Connacht Tribune
Camogie officer’s marathon challenge in memory of sibling
Running the equivalent distance of a return trip from Loughrea to Croke Park as part of Galway Camogie’s Lockdown Challenge 2020, a Galway Camogie Board officer is hoping the memory of his late sister – who sadly passed away earlier this year – will see him through.
Ballymacward’s Brian Griffin commenced the challenge on Monday. Over 40 days he aims to run up to 10km a day until the distance of 380 kilometres is completed by the deadline date of Friday, December 11.
His efforts will raise money for Galway Camogie and Galway Hospice, the latter of which will receive 20% of all proceeds gathered through the multiple events taking place as part of Galway Camogie’s Lockdown Challenge.
It’s a huge undertaking for Galway Camogie’s Development Officer, but he is hoping his passion for camogie and the memory of his late sister Janette Griffin, Ballyglunin, will inspire him to deliver on his goal.
“My sister passed away earlier this year from cancer,” says Brian. “She was 48 when she died, two weeks short of her 49th birthday. In November of last year, she was diagnosed and she passed away on May 13 this year. She had three boys.
“She was in the Hospice there for a good few months. So, it is important for me to try and give something back. I suppose, when I’m out running, she might carry me along as well,” he says.
Brian and his fellow County Board officers had been discussing possible fundraisers for Galway Camogie before the current lockdown came. It was this that prompted the 40-day Lockdown Challenge.
“The idea is that we will get as many people to register and do a challenge and raise what they can for ourselves and Galway Hospice,” outlines Brian. “There are a lot of people interested and we’ve reached out to a lot of clubs. So, we are pushing it far and wide to get as many people involved.”
Some of the challenges undertaken around the county are: 5km or 10km a day for 40 days; walking the distance to Croke Park and back; walking 15,000 steps a day for 40 days; doing 100 burpees each day until December 11; and doing a virtual solo relay around Ireland.
“We would love people to come up with their own ideas that are totally different, out of the ordinary,” says Brian. “I know there is a woman in Athenry, Cathy Dillon, who is cycling virtually from Athenry pitch to every hurling and camogie pitch in Galway. So, that comes to about 500 kilometres for her to cycle.
“So, challenges like that. Others might just climb Croagh Patrick, doing as little as 800 metres a day. No challenge is too big or too small. The main thing is that you log in your challenge. You have to be seen to be doing it.”
Each challenge can be undertaken individually or as a team – so long as there is social distancing. Once the challenge is logged with Galway Camogie, each participant will be sent the link to the iDonate page. Each challenge must be tracked. For instance, Map My Run or Strava can use used to monitor kilometres while, for something like burpees, a video of each daily task must be recorded.
As Brian notes that the more people who get involved, the more “craic” it will be. He encourages as many as possible to do so. “Also, I think, in the lockdown, it is good for people to stay engaged. You can kind of get down in the dumps looking out the window for five or six weeks.
“So, it is important for people’s mental health as well to be involved in something like this, to be part of a group. If you were sitting at home on our own, you could kind of get bogged down.”
All going well, the energy the Lockdown Challenge will generate will feed into Galway camogie’s senior team as they bid to win back-to-back All-Ireland titles under manager Cathal Murray. Griffin agrees.
“As we know, all sporting organisations are stuck for money at this time. So, it is important that we get behind those girls as well. It would be brilliant if they could do it again this year. It is a big challenge for them and we have to back them.”
As for Griffin, himself, he has already embraced his own mammoth challenge. “I have registered now so there is no getting out of it,” he laughs.
“The money raised, though, will help to continue the good work both Galway Camogie and Galway Hospice are doing on the ground. If every club could put in a challenge, it would be great.”
(Photo: Camogie stars Sarah Dervan, Niamh Kilkenny and Emma Helebert promoting Galway Camogie’s Lockdown Challenge 2020, which got underway this week).
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
