News
Tuam striker paints a picture of life as footballer
Every weekend as young soccer enthusiasts tune into the Premier League action, they dream of what it would be like to live the life of a sporting superstar.
But what they see on Sky Sports is a far cry from the reality enjoyed by one Tuam native who took the plunge this time last year to play soccer in England – albeit in the fourth tier of the game.
It was nonetheless a dream come true for Rory Gaffney when he was discovered by scouts and signed an 18 month contract with Cambridge United.
Rory played Gaelic football, but soccer was always his passion.
Starting with Tuam Celtic, he went on to play League of Ireland with Mervue United and Limerick City before moving cross-channel.
To the football fan, this would seem like the golden ticket to a life of riches, fast cars and luxury houses.
But the 26 year old was level-headed enough to know that the reality would be very different – all he wanted was play football in England and see how it went.
He drives a seven year old Volkswagen Golf, lives in a house with five other players and in his spare time he is studying accountancy for the fateful day when professional football isn’t an option anymore.
Rory does not see a role for himself in football after his career comes to an end but in the meantime he simply wants to enjoy the experience of playing in England.
And it started with a bang – because when Rory signed for Cambridge this time last year he was on the bench for an FA Cup tie against Man United.
But he’d only made a handful of first team appearances for Cambridge before suffering an ankle injury which required surgery.
He resumed training and towards the end of last year went on loan to Bristol Rovers where he scored four goals in two games to put the side into the top five of League Two.
He admitted that it was an opportunity to prove his potential and was delighted with what he achieved.
“Over here you are in competition with five or six strikers – even in the fourth tier of English football. That is how difficult it is,” he told The Connacht Tribune.
Rory trains at around 8.30am every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday and then mentally prepares for the possibility of being selected for a match the following day.
Training ends at 1.30pm after which they have to ‘knock in’ the rest of the day either by reading, sleeping, watching TV or walking around the city.
Asked about his ambitions and if he would like to join a club in a higher league, his response was unbelievably rational that it would be a lesson for anyone with ambitions of playing football in England.
“You cannot think like that. You are as good as your last game. If the goals start coming then there will probably be attention from other clubs but we will never hear this because we are tied to contracts.
“Equally, if you are not scoring then it is a completely different situation so nobody at this level can start thinking above their station. But don’t get me wrong, I am loving every minute of it,” Rory added.
He earns a decent living but nothing like those in the higher leagues. He doesn’t get home to Tuam as often as he likes and even when he does, it is often for just a night or two to his parents James and Kathleen.
But he is anxious to see out his professional career in England and ‘challenge myself’ over the coming years.
“It is my intention as well as being an expectation that I keep scoring goals and if that happens, then who knows what lies ahead but you have to stay grounded.
“I enjoyed playing League of Ireland football but I always wanted to take it to the next level and I am delighted that I have achieved this. It is what I always wanted and would not give it up for anything,” he says.
Rory hopes that he can continue playing in England until he is 30 or 31 and after that he has to concentrate on embarking in a different direction which is why he is studying accountancy.
However, after his professional career comes to an end in England, he would not be averse to a couple of seasons with Galway United and, indeed, has not completely ruled out a stint playing Gaelic football with Tuam Stars.
But that, he hopes, is a long way down the line yet.
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
