Connacht Tribune
Tens of thousands to attend Ballinasloe Fair
Additional Gardai are being drafted into Ballinasloe ahead of the 300th Fair and Festival that is to take place over eight days in early October.
Tens of thousands are expected descend on the town for the annual horse fair which had been cancelled over the past couple of years because of Covid.
However, an unofficial event did take place last year in Ballinasloe – and while it was much smaller and not organised, it did require some considerable Garda attention and several arrests were made.
Garda Inspector Declan Rock told the Connacht Tribune that additional resources would be deployed from Tuam, Loughrea and Gort for the duration of the event which takes place from October 2 to 8.
He also said that there would be a traffic management plan in place for the duration of the festival and he advised those visiting the town to park responsibly.
The 300th Ballinasloe Fair and Festival will provide a huge boost for the local economy as it is expected to draw considerable crowds to the town for its duration.
Inspector Rock has assured locals that there would be additional Garda resources available in the town during the week-long festivities.
He also advised those attending the festival to abide by all of the Garda requirements and he added that it was hoped that the event would pass off without incident.
“We will have additional Gardai in place and the locals are assured that every effort will be made to ensure that there will be no disturbance. Large crowds are expected in Ballinasloe for the duration of the event, but we have a plan in place that will deal with every eventuality,” Inspector Rock added.
Director of Services with Galway County Council Liam Hanrahan said that up to ten meetings had been held with the organisers and it was an event that was much anticipated and he described it as one that would embrace all facets of society.
“It has always been about the horse and this will remain a vital part of this year’s show but it will also involve the community in terms of events being organised.
“There are arts and cultural events being organised as part of the festivities and this is something that will hopefully be carried into the future,” Mr Hanrahan added.
Traditionally the annual October Fair in Ballinasloe, which is hugely popular among the Traveller community, attracts around 80,000 visitors for the week-long festival and this includes a major influx from England.
However, given the novelty of this year’s event and the efforts being put in by the organisers, the crowds are expected to surpass this by a considerable number.
It will provides a huge economic boost for the town with the pubs, hotels and restaurants largely benefiting.
Last year the event was cancelled due to the pandemic but it did not prevent a large crowd turning out with a lot of the usual horse trading and ‘showing’ taking place on the Fairgreen.
The co-ordinating committee said that the decision to call off the Fair last year was taken with regret but that the public’s safety was paramount.
The crowds that attend the event on the weekends in particular throng the Fairgreen in Ballinasloe and it would be very difficult to implement social distancing.
The main events at the Fair include the ‘showing’ of horses and the sale which takes place in the Fairgreen and attracts huge crowds and no small amount of onlookers.
Some of the other events include lunging (moving a horse around in a circle), fortune telling and even some matchmaking takes place but not as much as in the past.
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
