Classifieds Advertise Archive Subscriptions Family Announcements Photos Digital Editions/Apps
Connect with us

Archive News

Worst news has still to come on cuts in health spending budgets

Published

on

Date Published: {J}

You know, my sources tell me that, when it comes to health spending problems and cuts needed, things are only going to get worse next year …… which may at least partly explain the queue of TDs now building up to protest about the situation and threaten the government.

 

My information is that next year, the HSE West will have to take on board the spending cuts of this year, and then try to live with tens of millions in new cuts on top of the 2010 figures.

The rumoured figure at the moment is €25million-plus, but that sounds low. The further reductions will be part of the €700million in 2011 cuts which are being planned nationally by Health Minister Mary Harney.

I thought I noticed an element of strain in relations between the two erstwhile PDs, Mary Harney and Noel Grealish, as Harney was asked in an interview if there would be any spending concessions. Harney sounded particularly hardline and unmoved when it was put to her as to whether there would be any concession on health spending in the HSE West. The lady was not for turning!

Hardly surprising against that background that Independent TD Grealish (Galway West) in the past week not alone threatened to withdraw his support from the government, but made it clear in the past few days that he was also determined to act on that in the Dail over the health spending crisis in the western area and what he regards as ‘the black hole’ of the billions for Anglo Irish Bank.

Now, you just wonder in the way Government Chief Whip John Curran TD was talking at the weekend, if there is any ‘wriggle room’ on health spending in the next few months that might buy more time for the government? After all, this is about a government possibly losing power!

The Grealish move immediately upped the political temperature not just nationally, but locally as well in West Galway. It resulted in a scathing attack by FG Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames on Grealish. She said he was the most loyal of supporters of FF for three years since the last General Election, and was now posturing to try to get onside with the voters of West Galway as an independent voice.

It echoed a Fine Gael threat of recent months that, if necessary, FG would bring out an election poster showing Noel Grealish as part of the Fianna Fail team of candidates in Galway West with the likes of Eamon Ó Cuív TD, Frank Fahey TD and Councillor Michael John Crowe, the Mayor of Galway.

Of course, let’s not forget that both Noel Grealish and Fidelma Healy-Eames have a hunk of their political base in that same geographical ‘neck of the woods, the countryside east of Galway City which takes in places like Oranmore,

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

Galway in Days Gone By

The way we were – Protecting archives of our past

Published

on

A photo of Galway city centre from the county council's archives

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

Continue Reading

Archive News

Galway have lot to ponder in poor show

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

Archive News

Real Galway flavour to intermediate club hurling battle in Birr

Published

on

Date Published: 23-Jan-2013

images/files/images/x3_Courthouse.jpg

Continue Reading

Trending