Connacht Tribune
Taking to the hills for mind and body
Lifestyle – Excercising in the fresh air while enjoying great scenery and living in the moment while stepping out of your comfort zone are just some of the benefits of hillwalking. In Galway, many of these these hiking trails are on people’s doorsteps. Several in Connemara have now been mapped for a local publication as BERNIE NÍ FHLATHARTA learns.
Haulie Dowd used to hate walking – and he still hates walking on roads or footpaths. But in the past three years, after joining a local walking club, he has climbed the highest peak in Morocco, the second highest in Ethiopia and summited Scotland’s Ben Nevis in the snow.
Haulie has discovered that he’s a hill-walker as opposed to a rambler on the flat. He thrives on the sense of achievement gained by scaling heights, overcoming discomfort and enjoying fresh air and exercise, not to mention the mindfulness aspect.
A psychologist by profession, he especially appreciates the value of mindfulness and now speaks from experience and with conviction when he advises others to “get out and walk”.
As chairman of the Moycullen Walking Club, he laments the group’s diminished activities in 2020, the year when the club should have been celebrating its tenth anniversary.
To be fair, the club did launch a bilingual ‘Walking Guide’, embracing the 15 most scenic walks in the Moycullen and Killannin area, at a function in a local pub just before the first lockdown. However, like many other walking clubs in Galway and countrywide, the organisation couldn’t fulfil its programme of walks, which normally take place every second Sunday.
Members did manage to get a few walks in when Covid-19 restrictions were eased last summer and Haulie looks back on those outings with happiness.
“I’ve never smiled as much as I did on reaching the top of Lackavrea, (a 396-metre hill in Maam in the heart of Connemara). There’s a great sense of achievement and especially for someone like me who never walked and hated walking,” he says.
“I only joined the club three years ago and have since joined a few other walking clubs which have opened up other options, such as giving me the opportunity to go hill-walking abroad. I have reached the highest peak in Morocco, the second highest in Ethiopia and spent nine torturous hours walking up Nevis in the snow.
“By joining my local club, I’ve ‘found’ Connemara which is on our doorstep and provides so many fantastic walking trails with great views. I use maps or apps on my phone, when there’s service. I’ve made new friends locally too, through the club, so it’s a good way of socialising,” adds Haulie, whose regular walking companion is Paul Brown, one of the club founders.
Haulie has his sights on climbing in the Himalayas and/or peaks in South America when the Covid-19 virus is under control.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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
