Connacht Tribune
Communities up in arms over lack of signposting
Local communities in North Galway are losing out because they do not feature on any new signposting erected as part of road realignment and improvement works that have taken place over the past year or so.
Villages like Corofin, Abbeyknockmoy, Barnaderg and Moylough do not appear on some of the new signs along the N63 Galway to Roscommon road which has experienced recent upgrades to tie in with the Gort to Tuam motorway.
The signs have been erected by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) – but they just refer to the major towns further on along the route.
However, Cllr Pete Roche believes that rural villages are losing out as a result of the new signage which only indicate the direction of the major towns in Galway and the Midlands.
The Fine Gael councillor has raised this with senior roads officials with Galway County Council and he has been given an assurance that the alterations with regard to signage will be carried out – but this has not happened.
Cllr Roche said that as motorists leave Galway and travel along the N63 towards Roscommon, there are no signs for some of the rural villages in North Galway and that this is causing confusion for those who would not be familiar with the areas.
He said that people attending events, social occasions and even funerals are now being denied directions along this national secondary route, parts of which have been upgraded while there are further works in train.
And since the works began, there have been three new roundabouts provided along the route yet none of them have direction signs to some of the smaller villages along the way.
“When the sheep shearing took place in Corofin in recent weeks, there were many visitors who ended up lost and couldn’t find the place,” Cllr Roche said.
He raised the matter at a meeting of Tuam Municipal Council where he said that rural villages were losing out because of a lack of proper signage. He said that there were now roundabouts at Turloughmore, Annagh Hill and Monastery Road along the N63 but that there was a lack of information with regard to local villages.
“There are signs for Roscommon and Longford but nothing for the likes of Corofin, Barnaderg, Abbeyknockmoy, Moylough or Mountbellew. It is a disgrace and something that should be addressed as a matter of urgency.
“It is alright for those of us who know the area, but imagine someone trying to get to one of these villages who is not familiar with this part of Galway. They would be completely lost and it is not difficult to know why. There are no signposts,” Cllr Roche said.
He used the weekend of the sheep shearing festival in Corofin as a prime example. “There were people who came from the various parts of the country and when they came on the N63, they could not find any sign for Corofin and some people actually ended up in Tuam,” he added.
Cllr Roche said that he had made repeated requests to Galway County Council to address this issue and while he has been told that the matter would be rectified, nothing had been done.
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
