Connacht Tribune
Mission accomplished as Galway stay on course to retain All-Ireland title
Galway 1-11
Tipperary 0-8
STEPHEN GLENNON AT PÁIRC UÍ CHAOIMH
A solid performance – nothing more, nothing less – from Galway in this hard-fought All-Ireland senior camogie semi-final at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday. On the champions march to a second consecutive final, where they will defend their crown against old foes Kilkenny.
It’s days like these when the result outweighs everything else and in overcoming Tipperary, a side that continues to improve game-on-game, Galway now have the opportunity to achieve something that the county has never done before: win back-to-back titles.
Standing in their way are their old nemesis Kilkenny, who will be driven to avenge their All-Ireland defeat to the Tribeswomen in last year’s September encounter.
That will be a potent motivating factor for Kilkenny as they look to buck a trend that has seen them lose six of the last seven All-Ireland finals they have appeared in since 2009 – two of those losses coming against Galway in 2013 and 2019.
Galway manager Cathal Murray will be wary and, certainly, it will not be lost on him just how impressive Kilkenny were in accounting for Cork, 2-10 to 1-11, in last Saturday’s curtain-raiser, particularly given the pressure Brian Dowling’s women came under when Cork raced into an early lead. It was an impressive recovery from the Cats.
In contrast, Galway, at times, stuttered to this victory. When they got into their flow, they looked to be a class apart but for long periods, they were forced to play this physical semi-final on their opponents’ terms.
What champions do, though, is that they find a way and this they did on Saturday. While Tipperary may argue the six-point margin didn’t reflect what they brought to the contest, in truth, Galway could have claimed this victory by much more.
Aside from Carrie Dolan’s brilliantly worked and taken goal on 15 minutes, Galway spurned goal chance after goal chance throughout the 60 minutes. Two of those were from the penalty spot, although in fairness to substitute Siobhan McGrath, who took the second penalty on 60 minutes, the instruction had come from the sideline to tap it over.
Galway’s first penalty midway through the second period was taken by Galway goalkeeper
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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Connacht Tribune
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
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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Connacht Tribune
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
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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Connacht Tribune
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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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