Connacht Tribune
Provincial glory puts the seal on great year for Oughterard
OUGHTERARD 1-16
THE NEALE 0-11
Mark Walsh at MacHale Park
IN the annals of Oughterard football, the year 1938, and the club’s Senior County final success, is held in the highest of regard, even 81 years later. However, the twists and turns of their run of 2019, which has led them to Intermediate county and now provincial glory, will also be revered in exalted tones in years to come.
Castlebar’s MacHale Park was lit up for this Connacht final occasion on Saturday evening, and there’s something about playing beneath the shining lights that brings out the best in the best players. While Tulsk had kept the younger Tierney brother, Matthew, relatively under wraps in the semi-final, Galway U-20’s standout player was not about to let a game of this magnitude slide him by.
A haul of 1-5, 1-2 from play, illustrates that. However, his performance was not without error, as a couple of missed goal chances in the first will testify to, but when himself and his older brother Enda have concluded their efforts with Oughterard, Padraic Joyce will surely be testing them out in maroon and white.
Draws have been one of the protruding themes of Oughterard’s remarkable 2019 journey. Both Clifden and Kilkerrin/Clonberne drew with them in the group stages of the Galway IFC, whilst those two memorable County finals with Micheál Breathnach ended level, with penalties needed to decide the replay.
Oughterard and The Neale look wistfully across the banks of the River Corrib at one another. On Saturday night, they stared each other directly in the eyes. Nose-to-nose at half-time, tied at 0-7 apiece, by whistle’s end, Oughterard had left The Neale firmly in their shadow.
Tommy Finnerty’s side fell a point behind after the break. No matter to them, because they went on a run of 1-8 without reply, culminating in team captain Eddie O’Sullivan collecting the Gene Byrne Memorial Cup. It will have a nice glimmer to it sitting beside the Cotter Cup, won last month at Pearse Stadium, in the Oughterard clubhouse.
What the eight-point win over the Mayo champions, and the 11-point success over Roscommon’s Tulsk Lord Edwards the previous weekend, demonstrated above anything else, is the high standard of football and competitiveness at play within the Galway IFC.
The anatomy of that second half display on Saturday evening centred on another salient theme of Oughterard’s season, their support play and ability to finish off hard runs out of defence with punishing scores. O’Sullivan referenced it in the aftermath, and the goal was an example in point.
Eric Lee was selfless and made constant forays into his full-back line to help out all evening. He wasn’t just filling space as a healthy number of forwards do when carrying out defensive duties. Oughterard’s number 12 made one important interception in the first half, and another in the second half, led to the goal.
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.
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
