Connacht Tribune
Hurling dominates Galway Sports Stars awards
IN a year in which Galway hurlers swept the boards in spectacular fashion, it’s highly appropriate that one of the county’s greatest ever exponents of the game will be honoured with the Galway Sports Stars Hall of Fame award for 2017.
Athenry’s PJ Molloy was an integral figure in Galway’s long-awaited All-Ireland triumph in 1980, and also featured in the Tribesmen’s championship success in 1987. A gifted and skilful attacker whose scoring exploits for both club and county will stand the test of time, Molloy also won All-Ireland U21 and National League medals, together with inspiring his club to an emotional county title in 1987.
Indeed, the 53rd annual Galway Sports Stars banquet in the Galway Bay Hotel on Saturday night, January 27, will be dominated by the sport of hurling with the county’s glorious run to All-Ireland success celebrated with three different awards – Joe Canning, Player of the Year; Micheál Donoghue, Manager of the Year; and Galway receiving the Team of the Year honour.
Hurling also features in the Special Achievement category as Liam Mellows’ first county championship triumph in 47 years after defeating Gort in the final, together with their unstinting promotion of the sport in the city, is recognised.
In camogie, Galway defender and a key member of the Sarsfields team which retained their domestic supremacy, Tara Kenny, stood apart from her peers, while Olivia Divilly will be presented with the Ladies Football accolade after some big displays for Galway and helping her club, Kilkerrin-Clonberne, win yet another county title.
One of the most respected Gaelic footballers in the county, Kieran Fitzgerald, is being feted as well after picking up a record-breaking 12th county medal with Corofin last year and also helping the club maintain their supremacy at provincial level. The former All-Star remains a formidable competitor as the Galway champions turn their sights on a third All-Ireland success.
Fifteen years after his previous Horse Racing award, Craughwell’s Pat’s Kelly fittingly bridges that gap after pulling off a stunning win for the second season running by landing the Pertemps Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham National Hunt festival, this time with Presenting Percy.
In the long history of the Sports Stars awards, volleyball has only featured once before, but Loughrea’s Olivia Molloy has broken the mould in not alone continuing to captain the Irish senior team, but also leading Galway Volleyball Club to All-Ireland League and Cup glory.
It will also be a special night for Sinead Keon, who won gold and silver medals in table tennis and the javelin respectively at the World Dwarf Games in Canada, while Galway Water Polo Club’s remarkable success at various All-Ireland levels sees them take the Club of The Year award
The All-Ireland Senior Cup is the most sought-after prize in amateur team golf and Galway GC came up trumps in decisive fashion by overcoming Limerick 4-1 in the AIG sponsored final in Carton House last September, an achievement which sees them honoured with the golfing accolade.
Kieran Molloy (Boxing), Alanna Lally (Athletics) and Claire Rockall (Basketball) are previous award winners who are being feted again, while joining the honours list for the first time are Diarmuid Mulkerrins (Handball), Tiernan O’Halloran (Rugby), Dave Mannion (Rowing), Stephen Folan (Soccer), Jessica Burke (Showjumping) and Sarah Kelly (Swimming).
The Sports Stars awards are the definitive benchmark of sporting achievement in the county and special guest at the presentation banquet – the social highlight of the local sporting year – will be Kilkenny’s Henry Shefflin, the most decorated hurler of all-time.
Galway’s biggest private employers and medical devices company, Medtronic, continue as sponsors of the Sports Stars awards and the panel of local journalists who adjudicate on the awards are indebted to the US multinational for its valued support.
The selection panel comprised of: John McIntyre, Connacht Tribune; Billy Coss, Tuam Herald; Mártan Ó Ciadhra, Raidio na Gaeltachta; Frank Farragher, Connacht Tribune; Stephen Glennon, Connacht Tribune; Mark Walsh, Tuam Herald; Michael Glynn, Connacht Tribune; Seán Bán Breathnach, Raidio na Gaeltachta; Keith Kelly, Connacht Tribune; and Dara Bradley, Connacht Tribune.
Full coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune
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
