Connacht Tribune
Our Government and NPHET are destroying morale of Irish people
Inside Track with John McIntyre – sports@ctribune.ie
IS this the most lily-livered Government in the history of our state? Jack Lynch, the legendary Cork GAA hero of the forties and a former Taoiseach, must be turning in his grave at the role his fellow county man, Micheál Martin, is playing in crushing the spirits and morale of a large cohort of the population.
In a sporting context, last Tuesday’s announcement of the tightening of restrictions in the ongoing battle against Covid-19 was the most depressing of the past five months. NPHET is now running the country as Martin and his cabinet colleagues continue to roll over like a lapdog. It’s both demoralising and embarrassing in equal measures.
Is the Government utterly immune to the positive role sport – either from playing or watching – has in Irish society? Everything in this country has been up in a heap since mid-March, but the resumption of GAA club activity in July proved a timely and massive lift to morale. It represented some form of normality and people were grateful for that.
Initially, there was a gathering limit of 200, embracing players, mentors and match officials, with indications that the figure would be increased as time elapsed. But not alone have those planned rises not materialised, now games must be held behind closed doors with no spectators at all.
The reaction up and down the country has unsurprisingly comprised of shock, anger and dismay. People are just scratching their heads at the madness of it all. The Government is losing the Irish people in droves. There is no logic whatsoever to this move, especially when you look at the inconsistencies of the restrictions.
Basically, what NPHET and the Government is telling us: It’s ok to go on a foreign holiday; it’s ok to go to a pub, have a bite to eat and guzzle pints; to continue working in meat factories; play sport but not watch it; and send the kids to school but not go to work. This is just crazy stuff.
We all have our own experiences to illustrate. I am managing my club Lorrha in Tipperary and last Saturday we won a second consecutive hurling championship match for the first time in a decade. We are now through to the county quarter-final and though it’s only Senior B, this a big deal for us.
My father is 88 and Club President. 64 years ago, he won a North Tipp championship with Lorrha and last Saturday he was in Cloughjordan to see the team managed by one of his sons, and including two of grandsons, get the better of a high-scoring shootout with Portroe. He was like a 40-year afterwards: proud as punch and full of joy.
It was the same emotion for so many other families in the parish. There was a lot more than 200 at the game. People were smuggled through the gates in the boots of cars; others sought and found gaps in perimeter fencing; some sneaked in when officials were distracted; a few climbed walls in their desperation to see the game.
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.
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.
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
