He moved to Castlebridge almost seven years ago, a small town few miles outside of Wexford town. He spent five years living in an apartment in Castlebridge before moving into his new home two years ago, a bungalow of Co-operative Housing Ireland’s in the same town.

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“The apartment wasn’t practical because it was on the first floor and he had to walk 17 steps of stairs to it, which I found tough. I have COPD (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease), so you can imagine my breathing by the time I got to the top of the stairs,” Seán says.

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Moving into his new home has had a positive impact on Seán. A lover of gardening, living in bungalow with a garden has given him access to his passion for nature and growing once more.
“It’s great because I have some outdoor space to garden in. I wasn’t able to garden in my apartment. I also have polytunnel at my homestead in Curracloe where he can grow tomatoes and other vegetables, but during lockdown I wasn’t able to do that much with restrictions I had to self- isolate”.

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During lockdown he kept busy by building flower boxes and continuing on with his usual gardening. In his flower boxes he grew rhodendrums, lilies and begonias – lots of colourful flowers to brighhten up his home. He also continued on with his exercise for COPD despite being confined to his home.

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“I mapped out a course at home and calculated that 20 laps was equivalent to 1km. Everyday I walk 6km, staggering the exercise througout the day with other activities such as crosswords to keep busy. I’m not a lover of TV, but I do enjoy a good documentary when something interesting comes on. I would have loved to have walked more out and about, but I noticed people aren’t always great at social distancing, so I said I’d do my own thing at home.”

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One of the things he missed most during lockdown was meeting people out and about, such as when he was doing his grocery shopping.
“You’d miss running into people you know for a chat in the supermarket, but overall I’m doing well. Keeping a good routine and making sure my mind is occupied helps greatly during the restrictions. I’m fortunate to have both my son and daughter living closeby. They were able help me with tasks during lockdown. Overall I’m very positive about life, I have a fine and snug home no matter what happens - I’m extremely lucky.”

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