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Roisin and Callum Roisin Hartley

Column ‘My husband was holding back tears when he told me Callum had meningitis’

On Universal Children’s Day, mother Roisin Hartley tells her story about how she came so close to losing her son to meningitis.

AUGUST 2008 IS a time that my family and I will never forget. This was when my baby son Callum got meningitis. He was just ten months old.

It started out with what seemed like an ear and throat infection. I brought him to the doctor for antibiotics and was confident he would get better quickly. But something didn’t seem right. He had been sick before but this somehow it seemed different.

On a visit that day to see my mam Callum was very fussy. He didn’t want his bottle, he didn’t want to be held and he was sleeping a lot which definitely wasn’t like him. I started to have a niggling feeling of worry but headed home and reassured myself the antibiotics would soon kick in.

Symptoms

But I was wrong. The next day Callum got worse. He started vomiting, he couldn’t hold down food and even water came straight back up. He was also sleeping excessively but would wake in pain with a strange cry. I remember carrying him into the kitchen where he would shriek every time he was confronted with the daylight shining in through the patio door. It was at this point that his fever also really shot up.

It is so hard as a parent to know when is the right time to ask for medical help. We had already seen the doctor the day before and I knew I needed to give the antibiotics a chance to work. But something just didn’t feel right. We had to have another opinion.

My husband and I took him to Mullingar General Hospital. Here Callum was put on a drip but the doctor said he should be fine. That was such a relief to hear. Later on he wasn’t really showing any signs of improvement so the doctors decided to do a lumbar puncture to check for signs of infection.

Diagnosis

The tests were taking a while and Callum seemed stable so my husband said he’d stay with the baby so I could go home to shower. I was about halfway home when I got the call you dread. My husband was trying to hold back tears as he told me the tests had come back and Callum had pneumococcal meningitis.

Meningitis had never even entered my head; it was something that happened to other people. I’ve heard of meningitis, I knew it was scary but I remember thinking – Callum didn’t have a rash.

Callum was then rushed to Temple Street for treatment.  He was later moved back to Mullingar, in total spending four weeks in hospital. It felt as if it was just bad news after bad news and we were so scared of what the outcome could be for our precious little boy. The first thing you think of is will he make it. Meningitis kills.

Strikes fear in your heart

Even before Callum got the disease I knew that. It is a word that strikes fear into your heart. But the doctors also then started to talk to us about the potential after effects he could have if he did survive. Amputations, deafness, brain damage… the list goes on.

Thankfully Callum was one of the lucky ones. He has made a full recovery and is now a happy six year old with a love for football.

My experience with meningitis will never leave me and I still get emotional when I think about how close we came to losing our son.

Looking back on it now, my biggest regret is that I missed so many of the signs and symptoms that I just wasn’t aware of. Knowing the signs of meningitis can be the difference between life and death.

Callum never developed a rash, something that so many parents associate with meningitis, but which is actually one of the last symptoms to appear.

Awareness

Now I also know his screams in the kitchen from the bright lights was another sign. He also had the fever, the vomiting and the excessive sleeping. However, despite this, never once did meningitis enter my head.

I reached out to the charity ACT for Meningitis to share my experience with parents who have been through similar situations. I am also now involved with awareness raising events for ACT as I hope that by sharing my story that I can help other parents be more aware of the signs and symptoms of this devastating disease.

Children are currently not vaccinated against all types of meningitis so even if they’ve had their shots parents need to know the symptoms and act fast. The best advice I can give parents is that you know your child best so trust your instincts and go see that doctor if you are at all worried it could be meningitis.

Roisin Hartley is a stay at home mam originally from Dublin and now living in Walsh Island, Co Offaly with her husband Eamonn and two children Callum (6) and Layla Rose (3).

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35 Comments
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    Mute Brian Clancy
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:06 PM

    It’s none of your business who calls to my house, try tackling the root of the problem

    437
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    Mute PC
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:11 PM

    @Brian Clancy: Casedemic https://youtu.be/FU3OibcindQ

    51
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    Mute Cecil Orr
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:13 PM

    @Brian Clancy: The leader of the selfish group. The “I’m all right Jack” syndrome.

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    Mute PC
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:13 PM

    @PC: Test, test, test. Case, case, case. Scare, scare, scare. The death rate has flatlined and the government insist on shutting down the country for a asymptomatic cases in the under 45s. This is bull.

