Connacht Tribune
Galway Michelin chef backs project to fight poverty in Central Africa
Galway’s Michelin-starred chef this week dropped in on a community garden project in the city to give his backing to an initiative that will help put vegetables onto the plates of children – in one of the world’s poorest countries.
JP McMahon came to see the community garden Westside Resource Centre in Galway city this week, backing the notion of areas growing more of their own food.
But he was also seeking support for a similar scheme in the poverty-stricken Central African country of Burundi, where the aid agency Concern Worldwide is helping to tackle child malnutrition.
And he used the Westside community garden – part of the Let’s Get Galway Growing initiative – to put the spotlight on the Kitchen Gardens concept, which the charity is spearheading in a new crowdfunding campaign.
The 38-year-old married father of two explained that the gardens encourage communities to grow their own vegetables in a country where poor nutrition has stunted the growth of 58 per cent (881,000) of children aged under five.
As Europe suffers from its own vegetable shortage due to weather conditions in the Mediterranean, the chef and owner of Michelin star restaurant Aniar – as well as tapas bar Cava Bodega and Eat Gastropub – has urged people to think of those in greater need in Burundi where 9.2 million people (83 per cent of the population), live in poverty.
The Failte Ireland ambassador for Irish food also believes the Kitchen Gardens project should inspire everyone to grow their own nutritious and healthy food.
Speaking from the Westside community gardens, accompanied by his daughters Heather (8) and Martha (4), he said: “Europe has taken so much out of Africa; it is our duty as Europeans and Irish people to give back.
“I think Kitchen Gardens is a genuine and excellent idea because it taps into that connection to growing food that a lot of us never have to think about at all.
“It supports people in great need in growing their own farms for the future, making them more self-sufficient and strengthening their community.
“This project gives us a sense of fulfilment that we are actually helping people to produce their own food because aid can only do so much.
“It should also inspire us in Ireland and wherever we are in the world to grow our own food.
“Every home should have, at the very least, a herb garden, even if all you have is an apartment with a window sill or balcony”.
JP, who also runs the Aniar cookery school, is urging people to support Kitchen Gardens on the crowdfunding website Generosity.com where the target is €20,000 to benefit 200 families or over 1,000 individuals.
The food writer, who also runs the annual Food on the Edge global chef symposium, has donated signed recipes that will be sent to anyone who donates €65 to the campaign.
The gardens themselves are designed to trap moisture and enable vegetables – such as carrots, cabbage and onions – to grow all year round, even in very dry conditions.
They are circular and raised about one metre above ground with an inner circular basket at its centre where compostable waste, such as uncooked vegetables, are added to provide nutrients to the plants.
Concern, which works with the Burundi government, provides the items needed to assemble the gardens – which takes about two days to build – and provides training to members of the community, who share their new skills and knowledge with others.
To mark the launch of Kitchen Gardens, Concern Worldwide street fundraisers will be handing out free packets of carrot seeds to members of the public in Ireland this week.
People can find more information and donate to the campaign by clicking on this link where people can also monitor how much has been donated and share and discuss the project on social media.
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.
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.
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.
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
