The Talented Ms Gallanagh
Model, farmer, dancer and nurse – is there no end to the skills of this former Miss Universe Ireland? But this week, after months of battling on the frontline, she and her family were struck by Covid. As she recovers, she has some hard-hitting observations
WHAT a difference a year makes. In January 2020, Grainne Gallanagh was filling her days with learning dance routines, getting ready to showcase her moves and delight the nation on Dancing With The Stars. Fast forward to today, and the Buncrana beauty is self-isolating at home with the rest of her clan after testing positive for Covid-19.
Instead of sparkly heels and dazzling costumes, she’s wearing PJs and slippers as she paces her home on the family farm where she grew up, trying not to bump into her parents or sister, who are doing the exact same thing. As differences go, it’s in stark contrast from the glamour and glitz of appearing on Ireland’s highestrating TV series.
‘I’d be lying if I said isolating with your family is super easy,’ admits the 26-yearold, whose isolation period is up tomorrow.
‘We get on great but I can’t wait to go for a walk on my own and get some peace! Like we’ve been relatively okay — none of us has had difficulty breathing but you really have to take it day by day.
‘The last two days are the best I’ve felt actually. My main symptoms were just feeling shattered and coughing, and my head was really sore. I’d no real appetite and it’s hard to sleep because you’re coughing all the time, but that’s all you want to do. You’re just so, so tired.’
Grainne discovered she had Covid-19 when her father developed symptoms and was sent for a test, which came back positive. She was then tested, as was her sister and mother, and they got their results on New Year’s Eve. The youngest of five girls, Grainne admits that it was an anxious start to 2021, as her parents, both aged over 70, became unwell.
‘I was very worried about Daddy as he is prone to bad coughs,’ says Grainne, clearing her throat herself. ‘I was worried about Mum too, and just kind of waiting, every day, to make sure they were ok. You hear the horror stories, and then, sure I’ve seen the worst case scenarios.’
For while Grainne, who won Miss Universe Ireland in 2018 and also works as a model, is well used to getting dressed to the nines, she’s also a natural at pulling up her sleeves and doing one of the least glamourous and toughest jobs out there — and I’m not even talking about helping her dad out on the farm (which she does too).
She is also a nurse and made the difficult decision to return to the frontline in April, when the first wave of the pandemic hit.
‘I was only out of nursing about six months at that stage, so my training was all up to date,’ she says. ‘I had no obligations. I have no kids. I just thought I had to do it, to answer that call. I really like nursing, so I really wanted to do it.
‘But at that time, it was terrifying. No one knew what to expect. I was genuinely really scared,’ she reveals candidly. ‘I think when you’re out of work for any period of time you have that apprehension anyway, but this was like nerves on another level.’
Grainne, who works as an agency nurse, said that her anxiety wasn’t helped by the fact that the hospital she would be working in had particularly high Covid figures.
‘I think it was a case of, once I got back i nto t he s wing of it and learned how to use the PPE and that, it was a matter of just getting on with i t,’ she says matter-of-factly.
While her anxiety subsided, the reality of working on a Covid ward was something that you can never get used to.
‘You have to wear your mask, gloves, visor, your gown. The discomfort of it is unreal. You’re dripping sweat after a few minutes, and it’s so claustrophobic — there’s a feeling that you can’t breathe.
‘You’re constantly changing and it’s very time- consuming. You’re coming home to your family so you’re showering before [at the hospital] and you’re showering as soon as you get in the door. You never really feel like you’re clean. You’re just always worried about it,’ says Grainne.
The irony of all her caution of course, is that it was actually her father who passed on the virus to her. It’s thought he contracted it through a close contact.
‘I know, it’s mad,’ she says. ‘ Of course I’m not cross. I think with this whole pandemic, the one thing I see is a lot of blame. There’s no point in blaming people. We are all going through something and we are all trying to be responsible. If something happens, there’s no point in holding it against anyone.
‘Nursing is a hard job. It’s hard anyway and I think it’s just made that bit harder with Covid because patients can’t have any family with them,’ she continues. ‘You kind of feel like you have to be with them all the time, just in case something happens. The truth is you have to spread yourself thin, because you have to be there for everybody. That’s really difficult because you know they need you.
‘It’s also so hard for people who might have hearing difficulties, because a lot of people communicate by reading lips or taking cues from facial expressions.
‘There can be such miscommunication — you’re trying to tell people what’s happening and you end up writing stuff down for them. You’re trying so hard to be friendly or comfort them but they can’t see you smile or even hear what you’re saying.’
