Connacht Tribune
Rally champion to raise funds for injured jockeys
A Galway native and former national rally champion – who also scaled mountains and ran Ultramarathons for charity – is undertaking his biggest challenge yet…. to become a horseracing jockey and ride on three of Ireland’s most famous tracks.
Rally driver Frank Byrnes is opting for a different type of horsepower as he takes on the Curragh, Navan and Leopardstown in order to raise funds for the Irish Injured Jockeys Fund.
The Oranmore businessman – Managing Director of Frank Byrnes Autobody Repairs Ltd – has been awarded his jockey’s licence by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board.
And this will enable him to participate in the 2018 Corinthian Challenge Horse Racing Series in aid of the Irish Injured Jockeys and to race on some of the most famous race tracks in the horse racing world.
In order to obtain the licence, Frank was examined thoroughly on all aspects of horsemanship and equine care at the Irish Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE) based at The Curragh.
Intense preparation both through riding out at the facilities of Ranch Racing in Kilcolgan under their trainer Stephen Mahon and physically enduring road running combined with intensive gym sessions ensured that Frank was successful in the recent assessment.
The Irish Injured Jockeys provides support through financial means, assistance in recovery and, if necessary, retraining in a prompt and sympathetic manner to those jockeys past or present who are injured, unable to ride or generally in need. Raising public awareness with activities such as The Corinthian Challenge Series is a top priority so that the urgent need for extra funds is highlighted.
Between July and October, Frank will ride in three horse races on Ireland’s top racetracks.
First up is the Curragh on July 22 for the Kilboy Estate Stakes day. This will give Frank the opportunity to ride over the famous Derby track which has seen horses like Nijinsky, Galileo and Montjeu win on its soil.
The second leg will take place in Navan on September 23, their first National Hunt card of the season – with the final leg on Tote Handicap Day in Leopardstown on October 27.
The Corinthian Challenge Series is the latest charity project which Frank has undertaken however, to date Frank and his Company have raised €100,000 for a variety of charities, both local and national.
These started in 2011 and 2012 with charity fun days on his premises, followed in 2014 by Santa’s Grotto!
Climb4Cancer was his 2015 initiative, where a group representing the Irish accident repair industry and their motor trade partners took on the gruelling four peaks challenge to raise funds for the Irish Cancer Society by climbing the highest mountains in each of Ireland’s four provinces over three days.
Then 2016 saw his most arduous undertaking – Never Give Up – where through a set of endurance runs ranging from a marathon to two marathons back to back on the same weekend to the Wicklow Way 50 mile Ultramarathon, Frank highlighted awareness and raised funds for Oranmore Maree Coastal Search Unit of which he is a member.
Now Frank will be fundraising in aid of the Irish Injured Jockeys over the coming weeks and months. Donations can be made online HERE
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
