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Connacht Tribune

Host of county towns included in new tourism initiative

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Parts of East Galway, where tourists are ‘as rare as hen’s teeth’, are now set to benefit from an initiative steered by both Fáilte Ireland and the Office of Public Works.

Parts of the county like Tuam, Headford, Ballinasloe, Loughrea and Craughwell – which are not prominent on the tourist trail – are set to reap the rewards of the new marketing plan which will be launched in a matter of weeks.

It involves a loop of the Wild Atlantic Way being extended to Loughrea, Gort and Craughwell, while other parts of the county will benefit from a new tourism brand to be established in the Midland region.

The new initiatives are to encourage tourists, who are already familiar with the 2,750 kilometre Wild Atlantic Way, to wander off the beaten track and discover some other fascinating attractions in Galway like Ross Errilly Franciscan Friary near Headford, St Mary’s Cathedral in Tuam or Athenry Castle.

Galway East TD Seán Canney has welcomed proposals by Fáilte Ireland to increase tourism potential in Galway East.

These initiatives have come to fruition following meetings and discussions which Deputy Canney instigated during his role as Minister for the Office of Public Works with Fáilte Ireland, Department of the Environment and the National Parks and Wildlife.

“Gaps were recognised in the tourism branding and it was agreed that the best approach was to combine the resources of the various departments to deliver the optimum benefit”, he explained.

It is proposed to launch the Wild Atlantic Way Region in early 2018 which will showcase areas that are not on the existing driving route in an effort to encourage visitors to come places off the beaten path and explore more attractions in East Galway.

“I am delighted to see this type of branding for areas which have to date been ignored. There is enormous potential for growth in tourism in areas like Tuam, Headford and Athenry.

“We have so many hidden gems right across Galway East and now recognition is finally being given to these areas. Portumna is a perfect example of a location which has so much to offer in terms of heritage and water amenities”, Deputy Canney added.

The new initiative has also been welcomed by Galway East Fine Gael Minister Ciarán Cannon.

“As part of our programme for government, Failte Ireland has been instructed to develop a marketing strategy for the area colloquially known as ‘Ireland’s Lakelands’, which includes Portumna and East Galway,” he said.

“This is a very important development in attracting tourists to our local towns and villages that have yet to benefit from massively increased tourism numbers over the last decade”, added Minister Cannon.

“Last year some 1,000 people were surveyed in Ireland, the UK, USA, France and Germany to share their views on two proposed midlands tourism concepts and a lot of the learning derived from that process will now feed into the development of a new brand for this region which has so much to offer,” he revealed.

Minister Cannon also outlined that significant investment has already been made in tourism across South East Galway.

“In 2017 our government invested €750,000 in Portumna’s Harbour and Amenity Park which provided for the doubling of the mooring space and the development of integrated services for camper vans,” he said.

“We also have recently invested an additional €25,000 in amenities at Portumna Forest Park. In addition to this, Portumna Castle and its Irish Workhouse Centre have seen increasing numbers of visitors in the past few years and the refurbishment of Portumna Castle`s Coach-house, to accommodate tea rooms, toilet facilities and exhibition areas, will be completed this year which coincides with the Castle`s 400th anniversary,” Minister Cannon concluded.

Connacht Tribune

West has lower cancer survival rates than rest

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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.

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Connacht Tribune

Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents

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Galway's Aaron Niland is chased by Cillian O'Callaghan of Cork during Saturday's All-Ireland Minor Hurling semi-final at Semple Stadium. Photo: Stephen Marken/Sportsfile.

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 IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety

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Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche

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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