Connacht Tribune
Local athletes dominate at the Connacht Schools Athletic Finals in Athlone
IT was a welcome return to tradition as the Connacht Schools Athletics finals were staged in Athlone for the first time since Covid intervened to postpone them since 2019.
The Senior (U19) boys and girls section saw Galway competitors first to strike gold. Representing the newly amalgamated Coláiste Muire Máthair, Galway (CMMG), Liam Murphy overcame his teammate Diarmuid Davoren on his last throw to take the hammer title
Fellow CMMG student Naoise Walsh showed top form to win both the shot putt and discus, finishing ahead of Coláiste Baile Chláir’s Rory Gaughan who took silver in the discus and bronze in the shot, with another CBC student Barry Forde taking the shot putt bronze. In the javelin, CMMG’s Riccardo Cattaneo was third.
On the track, there was further success for the Galway seniors. The windy conditions down the home straight did not make it an easy day for the sprinters, but Jack Kinnane from Calasanctious, Oranmore took silver in the 100m, while Sean Chuka from St. Enda’s also won silver in the 200m.
Over one lap of the track, the Mannion brothers from Seamount College showed a clean pair of heels to all challengers as David just about beat his brother Stephen to the line in a hotly contested 400m race. Robert Urquhart from Presentation College Athenry (PCA) got his school’s account up and running by coming home third.
Moving into the middle-distance events, Daithi Kilcommins, better known for his exploits with Galway on the football fields, came third in the 800m for CBC, just edging out Darcy Mbiajeu of CMMG.
Oisin Davis from Presentation Athenry was the convincing winner of the 1500m, finishing six seconds clear of Eoin Killen from St. Joseph’s, Galway. Another PCA student, Thomas Joyce, took bronze in the 5000m while Coláiste Muire Máthair students Mark Bradley and Liam Murphy took second and third places in the 2000m steeplechase.
Also, on the track, Dan Carey from Coláiste Muire Máthair was runner-up in the gruelling 3000m walk, while his teammate Ify Asogu took another gold for his school in the 110m hurdles. Further hurdles success for CMMG came in the form of silver and bronze medals for Hassan Diarrasouba and Riccardo Cattaneo in the 400m event.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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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.
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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.
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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
