Connacht Tribune
Athenry students give up their smartphones
Ask any teenager to hand over their smartphone for a week and they will look at you as if demanded they part with their life savings.
But that’s exactly what students in Coláiste an Eachréidh secondary school in Athenry have volunteered to do; reluctantly at first, but then they embraced it with vigour – and with most positive results.
Deputy Principal Seán Ó Mainnín’s second year Irish class were reading the book Labhairamach.com in class one day. The main theme of the story was online bullying.
And as the class discussed this issue, he got an idea. The Irish teacher asked his second-year students would they be able to go a full week without using their mobile phones.
He admitted that the 38 pupils were initially concerned about the thoughts of this.
“At first the students were worried but when one or two people agreed, the others convinced each other that it was worth a try,” he said.
The Irish teacher noticed that the students found the first two days away from their small screen difficult.
“It was definitely challenging for them initially. Luckily all the parents were on board and after a day or two the students adapted quite well,” he added.
The second-year group did not use their mobile phones from May 22 to 29 – an ideal time, as they were in the middle of preparing for their summer exams.
Mr Ó Mainnín says he believed that without the distraction of the mobile phones, the students in the All-Irish secondary school were better equipped to study for their tests.
“Without a doubt I believe it helped them to prepare. The parents were saying to us that there were less distractions for them without the phones,” he said.
The students completed the challenge as the deputy principal believes the initiative was a success for the teenagers and their families.
“The feedback we got was amazing and it was definitely a worthwhile experiment.”
Natasha Shionnaigh was one of the parents who believed that the experiment helped her daughter Amy to focus on her studies and improve her wellbeing.
“I think the ‘No Phone’ experiment was a very good idea. It highlighted to Amy the amount of free time she had. She used it by doing extra studying for her upcoming exams, going for walks and reading,” she said.
Sarah Kelly, whose daughter Katie went a week without spending time on her smartphone, said that her family will aim to use their phones less after seeing the positive effect it had on their daughter.
“The phone initiative was great for our house as Katie was definitely more engaged with her family and spent more quality time with us rather than updating snaps and talking in group chats,” she said.
After they successfully completed the week-long initiative, the students were treated to a fun filled trip to Bay Sports in Athlone, which is Ireland’s largest inflatable waterpark.
Mr Ó Mainnín said: “They were very excited with the trip and they did enjoy it. They thought it was an amazing experience.”
The deputy principal believes this initiative could be trialled across all the different year groups in the school.
“We could roll it out for all years. It was a good idea to start with one group first. We have had other groups look at the second year students and say we could do that too.”
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
