Councillor Michael Connolly has been elected as the new Cathaoirleach of County Galway, under an established Fine Gael/Fianna Fáil party pact.
The Ballinasloe-area Fianna Fáil councillor was proposed and seconded for the position of chairman by party colleagues Councillors Mary Hoade and Donal Burke at this afternoon’s AGM of the County Council.
Councillors have paid warm tribute to their colleague Fine Gael’s Peter Roche, who is handing over the chain of office today after serving his year-long term.
The Leas Cathaoirleach or vice-chairman is Fine Gael’s Joe Byrne who was proposed and seconded by party colleagues Jimmy McClearn and Moegie Maher.
A minute’s silence was also observed by those in attendance for British MP Jo Cox and the Orlando shooting victims in the U.S.
Councillor Connolly says during his term as Cathaoirleach, he hopes the county will play a key role in the development of Galway’s cultural identity.
Dozens of social housing tenants are creating havoc in a private estate in Knocknacarra after being moved in overnight, city councillors have claimed.
Children have been threatened, a play area vandalised and antisocial behaviour has become a regular occurrence at Léas na Mara on the Upper Ballymoneen Road.
Existing residents are furious that some of the new tenants have “no respect for anyone or anything”, despite assurances they would be Garda-vetted.
Despite originally being developed as a ‘private estate’ – where owners paid up to €300,000 for their home – it now has 37% social housing, after a deal was done with a housing agency.
Local area councillor Donal Lyons said the problems in the estate only began after the new tenants moved in.
His Council colleague Pearce Flannery said the issue has become a “threat to the civil rights” of people who paid for their homes . . . and are now afraid to let their children out to play.
“Almost overnight this antisocial behaviour has developed in what was a nice, quiet estate – there’s a complete lack of respect for the neighbours and the neighbourhood and it can only grow from here,” said Cllr Flannery.
A spokesperson for Túath, the housing association which acquired 40 homes in the estate, said it is investigating complaints and “appropriate action will be taken”.
The management company of the estate – made up of homeowners – was only informed that the empty units were being taken over 10 days before the tenants moved in.
For more on this story, including residents’ views, see this week’s Galway City Tribune
Galway’s students are still feeling the pinch of recession, and relying on State help to tide them over during hard times.
New figures reveal that more than a three-quarters of a million euro was paid through a hardship fund to students attending Galway’s two third level institutes.
Education Minister Richard Bruton said some €759,498 was dispersed to third level students in Galway through the Student Assistance Fund.
That included some €485,954 to students of NUI Galway, and some €273,544 for students of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.
The hardship pay-outs relate to the academic year 2014-2015.
Minister Bruton said the Student Assistance Fund, “provides financial supports to students who are experiencing short-term or ongoing financial difficulties.”
The fund is administered locally within each higher education institution, he said, and the monies are provided on an annual basis to each institution by the Higher Education Authority.
During the 2014-2015 academic year, some €6.6 million was paid out by the State, to hard-pressed students under this scheme.
It amounted to €8.35 million nationally in 2013-2014; €11 million the previous year and 9 million the year before that.
GMIT said its students cannot use the fund for tuition fees or to cover student loans. “The objective of this fund is to assist students in a sensitive and compassionate manner who might otherwise, because of financial reasons suffer hardship or be unable to continue their third level studies. The fund is intended to tackle educational disadvantage by providing financial support to enable students to fully benefit from their third level studies,” GMIT said.
It is to be used to pay for day-to-day expenses that are necessary to allow them to participate in third level, including rent, transport, food, medical costs, books, and childcare costs. Receipts must be submitted.
“Some students find themselves experiencing financial hardship despite penny counting during their time in the University,” said NUIG Students Union.
It added the fund is designed to “tackle disadvantage by enabling students to fully benefit from their studies.”
A major initiative to tackle drug and alcohol abuse has been launched this week in Galway – and one of its main focuses is to target young children as part of an early intervention initiative.
And it is hoped that a new strategy, the first of its kind in the country, will reduce the stigma of substance abuse as well as providing education programmes for schools, the general public and professionals who work with families.
The Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force launched their new support strategy for addicts and their families this week.
The strategy is to create greater awareness of the needs of families affected by substance use and to increase the visibility of supports available. It also encourages families of substance abusers to seek support.
The family support element of the new strategy is an approach to working with children, young people, parents and families which is based on a style of work which emphasises prevention, early intervention and a focus on the strengths of family members.
Deirdre Hurney, Chairperson of the Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force welcomed the completion of this initiative and said it signified the importance of the Regional Family Support Strategy when she highlighted “it is well documented the distress and destabilising effect caused by addiction to the family unit.”
She added: “This strategy aims to develop a co-ordinated plan to improve and enhance support for individuals and family members living with such distress.
“It is the first of its kind in the country and reflects the commitment of the task force to supporting both users and their family members affected by substance misuse.”
