Classifieds Advertise Archive Subscriptions Family Announcements Photos Digital Editions/Apps
Connect with us

Connacht Tribune

Beggars flock to Galway for easy pickings

Published

on

People are flocking to Galway to beg because they know there are “easy pickings” to be had during the summer months, a judge has warned.

Judge Mary Fahy said the people involved are not homeless and they are not migrants before she issued a warning at Galway District Court this week that they face a month in prison if convicted of begging.

The judge made the comments while dealing with Romanian national, Marian Avadanei (26), of no fixed abode, who pleaded guilty before the court this week to blocking the passage of pedestrians while begging at Wolfe Tone Bridge on Wednesday afternoon, July 5 last.

Defence solicitor, Michael Cunningham, who was assigned to represent Avadanei under the Free Legal Aid Scheme, said his client had come Galway two weeks ago immediately after arriving in Ireland.

His client had instructed him (through a Romanian interpreter appointed by the court) that he was homeless and sleeping rough in Eyre Square, accompanied by his grandmother, aunt and other members of his family.

Judge Fahy observed the man had only been in Ireland for two weeks and he was already before a court for begging. She told him begging was not permissible in this country and it carried a one-month prison term on conviction.

Hearing Avadanei was sleeping in Eyre Square, Judge Fahy asked him what was the point of him and his family coming to Ireland with no place to live and with no means to support themselves.

The interpreter said the man had told her he and his family had been brought to Ireland by a man from their village and were put to work with no pay.

“Who put them to work?  Did they go to the Gardaí and report the people who brought them here?” Judge Fahy asked.

Avadanei said he wasn’t able (to report them).

Judge Fahy noted he had signed a bail bond in the Garda Station when he was first arrested last Wednesday and he knew he had to be in court this week.

Through the interpreter, he said the Gardaí had got another interpreter for him in the Garda Station.  He had followed the instructions of the guards but he didn’t know what he had signed.

Judge Fahy said he could have made a complaint to Gardaí while the interpreter was in the Garda Station. “I have no clue,” Avadanei replied.

Judge Fahy imposed a one-month sentence on the accused for begging and she suspended it for twelve months on condition he be of good behaviour during that period.

She warned him that if he was brought before the court again for begging he would serve a sentence.

Avadanei signed a bond in court agreeing to the condition of the suspended sentence but Judge Fahy noticed he had just scribbled at the bottom of the document and she instructed him to write his name properly instead.

Through the interpreter, he said he couldn’t read or write.

Judge Fahy said it was odd how a person who claimed he couldn’t write his name, was able to travel to Ireland.

“It’s very difficult to understand that someone can’t even sign their name.  They’re able to get here, they’re able to travel around the country, they’re able to get details of flights.

“The thing here is, these people are coming in as migrants because it’s summer in Galway and there are easy pickings and that is what is going on.

“I’m warning this man and others like him that if they come in here on similar charges they are looking at prison sentences because people in Galway are inundated with beggars during the summer.

“It’s very suspicious that they only come to Galway in the summer when things are getting good.

“They’re not homeless and they’re not migrants in the proper sense of the word,” Judge Fahy said.

Connacht Tribune

West has lower cancer survival rates than rest

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Connacht Tribune

Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents

Published

on

Galway's Aaron Niland is chased by Cillian O'Callaghan of Cork during Saturday's All-Ireland Minor Hurling semi-final at Semple Stadium. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

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.

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.

 

Continue Reading

Connacht Tribune

Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety

Published

on

Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche

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.

 

Continue Reading

Trending