Connacht Tribune
Sports grants spread right across county as Galway gets €10m share of the pot
Over €10.2 million in sports capital grants is to be divvied up by almost 130 clubs and organisations across the county – with Tuam Stadium and Moonbaun Sports and Development Project in Athenry among the biggest beneficiaries.
The funding, announced this week by the Department of Sport, spreads across all sectors of sport including GAA, rugby, soccer, golf and tennis – with the money to go towards everything from maintenance to the building of new running tracks.
Among those to be allocated funds was Galway County Board, which was awarded just under €300,000 for the redevelopment of Tuam Stadium.
Also in receipt of €300,000 is the Moanbaun Sports and Development Project, for the provision of a regional eight-lane running track at the Athenry multi-sport venue.
County Galway Cricket Club received €230,000 for the construction of new changing rooms while Corinthians Rugby Club was awarded the same for an all-weather pitch.
Several clubs and groups were granted between €150,000 and €200,000 and among those were Athenry Golf Club for a facilities upgrade; Ballinasloe and District Tennis Club for three courts and lighting; Caltra GAA for a training pitch and floodlighting; and Colga FC in Clarinbridge for artificial surface development.
In the same funding bracket was Clarinbridge GAA for a clubhouse and outdoor classroom; Colemanstown Utd FC for an all-weather pitch; Glinsk GAA for community development; Gort Community School for its astroturf facility and Killererin GAA for LED pitch lighting.
Milltown, St Brendan’s (Ballygar) and St Mary’s (Athenry) GAA clubs were also granted €150,000 for various works while Monivea Rugby Club was allotted the same amount for new changing rooms.
Two County Council-owned facilities – Tuam and Ballinasloe Leisure Centres – were allocated just under €150,000 for upgrades to their changing rooms.
Portumna RFC’s Portumna Rugby Access and Inclusion Facilities are to be boosted by a €129,000 cash injection, while €140,000 will bolster Galway Bay Sailing Club’s Training and Water Safety Facilities.
A provision of €110,000 was made for Scoil Bhríde Mercy Secondary School in Tuam to deliver the town’s first athletics track while Moyne Villa FC in Headford will have €109,000 to the kitty for its all-weather pitch.
A total of €132,000 has been delivered to renovate Clonberne Community Hall, and a further €120,000 in grant funding is on its way to Craughwell Athletic Club to apply a tartan layer to its 400m track.
Cappataggle Community Association for Recreation attracted €117,000 for its pitch development fund, and for the resurfacing of a walkway.
Plans to develop a gymnasium at St Brendan’s Hurling Club in Loughrea have taken a big step forward with €134,000 in funding, as have pitch works at Bearna na Forbacha Aontaithe where €109,000 has been secured.
The multi-purpose indoor sports complex plan at Corofin GAA will also progress with €128,000 in the coffers.
Other projects to receive over €100,000 were Ballinasloe Golf Club (€102k); Ballinasloe Rugby Club (€100k); Ballinasloe AFC (€100k); Brothers of Charity Services (€102k); and the Educena Foundation (€100k).
Dozens of other groups across city and county were awarded five-figure sums to progress ambitious plans and commenting on the announcement this week, Minister of State Anne Rabbitte said the funding represented a ‘major investment in Galway sport’.
“This will be a major boost to facilities across communities in Galway and is indicative of how important sport is in every community in the county. These clubs and organisations are the backbone of many communities – it is what binds them.
“It is also great to see Galway clubs receive funding for projects deemed to be of ‘regional’ significance. This is indicative of the scale of some of the projects and facilities being developed, including Moanbaun in Athenry – a joint venture between Athenry Association Football Club and Athenry Athletics Clubs – which is receiving €300,000 for the provision of a regional eight-lane running track.
“The Galway County Board has been allocated €297,073 for the redevelopment of Tuam Stadium – which has been long called for – and the Galway Camogie Board have been granted €35,788 for ball-stop netting and the completion of works on dressing rooms,” said Minister Rabbitte.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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