News
Connacht Rugby set to examine new home option
A study has been undertaken by Connacht Rugby to gauge the province’s long-term needs – including a potential new home for the club.
CEO Willie Ruane told city councillors during a presentation that a working group has been formed which will look at alternative venues, if long-term requirements show the need for it.
He had been asked to make a presentation in City Hall, after the local authority provided €20,000 in funding to the club in February.
He was praised by councillors for the economic impact which Connacht Rugby has on the city – around €13.2 million.
Mr Ruane explained there is a direct investment of around €9.4m in the likes of salaries (for 100 staff) and operational costs, while the visitor-related spend is €2.3m. There is an ancillary spend on pubs, restaurants, hotels etc of €1.25m, while visiting teams account for €250,000.
He said average attendances now stand at more than 5,600 – up 169% since 2011, and these are in the ABC1 demographic (high spending power).
There were 7,785 at the Pro12 game in the Sportsground against Munster, and gate attendances are up 40% overall on last year.
He said there has been 40 hours worth of live TV coverage in the past year, and there has been a 41% increase in the number of schools playing rugby in the region over the past two years, while the number of school matches has doubled.
Cllr Peter Keane (FF) said it was commendable that 100 staff are employed by Connacht and praised Mr Ruane for the ‘game day experience’ at the Sportsground.
However, he said he would love to see new grounds at the Docks, because he believes the team will continue to grow.
His party colleague Mike Crowe said the Council’s support for Connacht will never waiver.
“On the dark winter Friday and Saturday nights in October or November when there are no festivals on, Connacht Rugby are filling that gap,” he said.
Billy Cameron (Lab) said the potential for growth is huge, and the team brings an international flavour to the city – something the GAA cannot deliver.
“But you’re hampered by the Sportsground as your home. Is there anywhere on the outskirts or inner city that can be developed?” he asked.
Mr Ruane responded: “It’s something we are looking at right now. We have formed a new facilities working group to understand our needs and in terms of a stadium to ensure we fulfil our commercial ambitions and for fans for the match day experience.
“We will look at alternative venues if needs be; the Sportsground has the benefit of the city centre and a ‘walk-up’ crowd – that can be lost in an out-of-town stadium. There are alternatives that can be looked at.
“We’d like to think we can be contained in the Sportsground, but we’re looking at other facilities as well,” said Mr Ruane.
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
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
