow in 2020 and performed a stunning rendition of 'Gaoth Barra Na dTonn' 🎶

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a hanam.

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@StPetersWexford Wow what a beautiful tribute to Jim Ryan .

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@StPetersWexford Well done 👏👏

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@thejournal_ie Brillant ! Best toy show year yet !

[Mr PitBull Stories @MrPitbull07]

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces.
But I see everything.

Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments.

One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?"
"6:15," he said, confused.
"Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it."
He blinked. "You... you can do that?"
"I can now," I said.

Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?"
"Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing."
He cried. Right there in the parking lot.

Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic.
But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!"

"Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel."

He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us."

The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over."

Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it.

But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note,

"Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends"
People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket.
I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece."

So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones.

Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees.
It's not glamorous. But it's everything."

Let this story reach more hearts....

Credit: Mary Nelson

[#WOMENSART @womensart1]

Wonderful artist needs your help ❤️

[Occupy Democrats @OccupyDemocrats]

BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV throws MAGA world into a Sunday rage by urging every Catholic in the world to help and care for immigrants just days after slamming Donald Trump's cruel policies.

This pope REALLY doesn't care about ruffling right-wing feathers...

Leo called on Catholics to "open our arms and hearts to them, welcoming them as brothers and sisters, and being for them a presence of consolation and hope."

The remarks were delivered to a crowd of thousands who were inside St. Peter's Square at the Vatican for Sunday Mass. It was part of event organized for migrants which attracted some 10,000 pilgrims from 95 countries. The Church’s message on immigration is clearly resounding around the world.

The pope stated that migrants cannot be treated with "the coldness of indifference or the stigma of discrimination."

Leo went on to call for "a new missionary age" in which the church will offer "hospitality and welcome, compassion and solidarity" to all of those migrants who are fleeing from violence or searching for a safe new home for themselves or the families.

"In the communities of ancient Christian tradition, such as those of the West, the presence of many brothers and sisters from the world's South should be welcomed as an opportunity, through an exchange that renews the face of the Church," he said.

While he didn’t mention the United States or Donald Trump specifically, taken in the context of his past remarks it’s clear who and what he was pushing back against today. Last week, he enraged MAGA supporters by espousing the true teachings of Jesus Christ.

“Someone who says, ‘I’m against abortion,’ but says ‘I’m in favor of the death penalty,’ is not really pro-life,” the pope told reporters. “Someone who says that, ‘I’m against abortion but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life."

Republicans have quickly come to despise Pope Leo because he dispels the lie that they tell themselves: They are not “Christian” in any meaningful sense of the word. They have draped themselves in Christian aesthetics and signifiers while adopting a cruel, fascist worldview that is antithetical to the love, compassion, and selflessness taught by Christ. Pope Leo sees right through them.

Please retweet and ❤️ if you love this pope!

[Pádraig Byrne @byrne_padraig]

Missing person in #Wexford Please God he’ll turn up safe and well.

[PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE @Protect_Wldlife]

Such Sad News 😢

Animal rights campaigner and primatologist Dame Jane Goodall has died aged 91.

She died of natural causes in California where she was staying as part of her speaking tour in the US, the @JaneGoodallInst Institute announced.

In tribute, her institute calls her a "tireless advocate" for the natural world, as the @UN say she leaves "an extraordinary legacy".

#RIPJaneGoodall 🙏

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@philipnolan1 @irishdailymail 👏👏👏

[Meidas_Charise Lee @charise_lee]

Remember their names and faces and share their bravery with the world‼️ Anthony Aguilar (retired Green Beret Liutenant) and Josephine Guilbeau (former army intelligence officer)

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@StPetersWexford 👍👏👏👏

[Suzie rizzio @Suzierizzo1]

I love this! 👇👇👇👇👇💙

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@GeorgeLawlorTD @fleadhcheoil @buibolg @Independent_ie Stunning

[Allan Mulrooney @almulrooney]

Irish Surfer Gearóid McDaid has just won gold for Ireland at the European Surfing Championships in Portugal 🇮🇪

We’re planning a huge homecoming for the local hero Sligo 🥇

[Niall Harbison @NiallHarbison]

More of Roberto today over on my insta…

https://t.co/B8ruKgKPeR

A follow there helps the dogs so much 🙏🥰

[Niall Harbison @NiallHarbison]

The medicines and surgery helped Chance. As did having her own.

But I can say with 100% certainty nobody has helped her as much as big Hank the Tank. Her big brother 🥰🙏 (8/8)

[Helen McLean @McleanHelen]

@dariusaniunas Wow

[Governor Gavin Newsom @CAgovernor]

Yesterday, I met with a 12-year-old boy in Oxnard, CA. His mom and dad have been fieldworkers for over 20 years.

ICE agents snatched his parents from the fields and left this boy alone with no clue when he’ll see them again.

A 6th grader.