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Gardai: plan your Galway Races journeys in advance
Gardai and the city’s traffic management centre will be monitoring the flow of traffic across Galway during the Races.
A colour-coded route system for traffic management – which includes temporary road closures – will be enforced by Gardaí from next Monday afternoon.
And the city’s Urban Traffic Management Centre will be watching for ‘pinch points’ and will consult with Gardai on whether traffic lights need to be switched off.
The ‘blue’, ‘red’ and ‘green’ routes are designed to prevent any cross-flow of traffic making its way to and from Ballybrit, while also leaving the roads open for non-race traffic.
Signage will be erected on the approach roads to indicate the relevant entrances for each colour route. The blue entrance is at Racecourse Avenue, the red represents the tunnel entrance and green the Tuam Road entrance.
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A Garda spokesperson has advised motorists to plan their routes in advance, and to bear in mind that the Monivea Road/Racecourse Avenue only be accessed from the N17 during peak hours, particularly on the Galway Plate and Galway Hurdle days.
Also, there is no access to the Monivea Road eastbound by the lights at the Lynch/Briarhill junction (Western Motors) during road closure times (Monday and Tuesday 4pm to 6pm; Wednesday 12.30pm to 4pm; Thursday 11.30am to 3.30pm and Friday 3.30pm to 5.30pm).
Traffic for Monivea and the Airport will be directed onto the M6 and can exit at Exit 19 (Glenascaul) and proceed to Carnmore Cross.
All traffic from city reaching the Lynch junction will be directed towards the Coolough roundabout (entrance to M6).
Traffic reaching the Lynch junction from all other routes will be directed towards the city.
You can download the routes map here: Map-of-Access-Routes-to-Galway-Races
BLUE ROUTE (Avenue Entrance):
From the Carrowmoneash roundabout (Maldron Hotel) in Oranmore. Take third exit and travel via Carnmore Cross to the Avenue Entrance.
Motorway traffic should take Exit 19 and follow the signage through Carnmore Cross, where traffic from the Monivea Road will join the route. There will be Garda controls in place at the Lynch junction and at the Avenue Entrance.
Traffic on the N17 should turn up the hill at Killeen Cross (Garda control). No access to the Avenue from the N6 eastbound during road closed times.
RED ROUTE (Tunnel Entrance):
From the Carrowmoneash Roundabout, take the second exit along the old N6 to the Martin (Galway Clinic) roundabout. Then take the first exist at the Coolough M6 roundabout (end of the motorway).
At the Lynch junction, there is no right turn to the Monivea Road or Avenue Entrance. All traffic will be directed to Tunnel entrance and Galway City direction. Race traffic should remain in the right lane, city traffic in the left lane.
From the motorway, race traffic should stay in the right lane and city traffic in the left lane. Gardai will be in place so Race traffic can cross the N6 (dual carriageway) to the course.
There is no access to the Tunnel Entrance from the N17.
GREEN ROUTE (Tuam Road):
Access to the course via the hill at Twomileditch (near Kenny Motors). There is no access from the N16, M6, N18 or R339 roads.
Traffic from the Headford Road can join the Blue Route at the hill at Twomileditch or use the Green Route Entrance there.
Galway City and West:
Traffic from these areas can access any of the entrances. For the Tunnel Entrance, stay in the left lane along Bothar na dTreabh. For the Avenue, there is no access from Bothard na dTreabh during the road closed times. Access will be from the Tuam Road only.
The Green Entrance can be access from the Tuam Road only by turning right at Twomileditch.
Buses:
Bus Éireann will be running a special shuttle service to and from Galway Racecourse throughout Race Week.
The direct service will run from Eyre Square to Ballybrit and back from Monday through to Sunday.
For the evening race meetings on Monday, Tuesday and Friday, buses will depart from 2.30pm at Eyre Square West (Skeff) to Ballybrit and every 15 minutes up until 5pm. Buses will depart from the racecourse on demand, up until 9.30pm.
On Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday shuttles will depart Eyre Square West from 11am until 4pm every 15 minutes or as required, and will return after the second last race, up until 8.30.
All buses will be routed through the tunnel entrance, dropping passengers off within 50 yards of the course.
Adult tickets are priced at €6 single, and €9 return. Tickets for children are priced at €3 single and €5 return.
All city services will operate as normal during the Racing festival with the exception of Route 403 and Route 409, which will terminate at Briarhill Junction on the following dates/times:
Between 3pm and 5pm Monday and Tuesday; 12.30pm and 4pm on Wednesday; 11.30am and 3.30pm on Thursday and 4pm to 6pm on Friday.
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.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
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.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
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
