Connacht Tribune
Weekend weather sorts drought but not drinking supplies
A heavier than expected pulse of rain that hit the West last weekend eased some of the drought and growth problems on farms – but it had little or no impact on dwindling water supplies.
The Met Éireann weather station in Athenry recorded its heaviest day of rainfall in over two months on Sunday last when 16.5mms or 0.65 inches of precipitation fell over a 24-hour period.
The cumulative rainfall total for last Saturday, Sunday and Monday at the Athenry station was 22.9mms (close to an inch) and almost as much as we got for the entire month of June (25.2mms.)
However, Irish Water warned this week that it would take ‘sustained rainfall over many weeks’ to replenish raw water levels in rivers, lakes, ground sources and in reservoirs.
The water crisis is getting more serious by the day for the Aran Islands with Irish Water warning last weekend that their volume of stored rainfall would only last for just over another two weeks.
“Demand for treated water on Inishmore is extremely high at 580 cubic metres per day and there is only enough volume of stored water on the island to supply for 17 days. The boreholes that supplement supply are now in danger of being exhausted,” Irish Water state.
If the drought continues, Irish Water warn that afternoon restrictions of supply are ‘likely to be introduced’ on Irishmore and Inisheer on top of the current night-time restrictions that apply – 8pm to 8am daily.
“Water usage on Inishmore has increased in the past 28 days [now in the peak of the Summer tourist season], although leak repairs have gone some way to reduce the level of increase in demand. Reservoir levels are giving cause for very serious concern,” say Irish Water.
Kate Gannon, Corporate Affairs Manager with Irish Water, said that the appeal to conserve water applied to every household and outlet across the country.
“We know for example that the vast majority of people are supporting the hosepipe ban but we do have reports of people being in contravention of it.
“We again appeal to those people to comply with these essential minimum measures to safeguard our water supplies,” she said.
Most weather recording outlets across the county last weekend reported on higher than predicted levels of rainfall and especially so on Sunday.
While Athenry recorded the heaviest rainfall of nearly all the West of Ireland stations there were also significant falls in Galway city (18.6mms.), Mount Dillon, Roscommon (17.5mms.) and Claremorris (10.3mms.) Weekend rainfall at Mace Head in South Connemara was relatively low at 9mms.
Abbeyknockmoy weather recorder, Brendan Geraghty, told the Connacht Tribune that over the course of last Saturday and Sunday his rainfall reading came in at 0.53 inches (13.5mms), which he said was ‘significant’ in terms of grass growth.
“I suppose the really good thing about the rainfall over the weekend was that it didn’t fall in one heavy downpour which would led to a lot of run-off.
“It came in the form of fairly persistent light rain or drizzle over a period of time which the ground was able to absorb gradually. It certainly was a big help for growth and was very, very welcome,” said Brendan Geraghty.
However, he did point out that the weekend’s rainfall would have absolutely no impact on river water levels as all of it would be absorbed into the soil.
As for the coming week, there seems to be general agreement among all the main forecasters that there will be very little by way of notable rainfall over the 6/7 days.
The only long-term prediction of any worthwhile rainfall is from the yr.no (Norwegian) forecast who have guided Friday, July 27, as a day when rainfall amounts could exceed 10mms.
The BBC’s ‘month ahead’ outlook does offer some hope of respite from the drought conditions for more western areas of the UK and Ireland, as the high pressure shifts ever so slowly to the East, over the first two weeks of August.
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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.
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.
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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.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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