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Replica of Ó Conaire statue set for Eyre Square

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Pádraic Ó Conaire’s double could well be bound for the opposite end of Eyre Square – just a short hop away from the favourite haunt of late night revellers whose antics banished him from Eyre Square in the first place.

An update on the replica statue of Galway’s most famous Irish language writer was presented at this week’s Galway City Council meeting which indicated he could well be back on the Square by September.

Tenders will invited from Irish foundlings for the work, which will involve removing the original bronze figure from the City Museum to make a silicon mould in four pieces.

A wax piece is then produced from the moulds before the sculpture is created using ‘LG3 bronze’ in the foundry.

As the tender has not been awarded, the cost of the work has not been publicly estimated. But previous costs have been put at €45,000.

“It is proposed to locate the replica at the south-western [Skeffington Arms] corner of Eyre Square. The replica will be made from bronze and will be an exact copy of the original grey limestone sculpture,” according to officials.

The original was situated between the Browne Door and Richardson’s Pub before it was removed in the Eyre Square revamp and never returned, due to concerns over ongoing vandalism.

At one stage the statue had its head knocked off by pranksters.

Despite repeated requests to return the iconic Galway landmark to its original home, the only compromise reached between councillors and officials was the transfer of the statue from storage to a prime position in the museum.

It was only when councillors allocated money in the budget to pay for a replica that the project finally got off the ground.

However it looks as if there will now be a row over its new home.

Independent councillor Catherine Connolly was first off the mark to welcome confirmation of the replica, but said it should be fixed in a prominent stand-alone position in Kennedy Park and not hidden away for fear of vandalism.

Fine Gael’s Padraig Conneely urged officials to hurry up with the job that they had been pushing for since 2004. He said the Skeff side was too dark and attracted no sun and would not be a suitable location for such an important sculpture.

Cllr Mike Crowe (FF) sounded the main note of dissent, saying he disliked replicas and believed the real thing should have returned to the heart of the city, even if it cost €250,000.

“This is a waste of €50,000 down a hole,” he remarked.

That was echoed by Cllr Pearce Flannery (FG), who would have preferred the money to go towards commissioning a new modern sculpture.

Senior Executive for Arts and Culture with the Council, Gary McMahon, said as the statue used to be a focal point for visitors’ photos, City Hall planned to place it in a position which would show the backdrop of Eyre Square. He noted that it had been moved several times in its previous incarnation.

Director of Services for Planning, Joe O’Neill, said the problem in the past was that everything was put into Eyre Square and “there was no coherence to it”.

He said a suggestion by Cllr Terry O’Flaherty to move the Crimean Cannons to outside Galway Courthouse merited further attention.

It was pointed out there are virtually no landmarks in Salthill despite its stunning vista. New locations would have to be considered in an upcoming sculpture competition planned in conjunction with the Kenny Art Gallery.

The officials agreed to come back to the Council with a drawing of where it was proposed the replica would go.

Connacht Tribune

West has lower cancer survival rates than rest

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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.

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Connacht Tribune

Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races

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Loughrea’s Marathon Man Jarlath Fitzgerald.

On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.

But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.

“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.

“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”

We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.

Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.

To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.

He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.

Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.

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.

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CITY TRIBUNE

Galway ‘masterplan’ needed to tackle housing and transport crises

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From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.

Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.

She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.

“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.

“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.

She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.

In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.

But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.

“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.

“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.

Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.

However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.

“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.

“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”

In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.

“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”

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