Connacht Tribune
Supermac’s in Headford to create 20 new jobs
Twenty new jobs have been created with the opening of a new Supermac’s outlet in Headford.
The chain’s 108th outlet, it is being operated by franchisees Ger and Ann Monaghan as an addition to their well-known service station.
The new outlet opened on Thursday, but will be officially opened by Phyllis Monaghan this Sunday with a Family Funday between 2pm and 5pm.
Ger Monaghan said: “This is a new era for us. I have recently become the Supermac’s franchisee in Headford and I am delighted with the reception I have received from local families in particular. Our staff, some of whom have been with us for up to 30 years, are key to what it is that we do here and delivering a top-class service and putting the customer at the heart of the decision-making process has been the way that my family has done its business for over 80 years and it has worked well for us. I am looking forward to continuing to build the relationship between Monaghan’s and the community here in Headford.”
There has always been a strong work ethic in the Monaghan’s. Ger’s grandfather, Michael Monaghan, returned to Loughill, Moylough in the early 1900s after spending many years working on the railroads in California.
He married Mary McHugh and they had six children. Ger’s father, Tom, was born in 1927 and, at the age of 14, he left Coloo School. The onset of the Second World War meant very high unemployment in the area and as such many sacrifices. Tom worked on the family farm and later at Gilmores in Moate, where he made egg boxes for a penny each. It was then that the Monaghan’s association with the motor trade began in 1948.
“My father left home with a bad bike and he started serving his time at Bannerton’s in Mountbellew. While there were very few cars on the roads at the time, mainly Baby Fords, Prefects and Austin 10s, this was a thriving business with motor repair, a Hackney service, an undertaker and a cycle repair shop.”
Shortly afterwards Tom’s aunt invited him to live in San Francisco. He saved the price of the fare and was ready to depart for the USA when he had to cancel his plans as the Korean War had started. The money for the trip to America was used to buy a site in Moylough beside Mannions Pub for £40 and with the help of his brothers, Jack and Eddie, as well as friends, he built his first garage. The Korean War ended and the economy began to grow and Tom installed his first petrol pump and tank. By now there were a lot more cars on the road.
“He then met and married my mother, Phyllis,” Ger said, “and they went on to have their first child in 1954. They bought a house and a dance hall in Moylough and converted it into a shop and a garage.
The dancehall was converted into a garage and a shop was subsequently added on selling groceries toys and confectionary. Banks were reluctant to loan money in those times and this meant long hours of hard work. The Hackney business meant many long trips to Cobh to the American Liners as well as airports, train stations and the Sunday Mass. But my father always spoke about the first run to Croke Park in 1954 in his Ford Customline with seven passengers. This was the first of many trips supporting his favourite teams and as the years progressed it was the norm to see a packed minibus heading from Monaghan’s to see a match or two.
In 1964 they sold the business in Moylough and bought a farm in Kildare,” Ger said, “but within 3 years they were back in the West. Monaghan’s came to Headford in 1967 when my mother and father bought a small shop and petrol pumps. It became very popular and they then acquired another site on the Tuam Rd in Galway.
The business expanded from its early days of being a filling station, tyre centre and shop. Further expansion meant the addition of Centra and Topaz. The business continued to grow and following more additions this year it Supermac’s, Papa John’s Pizza, multi-lane filling station, car wash, a Centra, a wide range of solid fuels and washing machine services. We have come along since 1948,” Ger said.
The sense of family and the connection with the past will be very much to the fore at the opening ceremony next Sunday when Ger’s mother, Phyllis, will cut the ribbon at the official opening. Ger and Ann’s son, Barry, is very active in the business and their daughters, Jane, Alice and Ericka also help out.
Supermac’s Managing Director Pat McDonagh said: “We are delighted to have the Monaghan’s on board with us. Ger and his wife Ann have a wealth of knowledge in this sector and come from one of the best known and most respected families in the country. The Monaghan family are part of the fabric of Galway society and the family’s roots are deep in the region. I have no doubt that Ger and Ann will be strong and active members of the Supermac’s family and that the Monaghan’s Service Station will go from strength to strength.”
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.
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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.
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