Grainne has not experienced a person with Covid die in her care, but she has tended to those who were ‘very, very sick’.
‘Thankfully I’ve not had someone pass away while I’ve been with them but I’ve cared for some incredibly ill people. And it’s scary. It’s scarier for their families who can’t be there with them when they really need them.
‘It’s very hard to manage as obviously they want updates all the time. It’s really tough for everyone involved.’
Grainne admits that it’s not just the emotional aspect of her job
‘ I’ve cared for some incredibly ill people, it’s scary ‘
that has taken its toll this year. Like us all, she misses her freedom, her friends, all the things we took for granted before we first heard the word ‘coronavirus’. ‘I think it’s just a combination of everything really, like, you know, not being able to see people. We’re social creatures. It’s been hard on everyone.’ When Grainne is not donning wellies and helping her father on the farm, for example weighing and vaccinating cattle (‘ he thinks because I’m a nurse, I’d also make a good vet,’ she laughs), she finds solace by the sea. ‘We are very lucky where we live. I’ve spent a lot of my time in the sea or on the beach. There’s something about the water, it’s so calming,’ she says. Her hometown of Buncrana has been hit hard by the virus, at one point in November recording the highest coronavirus rate in the country. I ask her as a nurse, is she angered by people flouting the rules? ‘It doesn’t necessarily make me angry because I wouldn’t like to allow myself to get angry about something that I can’t control,’ she says carefully. ‘But it is demoralising to see people that are, you know, who just don’t care. ‘It’s quite demoralising for healthcare workers because you feel like they don’t care, but they don’t see the reality of what we face. ‘Obviously there are people who are not abiding by the rules or things would be back to normal a lot quicker. But like I said, I feel like this year there’s been enough pointing of fingers, especially at young people and, you know, none of us are perfect. Most of us are trying hard,’ she reasons. What does anger Grainne however, is the dire situation faced by unpaid student nurses, who have risked their health working on the frontline — something she has been very vocal about.
‘That does anger me. We’ve seen the public can’t function without frontline staff. But yet again, I don’t think people also realise how much of that they do.
‘I can say, hand on my heart, being a student nurse is one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done. I just think it’s so unfair.
‘You know, the argument is that, well, they’re just there to observe. That may be what they’re supposed to do, but they get stuck in like everyone else.
‘You go into nursing because you want to help people and it’s been really hard for them. I mean, this year, especially with a global pandemic, if there’s ever been a time to acknowledge them... but they are still waiting. And then the nurses have all gotten their annual retention fee as well, like that wasn’t waived. That’s just really disheartening.’
Grainne admits that although she loves her job and her colleagues, she can understand why people choose to leave the profession, given the current climate and ‘lack of appreciation’.
Farmer, nurse, dancer, model, is there anything this girl can’t do? She laughs, shrugging the praise away. Looking to the future, her heart will belong to nursing in some regard, she feels.
‘I just don’t know where I’ll be located,’ she says when I ask her where she sees herself when we are finally free of the virus.
‘Nursing is very flexible, and when I’m doing agency work, it gives me time to do other things. I always said that I’d never fully leave it.’
However, if you spot her on a ward, maybe don’t ask her to perform a foxtrot.
‘People ask me to do a wee dance and I’ll get a laugh out of it but there’s not a hope i n hell of me doing it because I don’t remember a thing from the show,’ she laughs, reminiscing about her DWTS days.
The experience was, she says, ‘the most fun I’ve had in my life’.
‘It was one of the best things I’ve ever done. I’ve never laughed so much,’ she recalls of her time spent on the show, where she was partnered with Kai Widdrington. ‘Don’t get me wrong, it was really hard work — really gruelling, physically and emotionally. I never thought I’d be able to do it, so it was just incredible.
‘We were supposed to have a DWTS reunion at Christmas and I just can’t wait to see them all again. I loved them all.’
There was no fear of the DWTS love curse striking with Grainne, who has been in a relationship with Ryan Coleman since she was 18. ‘He’s very supportive of all I do, but he hates all the social media stuff and the fuss. He likes to keep out of the l i melight,’ smiles Grainne.
‘But I do miss the glamour. Back then I would have been like, what I wouldn’t do for a day off to be at home in my PJs and now I’m just dying for an excuse to get dressed up and go out,’ she sighs. ‘It was the best time. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.’
I get the feeling that no matter what, those sparkly heels will be getting an airing as soon as it’s safe to do so...
‘ It is quite demoralising to see people who just don’t care ‘