Connacht Tribune
Galway Rally will run on original route despite protest
Efforts to prevent a stage of this weekend’s Galway International Rally from taking place in rural parts of the north of the county failed to materialise – despite suggestions that the application for road closures was not properly dealt with.
Members of Galway County Council received an email from a resident in Kilconly claiming that those living in the greater Caherlistrane area were not consulted but this was firmly rejected by senior officials of the authority.
In fact the same resident was in attendance at this week’s meeting of Galway County Council where he heard members speaking highly of the rally and the excitement that in generates each year.
And Director of Services Michael Timmins informed the meeting that an application was received by Galway County Council last December for a temporary road closure licence.
He said that the Council gave serious consideration to the application. “We weighed it up and then took the decision to sign the order for the temporary road closure,” he explained to members.
Mr Timmins added that they complied with all of the procedures relating to a temporary road closure. He said that there are very strict conditions attached to the road closure licence and these mainly relate to insurance issues.
Over the weekend members received emails from resident Sean Maguire from Clonbar, Kilconly claiming that the rally would take place along a dangerous stretch of road and would be doing so without consent. In one of his emails, he stated: “Very sad state of affairs for Irish people to be abused and ignored”.
In another email to a councillor, Mr Maguire said that it was his intention to stop what he described as “an illegal rally” outside his home. He also stated that the rally would not pass his home.
The matter was raised in the Council chamber on Monday by Cllr Donagh Killilea who said that he was contacted by the householder. Cllr Killilea asked if a licence was granted, when it was granted, if there were objectors and if they were replied to.
But the Fianna Fail councillor added that he made contact with a number of residents whose houses will be passed by the rally and all confirmed that they had been contacted by the Galway Motor Club who organise the event.
Cllr Pete Roche said that he was also the recipient of an email and, out of courtesy, he inquired to determine the nature of the complaint. He said that he received an email back advising him to ring a Dublin number, which he refused to do.
At this stage in the debate, the householder attempted to intervene by trying to explain the Dublin number but he was told firmly by officials that he could not contribute to the debate.
Kinvara’s Cllr Joe Byrne said that he too received the email but said that he had no idea who it was from or what it was about. He added that the tone of the email was vexatious.
He went on to say that the rally adds vibrancy to the county. His only complaint related to the amount of rubbish that is left behind by spectators of the rally and that this was something that should be addressed by the organisers.
Caherlistrane resident, Cllr Billy Connelly recalled the rally coming through the area around ten years ago and there was no problem and residents did not object.
“In my own area there are around 40 or 50 houses affected. But I can assure you that if the number is 50 then 49 have no problem with the rally. Those involved in the Motor Club called to each one of us and provided us with an emergency number in the event of something happening that required the roads to be reopened,” Cllr Connelly said.
He said that 99% of those living from Queally’s Pub in Caherlistrane to Kilconly were supportive of the rally which will take place in that particular part of the county on Sunday.
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
