Connacht Tribune
€1.25m island attracts international enquiries
There has been interest expressed in acquiring the 80-acre island off the Connemara coast that has come to the market with a price tag of €1.25 million.
The auctioneers selling the island, known as High Island or Ardoilean, have confirmed to the Connacht Tribune that interest has been expressed from three different sources.
Enquiries have come from potential purchasers in the States, the UK while a man in Dublin has also expressed a keen interest in the property.
Luke Spencer of Spencer Auctioneers in Oughterard said that while there has been some mischievous enquiries, he describes these three expressions of interest as ‘genuine’.
The island which is home to ruins and artefacts dating back to 300 BC, is located around three kilometres off the coast from Claddaghduff.
“Those who have made enquiries have just asked for further information regarding the island and access to it.
“None of them have made any offer as yet but it is very early days as the property has only been on the market for more than a week.
“I haven’t been speaking to any of them yet as all of the contact is by email but I am sure they will want to view the island but realistically we will not be able to go out to the island for at least another month,” Luke Spencer added.
The auctioneer is expecting interest to be expressed by the State in acquiring the island given its historical significance and the abundance of bird life, but there has been no contact from the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
The island is 1.2km long and 0.4km wide, with its highest point at 63.3 metres above sea level and it is assumed that if it is purchased by a private individual, it would be their intention to develop a summer residence there.
By the seventh century, High Island was home to a relatively thriving community of hardy monks. But by the early part of the 19th century, the island was stripped of human life save for a handful of copper miners whose last excavation took place in the 1820s.
Alongside the monastic ruins – the monastery was reputedly founded by Saint Féichín – the island also has an intact stone beehive hut, an old miner’s cottage, a functioning septic tank and two fresh water lakes.
Between 1969 and 1998 the island was owned by poet Richard Murphy and it inspired many of his works including, most notably, an anthology which shared its name.
While Murphy owned the island he was only an occasional visitor and, in Connemara: The Last Pool of Darkness by Tim Robinson, a story is told about how the poet had planned to spend more time there and even bought himself a traditional sailboat for his crossings and had the miner’s cottage partially roofed.
In the mid-1980s, Murphy offered the island as a gift to the nation with the hope that it would be used exclusively as a wildlife sanctuary.
However, according to Robinson, the “State’s response to this was so laggardly that the gesture was withdrawn and eventually the island was sold to a trusted friend of Murphy in Feichin Mulkerrin”.
He has owned the island since then and has worked hard in a low key fashion at keeping it as a wildlife sanctuary.
Mr Spencer said he would be happy to take potential buyers to view the property but only if he could establish they had both a desire and the financial means to acquire the island.
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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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
