News
Tackling the ‘epidemic’ of suicide
A growing group of concerned citizens aim to combine their talents and experience in a concerted effort to tackle what one of them called the growing epidemic of suicide in Galway.
Nearly fifty of them recently attended a meeting called Conversations for Action to discuss the growing problem in Galway.
A new umbrella group called the Suicide Prevention Galway held the three hour meeting in the Galway Bay Hotel where they proposed different ways to tackle suicide in the city.
Organizer Paul Fallon said there were many great groups out there for suicide prevention, but they all do the same thing.
He hopes this group can come up with something new that could work to put an end to the ongoing suicide problem.
He described suicide in Galway as an epidemic and that people need to take charge to come together to help those who are feeling venerable.
“I don’t know if epidemic is the right word, but when five young people take their own lives in a short period of time in this city I would consider it an epidemic, something has to be done.
“People are getting used to it, frustrated and upset and they don’t know what to do.”
Paul Fallon founded the group On The Road Again after he spent time volunteering with COPE Galway.
OTRA was a unique group which focused on improving physical well-being and mental health, but due to the lack of funding from the HSE, Paul had to walk away from it.
He introduced Suicide Prevention Galway after he was discouraged and upset by the lack of action on mental health from the government.
He said Suicide Prevention Group’s focus isn’t to point the finger at anyone for the problem the country faces, but it’s to come up with a solution and to show those who are going through a difficult time that help is out there.
“Our focus was not on doling out blame for the lack of mental health services in Ireland, but rather it was to see if we can find a way to better utilize and highlight the existing services, while also seeing if there are any new ideas out there on how to tackle the problem,” he said.
People from all backgrounds were in attendance of its first meeting, including politicians, psychologists, employees from Console, EBTC, and the Irish Traveller Movement and members of the public who are frustrated at the issue and wanted to help.
Dr. Harry Barry, who has published four books on mental health and is featured regularly on national talk shows about the topic, also took part in meeting to add professional advice on the discussions.
Attendees presented about ten ideas to hopefully prevent more suicides from occurring in the city.
Two Galway ladies came up with developing a street patrol called Night Tribes in the city, which goes off a successful UK model.
Night Tribes would patrol the city’s streets between 10.30pm to 4am to identify people who they believe could a threat to themselves or in any way venerable.
Volunteers would work in groups of four or five, liaise with Gardaí and ambulance services, be trained and certified in first aid, and be equipped with mobile phones and water.
Other ideas include making mental health a part of curriculum in schools, opening a 24/7 centre available to those who are going through a tough time to use and putting up more signage around the city to let people know help is out there.
The group also suggested working with bars, clubs and taxis so they could help identify individuals who may be reaching a crisis point.
“Many pictures of the people who are last seen are in clubs. Hopefully clubs and pubs will get together and get into this too,” Mr Fallon said.
He said that they had already had a number of offers of space for centres, as well as people offering their time to help with any ideas.
“Mental health is a complex issue with many facets, and we cannot expect things to change overnight, but if we get organised and know what we are focused on achieving, maybe then can get start to see real change,” he said.
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
