Archive News
Wheeling out new direction for cycling in the West
Date Published: {J}
Three young women, cycling hell for leather and with not a care in the world, gradually approached and could be heard signing in unison when they came within earshot. They weren’t great singers by any means but they were certainly getting into the spirit of the occasion.
They were plucking a few lines from a 1980s hit from Queen as they passed us by. “I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike” before they burst into laughter and continued on their journey along one of the most amazing cycling trails in the country. It was probably the only line of the song they knew as they continued merrily on their journey.
It was perhaps the freedom associated with the Great Western Greenway that runs between Newport and Mulranny that now encompasses both Westport and Achill on either side that gave them this feeling of independence. There were no cars, buses or lorries to contend with along this route.
The increasingly popular greenway is the longest off-road cycling and walking trail in the country and not alone has it proven a huge economic boost for the area, but it is also an incredible facility to have on our doorstep and one that is attracting people from all parts of the country and overseas.
In the words of Ernest Hemingway: “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you and you have no such accurate remembrance of a country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.”
There is no doubt that cycling the greenway in Mayo is a memorable one. With the Nephin Mountains on one side and the splendour of Clew Bay on the other, the views are breathtaking and the challenge a fair but formidable one with the journey from Newport towards Mulranny – into the prevailing wind – being the more daunting.
Back in 2010, the 12-mile cycle and walking trail between Newport and Mulranny was officially opened and since then the visitor numbers to this area have increased dramatically. It coincided with the opening of bike hire businesses while local hotels have noticed a significant increase in bed nights.
It is built on the old railway line that once linked Westport to Achill but which closed in 1937 – it was one of the famous Balfour Lines – but it has now been put to good use and a couple of months ago it was extended to a 26-mile trail. And, although parts of the new sections currently run along main roads, this situation will be rectified in time.
It is a facility that is used by cyclists, walkers and runners. It is utilised by individuals, families, fundraising groups, hens, stags, office outings and even members of a union . . . like ourselves in this noble profession of journalism. A total of 12 of us took to the trail recently and it proved to be one hell of an enjoyable experience.
The Greenway is a trail that probably should be done twice within a short space of time. First of all it should be done to experience the simply-provided facility and view the rivers and streams that cross the old railway line and then experience the incredible views. Then it should be done as a bit of a challenge . . . head down and lash into it.
It is incredible to think that the provision of a hard surface on top of an old railway line could provide a region with one of its most impressive tourist facilities and that is exactly what has happened as far as the Great Western Greenway is concerned. The concept was pure genius.
Nothing is ever perfect – and the Greenway has to deviate from the route of the old train track on a couple of occasions because agreement could not be reached with every land owner along the route. But, even with a couple of short diversions, it keeps cyclists and walkers far removed from the busy main road.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
People’s living conditions less than 100 years ago were frightening. We have come a long way. We talk about water charges today, but back then the local District Councils were erecting pumps for local communities and the lovely town of Mountbellew, according to Council minutes, had open sewers,” says Galway County Council archivist Patria McWalter.
Patria believes we “need to take pride in our history, and we should take the same pride in our historical records as we do in our built heritage”. When you see the wealth of material in her care, this belief makes sense.
She is in charge of caring for the rich collection of administrative records owned by Galway County Council and says “these records are as much part of our history as the Rock of Cashel is. They document our lives and our ancestors’ lives. And nobody can plan for the future unless you learn from the past, what worked and what didn’t”.
Archivists and librarians are often unfairly regarded as being dry, academic types, but that’s certainly not true of Patria. Her enthusiasm is infectious as she turns the pages of several minute books from Galway’s Rural District Councils, all of them at least 100 years old.
Part of her role involved cataloguing all the records of the Councils – Ballinasloe, Clifden, Galway, Gort, Loughrea, Mountbellew, Portumna and Tuam. These records mostly consisted of minutes of various meetings.
When she was cataloguing them she realised their worth to local historians and researchers, so she decided to compile a guide to their content. The result is For the Record: The Archives of Galway’s Rural District Councils, which will be a valuable asset to anybody with an interest in history.
Many representatives on these Councils were local personalities and several were arrested during the political upheaval of the era, she explains.
And, ushering in a new era in history, women were allowed to sit on these Rural District Councils – at the time they were not allowed to sit on County Councils.
All of this information is included in Patria’s introductory essay to the attractively produced A4 size guide, which gives a glimpse into how these Rural Councils operated and the way political thinking changed in Ireland during a short 26-year period. In the early 1900s, these Councils supported Home Rule, but by 1920, they were calling for full independence and refusing to recognise the British administration.
“I love the tone,” says Patria of the minutes from meetings. “The language was very emotive.”
That was certainly true of the Gort Rural District Council. At a meeting in 1907, following riots in Dublin at the premiere of JM Synge’s play, The Playboy of the Western World the councillors’ response was vehement. They recorded their decision to “protest most emphatically against the libellous comedy, The Playboy of the Western World, that was belched forth during the past week in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, under the fostering care of Lady Gregory and Mr Yeats. We congratulate the good people of Dublin in howling down the gross buffoonery and immoral suggestions that are scattered throughout this scandalous performance.
For more from the archives see this week’s Tribunes here
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
SLIGO 0-9
GALWAY 1-4
FRANK FARRAGHER IN ENNISCRONE
GALWAY’S first serious examination of the 2013 season rather disturbingly ended with a rating well below the 40% pass mark at the idyllic, if rather Siberian, seaside setting of Enniscrone on Sunday last.
The defeat cost Galway a place in the FBD League Final against Leitrim and also put a fair dent on their confidence shield for the bigger tests that lie ahead in February.
There was no fluke element in this success by an understrength Sligo side and by the time Leitrim referee, Frank Flynn, sounded the final whistle, there wasn’t a perished soul in the crowd of about 500 who could question the justice of the outcome.
It is only pre-season and last Sunday’s blast of dry polar winds did remind everyone that this is far from summer football, but make no mistake about it, the match did lay down some very worrying markers for Galway following a couple of victories over below par third level college teams.
Galway did start the game quite positively, leading by four points at the end of a first quarter when they missed as much more, but when Sligo stepped up the tempo of the game in the 10 minutes before half-time, the maroon resistance crumbled with frightening rapidity.
Some of the statistics of the match make for grim perusal. Over the course of the hour, Galway only scored two points from play and they went through a 52 minute period of the match, without raising a white flag – admittedly a late rally did bring them close to a draw but that would have been very rough justice on Sligo.
Sligo were backable at 9/4 coming into this match, the odds being stretched with the ‘missing list’ on Kevin Walsh’s team sheet – Adrian Marren, Stephen Coen, Tony Taylor, Ross Donovan, David Kelly, David Maye, Johnny Davey and Eamon O’Hara, were all marked absent for a variety of reasons.
Walsh has his Sligo side well schooled in the high intensity, close quarters type of football, and the harder Galway tried to go through the short game channels, the more the home side bottled them up.
Galway badly needed to find some variety in their attacking strategy and maybe there is a lot to be said for the traditional Meath style of giving long, quick ball to a full forward line with a big target man on the edge of the square – given Paul Conroy’s prowess close to goal last season, maybe it is time to ‘settle’ on a few basics.
Defensively, Galway were reasonably solid with Gary Sice at centre back probably their best player – he was one of the few men in maroon to deliver decent long ball deep into the attacking zone – while Finian Hanley, Conor Costello and Gary O’Donnell also kept things tight.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Date Published: 23-Jan-2013
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