Connacht Tribune
Paris-based Galway man caught in the eye of the storm
Friday night, November 13, started out like any other weekend for Paris-based Galway man, Tim McInerney.
The Barna native was with three friends enjoying a meal in Septime, a restaurant in the heart of the 10th and 11th districts of the French capital.
Their Michelin-star eatery was packed and the streets outside in the popular area for cafes, restaurants and bars were bustling.
On the way to Septime, the quartet passed by the terrace of La Belle Equipe. About 20 minutes later that café bar with outside seating was the scene of horrific shootings.
Gunmen opened fire and shot dead 19 people in one of multiple simultaneous terrorist attacks on different Parisian targets in what was the deadliest assault on French soil since World War II.
Mr McInerney (29), who was dining 15 or 20 metres away, describes the panic that gripped once bullet shots were heard.
“What we heard was just noise,” he recalls.
“A very loud noise. People say (the gunshots sounded) like firecrackers. I don’t think it really sounded like firecrackers unless it was very close to you. It sounded to me like barrels, like metal barrels falling from the sky . . .
“I think the panic was curbed a little bit by the fact that nobody knew exactly what was going on. We could only see reactions of other people. We were getting so many different reports that it was difficult to know if any of it was true.
“We didn’t know, of course, that seven different explosions had happened at that point. I would say about half of the people in the restaurant panicked and about half stayed very calm.
“There was nowhere to go. People were panicking. There were several people in floods of tears, there were several older men, totally breaking down but very quietly – we had to stay very quiet and not make a commotion.”
Outside, people were diving under cars for cover, he says. At one point a bus pulled up outside and people got off and ran in the opposite direction of the gunshots. Inside the restaurant, one man recognised the noise as that of a Kalashnikov. Diners initially took cover under the tables and then were advised to hide behind two large concrete pillars, farther back in the restaurant, which would have offered more protection from bullets.
Phones were still working but patrons were in the dark as to what was happening outside. “News came quite late. After going into hiding first, there was no news. The first we learned of it was people running in off the street saying ‘there’re tens of dead people lying on the ground out there’,” says Mr McInerney.
Mr McInerney contacted his sisters, Sarah and Ruth, back in Ireland, and later notified his parents, Dan and Martha, that he was safe.
The terror began shortly before 10pm and at about 2.30am, Septime was evacuated by military, who had swarmed the streets.
“Nobody wanted to leave but we were told to leave. They were clearing the streets systematically. Everyone was terrified of course. There was nowhere to go; no way to get home – there were no taxis, the Metro had been stopped. To walk would mean walking through central Paris. Even though it seemed like everything was over, how was anyone to know really?”
Not only was Mr McInerney so close to the attack last Friday but a fortnight previous he frequented Le Carillon with his visiting sisters for a drink.
Le Carillion – which he describes as an unpretentious, local bar popular with young Parisians, something you might find in Woodquay, Galway – was also attacked by gunmen, with up to a dozen killed.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune – along with a personal piece on the impact of the attack, by France’s Honorary Consul in Galway.
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.
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.
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