    145
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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:20 PM

    @PC: if cases go up then inevitably deaths will follow. You can’t die from it unless you’ve been a case. Eventually it will get to vulnerable and or elderly people and some will die. Case rates are a good indication of reproductive rates and forthcoming deaths.

    52
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    Mute NotMyIreland
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:32 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: In a nursing home in wexford again, it has already gotten to older more vulnerable people

    29
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    Mute Tom Harpur Photography
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:39 PM

    @Brian Clancy: root of the problem been the selling off alcohol in pubs restaurants and off licence and supermarkets

    27
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    Mute Martin Woods
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:08 PM

    @Tom Harpur Photography: why Tom are they drinking it in the meat factories ?

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    Mute The only INFP in Ireland
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:19 PM

    @Martin Woods: House parties..

    17
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    Mute seamus toomey
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:26 PM

    @Cecil Orr: explain how it’s ok for weddings with 50 guests to still go ahead then

    32
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    Mute seamus toomey
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:27 PM

    @Tom Harpur Photography: I thought the root of the problem was the meat factories and poor conditions

    24
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    Mute CarlAnne Greene
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:35 PM

    Can’t have more than 6 in my house but can eat out alongside 50 strangers in pub/restaurant. Can’t watch a game but can play it, can send kids to school but try stay home from work, put kids on a school bus ( from ty -6thyr are 16-19yrs old) but not public transport etc…it all doesn’t make a lot of sense

    283
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    Mute Dave Hammond
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:43 PM

    @CarlAnne Greene: theres a lot of mixed messaging for sure – they have lost control of the messaging and lost the support of a lot of decent people who from the very. outset abided by. strict rules but have had to watch as the. ‘authorities’ failed to get to grip with travellers. from Italy etc – failed to quaratine nursing homes. effectively , failed to get to grip with meat factory outbreaks , failed to tackle the direct provision centre. problem but are now all in. knots about pubs / schools / house parties and trying to implement pretty ineffective measures if the 3 county checkpoints are anything to go by – beyond farcical – govt need to grab bull by. horns and start asking why 6 months in we are still too slow on testing tracking and tracing effectively – and why in the name of jaysus are we still only talking about random testing in airports from NEXT WEEK – complete horseshit

    129
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    Mute seamus toomey
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:29 PM

    @Dave Hammond: they won’t ask those very valid questions because if they did someone would be held accountable

    40
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    Mute Pat Quinn
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:35 PM

    So I can go to a wedding indoors with 50 people but I can’t have a bbq in the garden with 6 ??

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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:46 PM

    @Pat Quinn: you can

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    Mute Green Lentils
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:20 PM

    @Marie Broomfield: haha

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    Mute Badger the witness
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:24 PM

    No more than 6 people in your garden, no more than 15 for outdoor gatherings.. Not sure on the maths there.

    125
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    Mute seamus toomey
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:30 PM

    @Badger the witness: getting married

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    Mute Newto2016
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:56 PM

    Please. If I want to have my family over for Sunday dinner, I will.

    117
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    Mute Green Lentils
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:01 PM

    @Newto2016: I’m delighted I don’t have to ask mine over!!

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    Mute Chris Mc
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:01 AM

    @Newto2016: just redo your marriage vows

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    Mute Chris Mc
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:03 AM

    @Newto2016: just redo your marriage vows and you can invite your friends over too.

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    Mute Vladimir Macro
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:02 PM

    So you can enter a shopping centre with hundreds of people once you are wearing a mask but you cant enter a garden of any size with more than 6 people, whilst wearing a mask.

    This is not science, it’s worse, there is no logic to this

    Do they just not want us to meet up to speak about what’s going on???

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    Mute Green Lentils
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:22 PM

    @Vladimir Macro: yes that’s it. They’re outside your house with the chip they’ll be stapling into your skull in about 10….9….8…

    18
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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:10 PM

    Bringing in unenforceable restrictions, with the strict message of “please don’t do that” is not what is needed right now. County lockdowns are a bit nonsensical as well when you look at a map. Why not go with a radial lockdown from the epicenter of the cluster?

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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:21 PM

    @Logan Shepherd: get a lot of compasses out and draw invisible circles around cluster sites? You’re joking right.

    31
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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:24 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: It makes more sense than locking down entire counties. It’s the same principle as the radius of freedom we were granted during the main lockdown.

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    Mute Paul
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:16 PM

    Does that go for exploited workers in Irish meat plants or the overcrowded conditions they are forced to live in.

