News
Shahira carves out glittering career for herself in LA
With her smouldering dark looks, Shahira Barry’s nationality is often called into question – which annoys the LA-based model who is proud of her heritage, and is a ‘Galway Girl’ through-and-through.
The dominant genes Shahira inherited from her Bangladeshi grandfather add to the confusion, as does her name – appropriately meaning ‘famous’ in Arabic.
Not that Yasmin Barry realised what the name meant 24 years ago, when she named her daughter after a warrior princess.
None of this has done Shahira any harm career wise, as her biggest claim to fame has been doubling for reality star, Kim Kardashian, and her sisters, on the E! Channel.
Her maternal grandmother, Nancy Faherty from Leenane, Connemara, fell in love with her grandfather, Abdul, in the UK, where he was a member of the British Navy – but otherwise, she is ‘all-Irish’.
“Some people would say I look mixed, while others say I look Irish, so it depends who you’re asking really,” she told the Galway City Tribune.
“But when I’ve been in the press – particularly when featured online – the comment section will always be full of: ‘She’s not Irish’, and that annoys me because I’m proud of my heritage.
“And, while I would love to learn more about my Bangladeshi roots, I am Irish – everyone in my family is Irish, except for my grandfather; I was born and raised in Galway, so I am a true Galway Girl.”
“I guess, having an Arabic name makes more people question where I’m from, but it can certainly be irritating to have strangers telling you you’re not from somewhere you are from, somewhere you love.”
Shahira’s very normal Galway upbringing with her mum and sister did not diminish dreams of stardom – she spent her childhood between Oranmore, Knocknacarra, and Corrandulla, before settling in Athenry, and was educated in Gaelscoil de hÍde and Calasanctius College in Oranmore.
“I was telling people that I was going to move to Hollywood, before I even knew what it was. And I used to put on performances for my whole estate, and put up flyers for my concerts, at a very young age.”
However, coming from a single-parent family, she was keenly aware that a steady career was the safest choice in life, so after an excellent Leaving Cert, she opted for primary school teaching in ‘Mary I’ College in Limerick.
“The reason I went on to do a Bachelor in Education was more of a ‘Plan B’.
“I am glad that I have my degree, and I am proud of it – who knows, one day I may decide to fall back on it but, for now, my motto is ‘you only live once’ and you have to pursue whatever it is you really want to do, while you have the chance.”
And her big break really did come about by chance when, during a short holiday to Los Angeles three years ago, she was asked to test for Playboy magazine, and was booked onto a music video for the singer, Akon.
“That holiday gave me butterflies in my belly for LA, and the idea that perhaps there were opportunities for me out here if I was to move – because a lot happened for me in just two weeks.”
She loved it so much that she booked a three-month stint in 2013, and finally made a permanent move in 2014.
In fact, Shahira had very nearly gone to LA in 2010 on a J1 visa, but gave up the opportunity to join a girl band.
“The band fizzled out during the summer, and I was gutted I hadn’t gone but, looking back now, I think I would have been too young for LA – it’s a very dangerous place.”
She is living her dream in Beverly Hills now though – a far cry from home in Knocknacarra – where she shares a two-bed apartment with one other. There is 24-hour security, a gym, and a rooftop pool and spa.
“I’ve made loads of friends, but they are all people I meet on set – so we all have crazy schedules, and it can be hard to make them fit together to meet up, because you have to be able to drop all plans at a moment’s notice for an audition or job. Luckily, we all understand that, but it makes it hard to stay in touch.
“It can definitely get lonely at times. I miss having someone to go and do normal things with, like go for walks – often when I go out here, it’s to events and to network, which can be draining when you just want a normal day’s activity and a normal chit-chat.”
She has no special man in her life at the moment, and while her time in LA has made her miss the down-to-earth style of the Irish male, she is more lonely for her pets – sorry lads!
With every life choice there are ups and downs, and Shahira’s experience has been no different. Maybe the down times are eased, somewhat, by the fabulous quality of life in California, and being on first-name terms with celebs?
“I’m working with them all the time, and if I’m not working with them, I’ll run into them at parties!
“It’s strange because when you meet any celebrity, you realise that they are only human, and just like the rest of us. It actually encourages me all time because I think if they can do it, so can I.
“And every day I am inspired to keep chasing my dreams. I don’t get star-struck, but there is definitely a moment when you get home later on and you think – ‘Wow, that’s so weird, I just met so-and-so, and there are people who would give anything to meet them’, or they have millions of followers all around the world but I just spent the day with them!
“I’ve worked with Snoop Dogg a bunch of times now, and he was probably the person I was the most star-struck to meet at first – just because I have been a fan forever.
“My Jack Russell is even named Snoop Dogg, and I was thinking: ‘What if he’s not nice, and ruins my dog’s name’. But the second he walked in, he was so warm and welcoming, and he became a friend immediately.”
Shahira’s biggest job to date, however, is probably her booking to stand-in for ‘reality star’ Kim Kardashian during an E! promo commercial for the upcoming season of their show.
In fact, Shahira stood-in for all of the Jenner/Kardashian females.
She also features as a podium dancer in the movie ‘Straight Outta Compton’ – about infamous rappers NWA – which is released this weekend.
“They [Kardashians] are some of my style icons, so it was cool to meet them in person and, because I’m a fan of their show, I felt like I already knew them.
“I had worked in a Subway commercial, like four months beforehand, and one of the production directors had remembered me and thought I’d fit the stand-in job.”
Shahira is currently taking acting classes, and is working on her American accent, so that she can be more versatile, but has no sights on long-term goals.
“I’m working hard, and I’m delighted with how lucky I’ve been so far, but I think it’s difficult to make long term plans in a town and industry that’s so unpredictable. For now, I’m just having fun riding the roller coaster.”
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
