Connacht Tribune
Census officer cries in court over incident
A field officer working with the census office cried giving evidence in Tuam District Court against a father and son who she claimed terrified her when she went to deliver a census form.
Sineád Glynn recalled the day she called on Terry and John Byrne’s home in Brownsgrove, Tuam on April 5 last year when the two men rushed towards her car shouting abuse and calling her “a prostitute for the Government.”
Ms Glynn had called to the Byrne house to deliver the census form as the enumerator had failed to make a delivery some weeks earlier when the men had been abusive to her and refused to accept the form.
She said she had first spoken to a woman in the driveway of the house by introducing herself and showing her ID.
She told her the man of the house wasn’t there but would be back in an hour so she decided to sit in her car, parked on a gravelled hard shoulder outside the house on the main Dunmore/Tuam Road. Then the woman got into a car and drove off.
Shortly afterwards a man, identified in Court as the son, John Byrne, came out and took photographs of her car but didn’t acknowledge her. After that the woman returned followed by another car and both parked in the driveway.
The older man, Terry Byrne, came out of the second car and John came out of the house and they both rushed towards her car and started banging on the bonnet and the windows.
Ms Glynn was visibly upset as she gave her direct evidence. “They harangued me. They were shouting at me, shouting abuse. I was terrified but trying not to show it. I tried speaking to the older man but he started screaming at me and told me to get off his property.
“I asked if I could reverse into their driveway so I could turn around towards Tuam but they wouldn’t let me telling me to drive on,” she told Judge Deirdre Gearty.
Danny McGrath, solicitor representing both Byrnes, said his clients’ version of the story was different. He said they didn’t know who Ms Glynn was and that she had been parked on their private property.
He said that Ms Glynn had smirked at them, was defiant and had said they could be incarcerated and fined €40,000 if they didn’t sign the form.
Ms Glynn said she may have initially smiled at them but denied smirking or being defiant, adding that she may have mentioned the fine but said nothing about incarceration.
Ms Glynn reported the matter to Gardaí in Tuam immediately, which was the protocol for such incidents, she told the Court.
Garda Shane O’Brien said he had gone to the house later that day but nobody was about but a few weeks later called again in the company of another Garda.
On that occasion the two Byrne men refused to confirm who they were and shouted at the Gardaí while one of the Byrnes videoed the exchange.
Garda O’Brien said the men didn’t shout any abuse but kept telling them to get off their property.
Mr McGrath produced folio maps from the Land Registry showing that the area just outside the house at the side of the road was indeed part of the Byrne property. He said they maintained that part of the road, not Galway County Council.
Judge Gearty on examining the map said she was satisfied that the incident took place on private property adding that while she sympathised with Ms Glynn she had to dismiss the case against the Byrnes.
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.
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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
