News
Revamped FCA gets physical
Young men and women thinking of joining the Reserve Defence Force – now known as ‘Cúltaca’ – might do well to take it easy on the food and beverages during the festive season.
“Cúltaca”, which used to be known over the decades as the FCA (Fórsa Cosanta Áitiúil) is now recruiting again but there is a line in the sand at the first hurdle; applicants will not be accepted if they have too much body fat on board.
But that’s not all. Even if the body is lean and mean the applicant will then have to undergo a fitness test; it’s not in the French Foreign Legion category but it’s a reasonable examination of physical abilities.
The fitness test consists of twenty press-ups and twenty sit-ups in double quick time and a one and a half mile run inside eleven minutes.
It’s all a big step from the FCA as it used to be before it was morphed into the new body called Cúltaca which translates to “back-up” or “support”.
And the part time soldiers of the future will have to train regularly or they will be demobbed from the Reserve Defence Forces.
The first physical tests of the new Cúltaca regime in Galway have been held this year; over 160 applicants for membership went through their paces at the Army Barracks in Renmore last week.
While there is no precise figure on the physical failure rate this time, an Army spokesman said it is usually about 20%.
If an applicant fails the “physicals” he/she is given a further chance and it is understood that those who did not make the grade in Renmore last week will have another date with the examiners in January – if they want to continue their quest to get into the Army Reserve.
Sources in the Army who specialise in physical fitness say that measuring body mass (B.M.I.) may be problematic, at times. There are standardised figures given for body mass based on a formula using height and body build; the top figure before going into the overweight category is BMI 24.
However, if that were strictly adhered to the bulk of the Irish rugby team would be termed overweight or obese.
Army fitness experts say that they sometime use calipers to measure body fat if a person has a very strong build; measurements are taken in the upper arms; the back and the midriff. The weight may be solid body mass.
However, the fitness test is straight forward: twenty press-ups, twenty sit-ups and a mile and a half run inside eleven minutes.
The press-ups cannot be any particular version; they have to be done as required by the Army fitness team – no half measures. The fitness test for both men and women is the same but that there is a modified press up for women.
It’s all far removed from the FCA of other generations when volunteers joined up at the local training centre – usually the local hall – and were measured for their uniform and the size of their boots.
In a less security orientated time, they were also given their guns to take with them; indeed some were known to have fired shots in between training sessions.
One particularly humorous account of life in the FCA is given in Tom Gilmore’s book about the singer, the late Larry Cunningham.
Before he became a celebrity on the stages of Ireland, Larry was in the FCA and he recounts the times he spent in uniform with his colleagues at that time.
That was when the FCA was colloquially baptized the “Free Clothes Association”; the pants, the boots and great coat were often seen on duty well away from Army venues on winter nights!
While there may have been lax times it should also be said that there were some excellent reserve soldiers and officers in the FCA. But any lax times have vanished in the newly minted Cúltaca.
Applicants will now have to apply for membership online. They will have to go through the fitness and body build tests – the same as the regular Army. Those who get through the initial stages will then be interviewed and will undergo a medical test.
If accepted they will sign a three year service contract and will have to train fortnightly.
They will have some weekend training in Renmore – for Galway groups – and a week of full time intensive training once a year. That week of intensive training is the only time they will be paid for.
That is the new FCA, which is now Cúltaca…and it’s no holiday.
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.
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.
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.”
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
