News
Novena to showcase Cathedral’s gems
The thousands who flock to this year’s annual Novena are being urged to take time out to examine some of the Cathedral’s stunning features which are looking in top shape following the first major refurbishment of the building since it was built half a century ago.
The 33rd Novena which opens on Monday marks the first major event on the calendar for the Cathedral’s jubilee year.
The faithful attending services over the nine days will see an exhibition around the Cathedral detailing the history of its creation and the pomp and ceremony of its dedication on August 15, 1965.
Following the Novena, there will be a Mass said on February 22 in memory of Bishop Browne, who supervised the building of what has become known as one of the last great stone cathedrals in Europe.
On March 20, there will be an evening honouring the sculptor Gabriel Hayes Ó Riordáin, who spent 17 years of her life carving the Stations of the Cross, completing the mammoth project just before she died.
These have been given a new lease of life following a polish and improved LED lighting, explained the Diocesan Secretary Fr Martin Whelan.
“She’s not very well known because she spent so much time doing the Stations of the Cross, which is a tragedy,” he said.
“They’re a totally unique work of art in themselves. They really are a real treasure in the city. The detail she went into for each piece is amazing.”
A booklet on the pieces will be produced for the Novena, drawing on letters between the sculptor and Dr Browne and recollections of her daughter, Róisín Fant Ó Riordáin.
Gabriel used neighbours, relatives and friends as models for the figures; for the face of Jesus she used an Italian student studying in Cellbridge.
A full sized casting of each station was made for the Bishop to see and approve and then chiseled from Portland stone. One of the biggest obstacles in the project was transporting the carvings to Galway.
For the third fall, she undertook very detailed research, studying the work done on the Shroud of Turin for details of the Roman method of crucifixion in Palestine at the time.
She wrote to Dr Browne: “I was not happy about the action of the left arm, in fact it had too much action, we not limp and listless enough. So I broke it off and re-carved it – three times before I was content with it. You see the whole figure had to express extreme exhaustion. He had fallen and is in the act of rising to His feet, unaided of course. He sags back on his knees, gasping for breath. I do hope that I have conveyed what was in my mind. It gives some idea of Christ’s exhaustion at that time.”
By the time she was finishing the commission she was aged 67 and her back had given out.
“Later the stone work proved too taxing, even with the help of a local stone-cutter and so the final stations were cast in re-constituted stone from her carved plaster models. One is actually part stone and part casting. Gabriel worked over the statue with her chisel to give it the final finish,” recalled her daughter.
On May 11 and 18, Bishop Martin Drennan, who is an expert on scripture, is giving talks on the art depicted on the stained glass windows adorning the Cathedral.
Musical director Ray O’Donnell is organising a concert featuring the St Nicholas Cantata by Sir Benjamin Britten, in honour of St Nicholas, the patron of the Cathedral.
At its dedication, the guest of honour was Cardinal Richard Cushing of Boston. At the jubilee Mass on August 14, the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Sean O’Malley, is travelling over to celebrate Mass.
The Priests – a classical musical trio made up of three priests from Northern Ireland – will perform in a concert to mark the anniversary on August 16.
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
