Connacht Tribune
Stately house fetches €1.25 million amid keen interest at on-site auction
An 18th century home – once owned by one of the famous Tribes of Galway – has gone under the hammer for a whopping €1.25 million.
Ballycurrin House, situated on the shores of Lough Corrib, drew considerable interest when it went up for auction on its grounds last weekend.
The stately home at Ower, Headford – once owned by the Lynch family – went to auction with a guide price of €950,000.
Gort auctioneer Colm Farrell, who conducted the sale on behalf of the owners and business operators Frank and Margaret Higgins from South Galway, said that he was delighted with the outcome.
He told the Connacht Tribune that, in advance of the auction, he had inquiries from California and Italy as well as various parts of Ireland but was pleased that it was purchased by local business interests.
Bidding opened at €800,000 for the property which also includes three additional lakeside cottages, a private jetty and almost four acres of land. It also included the historic ruins of the 14th century Ballycurrin Castle.
As the auction progressed, bids of €50,000 and eventually €25,000 were made by interested parties before it stalled for some time at €1.2 million.
At that stage it was put on the market and a local solicitor, acting on behalf of a client, put on an additional €25,000 on Ballycurrin House and as there were no further bids, the property was knocked down to this buyer.
“I am delighted that it was acquired by a local business interest but there had been a lot of inquiries about the house and its potential from a number of far-flung fields,” he said.
“But it is a good investment property and has major rental and tourism potential given its location right beside Lough Corrib,” the auctioneer added.
The last Lynch to live in the house was Charles Lynch, who died in 1897. A supporter of the Land League, Charles established a Gaelic football club among his tenants and gave over his lawns for the sport.
Charles and his wife Helena had only one child who died in infancy, so on Charles’ death the estate passed to the Clarkins. The 1901 census shows a number of the Clarkin family living there.
It was interesting therefore that one of those in attendance at the auction in Ballycurrin House was Maura Quinn from Roscommon whose mother Lelia Clarkin was born there in 1905.
Indeed, a lot of locals attended the auction simply out of curiosity, but it is a case of a building with huge historical significance to the Headford area being retained locally. It is not known at this stage what the new owners plan for the property.
Connacht Tribune
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
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.
Connacht Tribune
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
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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Connacht Tribune
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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.
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Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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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.