Connacht Tribune
Waterford’s Hurney has history in both camps
Dual GAA player, Gary Hurney has divided loyalties this Sunday ahead of the All-Ireland senior hurling final showdown.
A Galwegian born in Moycullen, the prolific hurler and footballer has represented his adopted county of Waterford in both codes for many years.
The 36-year-old is from solid Moycullen stock – his mother Carmel (nee Lydon) is from Drummaveg and his father is Packie Hurney from Tullykyne.
The family moved to Dungarvan when he was just five or six, where Gary’s love of GAA – and Waterford – blossomed. And he went on to represent Waterford at minor, U21 and senior, in football, his first love, despite it being the poor relation to the glamour game of hurling in a so-called ‘weaker football county’.
He subsequently hurled for a number of seasons for the Waterford seniors including during Justin McCarthy’s reign in the mid-2000s.
“It’ll be a divided household I suppose. My parents would probably still be Galway but I’m Waterford. I hope if Waterford don’t win that Galway will win! We were roaring for Galway during the Tipperary match but now that Waterford are there I’ll be shouting for them. When Waterford aren’t involved we always shout for Galway,” Gary told the Connacht Tribune.
Gary has a sister, Lorna, and brothers – Laurence, John and Patrick – all three of whom played intercounty football for the Déise.
Nicknamed ‘Tank’, he won three county football titles with his club, Abbeyside/Ballinacourty, including the breakthrough year of in 2007, when they ended a 26-year famine.
Dad Packie was manager and all brothers were on the team – Patrick scored a goal late-on to finish a move that involved all four of the Hurney siblings.
The following year was hugely disappointing – Abbeyside/Ballinacourty reached county finals in the two codes, but lost both including the hurling one to city side De La Salle by two points. Gary subsequently played his part in winning two more county football championships for the club in 2011 and 2013.
Despite embracing Waterford as his own, Gary returns to his birthplace every now and then to visit the Hurney and Lydon families in Moycullen including a grandmother, uncles, aunts and cousins.
Many of them will be watching the game at Hurney’s Bar in Gortachalla outside Moycullen village this Sunday. But for those travelling, this novel All-Ireland decider is an ideal opportunity for a catch-up with the extended Hurney clan in Croke Park.
“I’m really looking forward to it. It’ll be a great occasion. Galway haven’t won since 1988 and Waterford haven’t done it since 1959. Whoever wins is going to make history – there’s just so much at stake.
“Galway are the form team of the championship. They are quite traditional in that they play three inside forwards. Waterford didn’t start the year well but they’ve come good with their sweeper system. Contrasting styles. It’s going to be very tactical. I don’t think Joe Canning or Austin Gleeson are going to have much room.
“It’ll be so close. I hope not but I think it could come down to a mistake or maybe a call by the referee, it’ll be that tight. If Waterford don’t win, I hope you do!” added Gary.
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
