Connacht Tribune
Ploughing a new furrow in the beautiful Burren
Lifestyle – Cathal and Bronagh O’Rourkes’ 500-acre farm on the shores of Lough Bunny in the Burren encompasses fertile grassland, alluvial woodlands and the vast limestone pavements for which the area is renowned. Now they’ve inviting guests to share in the treasures of this unique place, with family tours, hiking and food trails, and wellness days as they tell JUDY MURPHY.
A bit of forest-bathing on a warm Saturday afternoon in August in an idyllic location just outside Boston– sure what else would you be doing in a summer of staycations?
We are on the 500-acre farm owned by Cathal and Bronagh O’Rourke and the Boston in question is the tiny village just a few miles from Gort in the magical landscape of the Burren.
It’s here that Cathal – the fifth generation of his family to work this land – and Bronagh have set up Burren Farm Experience, giving visitors a special insight into living and farming in this unique landscape with its stunning views.
In a world where social distancing is so important, it’s an ideal way to spend a day, with packages for families, groups and couples, as well as a monthly group walk around the shores of the Burren’s only freshwater lake, Lough Bunny. Bronagh also co-hosts monthly Wellness Days which incorporate yoga and forest-bathing – this is basically spending time in the woods, reconnecting with the natural world. We sampled it on their food tour, Feast on the Farm which was run in conjunction with Devin O’Sullivan of FEAST Ireland, who specialises in cooking local and foraged foods. It included travelling in a vintage jeep as well as well as gorgeous food and drink at stops along the way.
The O’Rourkes’ farm, which is part of the UNESCO-designated Burren National Park, incorporates alluvial woodlands, green fields and vast areas of limestone pavement, explains Bronagh, who’s originally from Cavan. She and Cathal met at the Galway Races a decade ago and for a long time, she had no interest in moving from Cavan to the West of Ireland.
Cathal, who worked in the bank and also farmed with his dad, John, commuted between Clare and Cavan in those years before Bronagh made her decision to relocate. That happened six years ago after her mother died. “It wasn’t the same at home with both my parents gone,” she explains adding that her father had already passed on.
She loves Boston, both for the strength of community as well as for the natural environment.
John O’Rourke died two years ago, Bronagh explains, and Cathal became the fifth generation of his family on this farm.
He’d never doubted where his future lay – farming is his passion and the superb condition of the whitehead and Hereford cattle on the fertile fields are a clear illustration of his animal husbandry.
Meanwhile, Bronagh, who had been working for a pharma-nutrical company, decided to change paths and take advantage of their unique location.
“We’re in a National Park where we get lots of people in camper vans looking for direction and visitors asking for things to do,” she explains.
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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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
