Connacht Tribune
Stone-painting initiative touches hearts
A small group of painters have left a trail of positivity around their Galway centre – by putting a whole series of uplifting messages and colours on ordinary stones.
They are all members of Athru, a small day service group based at the Brothers of Charity centre at Kilcornan in Clarinbridge.
The three supported adults Sean, James and Colleen – added by three staff members – have all been very busy the last number of weeks, painting Positivity Rocks for all those that use the grounds as a place to exercise, also for those that are working here.
Searching for stones…Adam O’Connor, Deborah Walsh, and Jonathan and Thomas Keane.
“Each rock is made up of pictures and colours to try to bring a smile to people’s faces during these very dark hard times. Some rocks include little positivity messages to help lift peoples spirits,” said a spokesperson for the Athru team.
“We have all thoroughly enjoyed this and it definitely gives us a little ray of sunshine each day to know that everyone who finds our stones takes their own little meaning from it.
“Be that, that brighter days will come again or even the fact that amongst some darkness there is always a reason to smile if you look hard enough,” they added.
Among those touched by the simple but uplifting messages was Mary Rose Gormley, who is also a Social Worker with the Brothers of Charity’s Clarin Services.
“As I was leaving work, I spotted the beautiful painted stone at the front door. In the distance I noticed a little group walking through the gardens planting these beautifully painted stones, here and there,” she said.
Colleen Costello with a selection of the team’s creative work.
“I went away reflecting on this. I was so touched by this act. Here we have a group of people with intellectual disabilities, sending out positivity to everyone.
“Kilcornan estate, with its beautiful walled garden, is a public amenity; it is a wonderful place for families to explore with a beautiful walled garden and forest trails,” she added.
Later that day, she brought her own children down to see the project – and they too got such pleasure from searching for these stones.
“I was really moved by the positive message in this random act of kindness,” said Mary Rose.
“It made me think about the hidden heroes in this whole crisis. I think the people supported and their support workers are doing an amazing job of protecting our population.
James Kelly leaving out one of the stones.
“It’s evident that they are doing such a good job as the Covid-19 has not raised its head in our service as yet,” she added.
She felt it was important to acknowledge ‘the wonderful work frontline workers in disability services are doing fighting the Covid-19 and preventing it from having devastating effects on our community’.
“They are working just as hard as others in clinical settings, only they are focusing on preventative measures,” she said.
“The people who planted these feel-good stone creations, sharing love and kindness in a scary unpredictable world, are a wonderful example of resilience and empathy. Love and kindness will always win in the end,” she added.
Athru staff themselves said that none of this would have been possible ‘had it not been for some very kind paint donations from Quinn’s of Labane and from a local painter Stephen Dent who both very generously gave us an abundance of paint’.
Sean Monahan at work on the stones.
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
