Connacht Tribune
Support pours in for renovation of vandalised church
The priest at a church wrecked by vandals last week said that both he and his parishioners have been enormously buoyed by the outpouring of support since the shocking images made international headlines.
A GoFundMe campaign set up by the Very Reverend Stan Evans has already raised close over €16,000 of the €70,000 needed to bring the picturesque Errislannan Church of Ireland back to life.
Parishioners were left distraught when they found the Church of the Holy Trinity torn asunder last week – but they have since been met with the hand of friendship from communities across Ireland.
Speaking to the Connacht Tribune, Rev. Evans said that the overwhelming level of support since last week’s discovery has been “wonderful”.
“The community has been absolutely marvelous and there have been expressions of support from every corner of the community. 
“I have to say that the Gardaí have been wonderful throughout this whole process and their investigations are ongoing at the moment,” said Rev. Evans.
Gardaí in Clifden have confirmed they are following a direct line of enquiry and said they were not in a position to confirm any reports that arrests have been made.
The damage caused to the church is not thought to have been motivated by any sectarian divisions.
The Dean of Tuam, the Very Reverend Alistair Grimason, said that the damage to Errislannan Church had resonated across the country – and further afield.
“There has been complete cross-community support here and everyone in Clifden and Errislannan felt, very acutely, the effect of this and they are saying, ‘we want to help you put it back together again’.
“This really touched a nerve and upset an awful lot of people – I have had enquiries from the UK and from as far away as Portugal.
“The damage that was done here was silly, daft and pointless and when you stand in the middle of it, it really brings it home – you stand there and think about why and for what reason somebody would do this,” said Rev. Grimason.
Donations to the GoFundMe campaign are representative of this sentiment with donations averaging out as amounts of less that €100.
Local TD, Deputy Éamon Ó Cúiv, expressed his shock and dismay at the damage caused to the church.
“In the first instance, I wish to extend my support to the local Church of Ireland congregation. In particular, I salute Rev. Stan Evans, whom I know well, for the characteristic leadership that he has shown in the face of extensive criminal damage to his beautiful church.
Stained glass windows destroyed at Errislannan Church.
“The pictures of overturned and smashed pews, and damaged pulpit, altar, organ and light fittings are deeply disturbing.
“Rev. Stan’s articulation of the upset and concern affecting the congregation was searingly honest and moving at a personal level,” said the Fianna Fáil TD for Galway West.
Rev. Evans said that the damage had caused a lot of pain in the small community but the time had now come to move forward with a view to getting the church back into use.
“The damage is very bad and it will take a lot of work but we are going to do the work,” he said.
He said that they hope to have the church back open in time for the most important part of the Christian Calendar next year.
“We are working towards next Easter and we will have a real celebration of this. This is a great little church and we have an amazing community here.
“The community will deal with it and we will do it through love and compassion,” said Rev. Evans.
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.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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