Connacht Tribune
Galway’s ‘Ed heads’ in search for Sheeran
Hundreds of people thronged the streets in Salthill and the city centre this week when word spread like wildfire that Ed Sheeran was in town to film the video for his hit song ‘Galway Girl’.
But unbeknownst to most of the fans eager to catch a glimpse of the chart-topping singer, Oscar-nominated actress Saoirse Ronan and Love/Hate stars Peter Coonan and Laurence Kinlan – Fran and Elmo – were also in tow.
Details of the shoot – which included shutting down William Street to record footage from his busking spot as a teenager – were kept a closely guarded secret, but word quickly spread when he was spotted in the laneway beside O’Connor’s Famous Pub in Salthill on Tuesday afternoon.
Ed and Saoirse arrived in Salthill at around 2.30pm, where they used the nearby home of publican Frank O’Connor as a ‘green room’ before the shoot.
“We were sworn to secrecy and signed agreements, we weren’t allowed tell anyone, I couldn’t even tell my kids why I was clearing out the house. My youngest asked if we were selling the house or something!” said Frank.
But by that stage, the cat was out of the bag – Ed had been spotted embracing members of his production team in the laneway beside the O’Connor family’s pub, and dozens of people began to gather.
It’s understood that dancers from the Celine Hession School of Dancing in Salthill, under their teacher Gemma Carney, also feature in footage recorded in the pub.
The singer’s security team ensured the bar was kept as a closed set, and by the time he left via a back door at around 6.30pm, there were up to 400 people spilling onto the street at the front of the premises.
“I had the fire on; they wanted it homely. Ed is a sound guy, very chilled out, and complimented me on the bar.
“It’s unbelievable publicity for Salthill, for Galway and for Ireland; it was great to have him here,” said Frank.
The singer and his crew then made their way to the Spanish Arch and Long Walk for more footage to be filmed, and then went on to O’Connell’s Bar in Eyre Square.
By that stage, hundreds more people had gathered around the Square and at William Street, where word had gotten out that Sheeran would be filming outside the Treasure Chest shop.
In 2014, a photo went viral of Ed as a 14-year-old busking outside the shop, and months later, the video for his hit single ‘Photograph’ featured clips of him busking in his teens at the same spot.
While the street was closed for several hours, he later posed for selfies and signed autographs for fans, before leaving at around 3am.
As a teenager, Ed was a regular visitor to Galway – his uncle Bill Sheeran previously ran an astrology shop in Quay Street. Bill’s daughter Laura is a hugely talented musician and singer, and three years ago, he spent a long weekend in Spiddal to attend Laura’s wedding.
For the rest of this story, see this week’s Connacht Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week’s paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.
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.
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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.
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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