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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:22 PM

    @Paul: new measures have been brought in to control that. Too late for the current outbreak but should work going forward.

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    Mute Paul
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:08 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella: I don’t believe you, show me the proof, also too little too late for the people of Kildare, Laois and Offaly who had to restrict their movements for 2 weeks because of these meat plants owners bringing in sick workers with out any sick pay with Covid, exploiting them by putting them in cramped conditions to live now a lot of people are suffering mentally because of this, oh yeh you have 0 followers and your following 0 people you’re most likely a bot.

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    Mute seamus toomey
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:30 PM

    @GrumpyAulFella:

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    Mute Sinead Merrigan
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:43 PM

    @Paul: there is absolutely no proof that factories have purpously brought sick people into work but will agree that work conditions have significantly contributed.

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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:53 PM

    @Paul: you’ve 30 followers. Well done. Do you need 30 to be a human and not a bot? I’ve heard it all now.

    4
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    Mute ianglen
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:38 PM

    My 89 year old uncle tasted his first pulled pint in nearly 6 months last week, poor man cried.
    Now looks like he will be cocooning again. Cruel..

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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:53 PM

    @ianglen: shouldn’t be a problem. I’ve been bringing the aul man down to his local once every two weeks. We get a bit of grub and 4 pints, watch a bit of ball, no problem. Pub layout is great and people are kept apart. It’s ultimately people’s own decision as to what harm they want to expose themselves to. Older people will complain if they are advised to stay in and then complain if they go out and catch it in a pub. Ultimately the individual decides. If the aul man wants a pint then I’ll bring him for one and we’ll mind ourselves.

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    Mute Eamo
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:56 PM

    @ianglen: was it flat?

    17
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    Mute Oracle Steve
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:36 PM

    They can all phukk right off. They’ve lost me with their asinine decisions. The 2KM rule was $tup|d enough but allowing indoor weddings but nobody in an 80,000 person stadium.

    You are the weakest link and I’m ignoring everything you ask. You’ve lost my respect

    82
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    Mute Mick Costello
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:24 PM

    Joke these are pushing for a reaction and I’d say they are getting close

    50
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    Mute Bennett blaster
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:18 PM

    Mass is ok though, no enforcement of masks in public places. Pain in me ding dong with their nonsense

    72
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    Mute Aunties
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    Aug 18th 2020, 10:52 PM

    Fred n Rosemary West had 6 in their garden

    32
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    Mute Marie Louise Ryan
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    Aug 18th 2020, 11:37 PM

    @Aunties: omg hahaha

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    Mute Marie Broomfield
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:44 PM

    Some people are purposeless confused! How much clearer does it have to be, no more than 6 people from outside the home and from no more than 3 household! What’s confusing?

    36
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    Mute GrumpyAulFella
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:55 PM

    @Marie Broomfield: they need to be nanny’d.

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:57 PM

    @Marie Broomfield: You’re post ..

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:05 PM

    @Logan Shepherd: *Your. Smartarsery withdrawn ..

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    Mute Monster Munch
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:20 PM

    The Guards will be busy

    29
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    Mute De Rossi
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    Aug 18th 2020, 11:53 PM

    @Monster Munch: will they? Genuine question… Is it advisory or law?

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Aug 19th 2020, 6:53 AM

    @De Rossi: I think advisory at the moment but the attorney general is getting involved so that will most likely change!

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    Mute De Rossi
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    Aug 19th 2020, 9:20 AM

    @Joan Featherstone: Thanks Joan. I dont know if the buy in from the public will be there if this is only advisory.

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    Mute Real Online Career
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    Aug 18th 2020, 9:48 PM

    Bring back Phrase one, I would rather be isolated from the people crying that they can’t go to pub.

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    Mute Joan Featherstone
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    Aug 19th 2020, 6:54 AM

    @Real Online Career: nothing to stop you isolating yourself?

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    Mute Robert Clifford
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    Aug 18th 2020, 8:24 PM

    Complete spoofer.

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    Mute Isabel Oliveira
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    Aug 19th 2020, 12:02 AM

    Get lost

    7
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    Mute Pádraig Ó Pravda
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    Aug 19th 2020, 7:15 AM

    NPHET – Nazi Party Hacks Exercising Tyranny

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    Mute John Mulligan
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    Aug 19th 2020, 10:13 AM

    Unless you’re getting married, or having a mass.

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