Connacht Tribune
Cream of Galway’s young talent turns out for Toy Show auditions
Passion, excitement and chaos. These were the three words most used by Ryan Tubridy when describing The Late Late Toy Show which will be aired live on Friday December 1. Going into his ninth year hosting The Toy Show, Ryan has lost none of his enthusiasm and excitement for it describing the opening shot, his favourite part of the show, as “the cannonball leaving the canon”.
BY RÓISÍN MCGRATH
Fifteen acts consisting of over 60 children from Limerick, Clare, Sligo, Mayo, Donegal and Galway made their way to Galway for their chance to take part in the biggest show on Irish television last Tuesday, including Sadhbh Breathnach and Orla Kilkelly from Kinvara who said they “always watched the show and then realised we could be in it, so we applied”.
These two friends who play fiddle together were a living example of the excitement that Ryan spoke about, hardly being able to contain themselves.
Other musicians from Galway applying were Robbie Monaghan and Eoin Hardiman who play guitar and were enjoying their time in the limelight as the cameramen followed them, preparing for their audition. They were entered by Robbie’s mum as they had always shown an interest in performing and the boys were “hoping to be spotted”.
Ryan Tubridy explained how The Toy Show was “looking for passion and for people to come in and have fun” and for those coming in to “lighten up, loosen up and let go” which is what The Toy Show is all about.
When asked about the show’s growing popularity Ryan responded “in every human being resides a child and for one night only, people get to embrace happiness and innocence – and cynicism dies”.
Last year, over 1.57 million people watched the show in over 102 countries and 140,000 people applied to be in the 204-person audience. These tickets can be applied for online and are issued in a random lottery.
As The Late Late Toy Show gets ever nearer, the build-up intensifies. Ryan compared the atmosphere at rehearsals to “that feeling when you’re seven and you go the Christmas tree on Christmas morning to see if Santa has delivered the presents. Multiplied by ten”. His own enthusiasm was infectious, meeting the children, engaging with each of them and dancing along to their performances. The show and its preparation have allowed him to “embrace happiness and innocence” which in turn helps the children to feel more at ease.
“For years children were seen and not heard, now they’re front and centre and I love that,” said Ryan on how children’s confidence has improved and the standard of talent on the show has risen over the years.
“I think what’s happened is because of iPhones, they’re more used to cameras and less reluctant to be on front of them and to perform.” This was also a point made by Orla Kilkelly who said the experience had given her “more confidence”.
Everyone who has watched The Late Late Toy Show has a favourite part. For Ryan and lots others it’s “the big goofy number at the beginning, singing and dancing and causing mayhem”. For others it’s the performances, the toy demonstrations, the book reviews or the final music number.
“It’s very rarely about the toys; it’s about the children,” said Ryan, recalling his favourite moments on the show.
“I always think of John Joe and his clocks, the little boy who wanted to be a horologist and when Amy Keogh met Ed Sheeran and nearly fell off her perch, these lovely moments that you can’t plan – it’s like sending a car down a hill with the brakes cut.”
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.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