Co-author of the strategy, Debbie McDonagh, who is family support co-ordinator, said that the initiative emphasises the need to support families due to the stress and chaos that substance misuse has on thousands of families in the West of Ireland
“Children, parents, carers, siblings and extended family members are impacted by substance misuse and we must develop targeted prevention, intervention and ancillary supports for them,” Ms McDonagh stated.
She said that this strategy was developed through an extensive consultation process with service providers and family members. She added that this strategy strives to be a cohesive and integrated plan for the task force and its partners aimed at meeting the needs of families affected by drugs and alcohol.
The task force has established its 24 goals for the next four years and aims to work with all relevant stakeholders to achieve these ambitions. The strategy will be overseen by the Western Region Drug and Alcohol Task Force Family Support Working Group and will be reviewed on an annual basis.
A District Judge has suggested that Irish Rail advertise their policy that passengers can no longer purchase tickets on the train.
Irish Rail prosecuted sixteen people before Loughrea District Court for not having valid train tickets.
Judge James Faughnan said when he used the train services he often bought his ticket onboard and asked if that facility was still available for people who were running late or in the case of the Ticket Vending Machine being out of order at train stations.
Denis Phelan, an inspector with Irish Rail giving evidence in a number of the cases before the Court, said that policy had changed a number of years ago and that passengers faced a fixed notice payment of €100 if they didn’t have a valid ticket. However, this could be appealed within 21 days.
He added that rarely would a TVM not be operational and, if it was, Irish Rail staff were notified.
Judge Faughnan said he wouldn’t have known about this policy though it had been introduced a few years ago and suggested Irish Rail advertise it again to remind people.
Excuses from those before the Court ranged from having left the wallet with the train ticket in it at the station to thinking they could use a relation’s Free Travel Pass. Others bought a student ticket but couldn’t provide their student ID or thought they could buy a ticket on board.
The maximum fine is €1,000 but Judge Faughnan fined either €200 or €150 depending on the individual case. Costs in all cases were a minimum of €295, though in a few of them that was €345.
In almost all cases, the fare was below €20 had the errant passengers paid the required ticket on the day. Some passengers had boarded at Athenry to get into the city and now have to pay an average €400 between fines and costs.
Revenue says it is ‘odds-on’ publicans operating as bookmakers without a licence will be caught.
Two County Galway publicans have been fined €2,500 each for illegal betting in their bars, according to the latest tax defaulters list issued by Revenue.
And as the month-long European Championship soccer tournament kicked off last weekend, and with the GAA championship season in full-swing, Revenue warned Galway publicans that taking bets from customers is illegal.
Revenue says inspectors will visit pubs to ensure the law is being adhered to. Legitimate bookies, and the public, have been asked to report illegal betting.
In the latest defaulters list, a publican in Connemara and South Galway were fined for offences relating to illegal betting.
Brian Higgins of Faherty’s Bar, The Square Oughterard and Thomas O’Donnell of O’Donnell’s Bar, The Square, Gort were both fined €2,500.
Revenue declined to comment or elaborate on the details of the two cases.
However, a spokesperson confirmed ongoing monitoring of compliance with betting laws, including illegal taking of bets in Galway pubs and other unlicensed ‘betting shebeens’.
In rural parts of Galway, especially villages where there are no licenced bookmakers, the local publican often plays bookie.
The publican effectively acts as a conduit, takes bets from customers, and ‘rings them in’ to licensed bookmakers, settling up at a later date.
It is understood that the prevalence of this practice is lessening due to the availability of online betting and apps on smart devices. But Revenue, which is responsible for the issuing of bookmakers licences and collection of betting excise duties, continues to clamp down on illegal betting.
“Illegal bookmaking can arise where a bookmaker fails to renew a licence, has been removed from the register as a result of failure to pay betting duty, or never held a licence,” a spokesperson explained.
“Acceptance of bets in an unregistered premises, such as a betting office which is not registered or has been deregistered, or a pub, is illegal. In summary, it is illegal for a person to act as a bookmaker unless she or he holds a licence; and it is illegal for a person to accept a bet in any premises unless that premises is registered as a bookmaking office. In general terms, offences prosecuted commonly arise from bets being taken in unlicensed premises.”
Revenue says it relies on tip-offs from the public, as well as unannouncedinspections, to catch illegal bookmakers in pubs.
One in four of Galway’s primary school students are squashed into super-sized classrooms, new figures reveal.
Some 6,848 pupils were taught in overcrowded classrooms across Galway in the academic year that is coming to a close this month.
The figure represents 23% of Galway’s primary school population, and has been described as a scandal by Sinn Féin.
Education Minster Richard Bruton, has confirmed that a further 10,481 primary school students were squeezed into classrooms with between 25 and 29 students.
It means that 17,329 national school children in Galway – representing 58% of all students from junior infants to sixth class in the city and county – are taught in classes of 25 pupils or more.
There is no limit on the class sizes but a Department of Education circular states that appropriate learning experiences are difficult to achieve in classes of 25 or more.
National school teachers’ union, INTO, says there should be a maximum class size in primary schools of 25 pupils in single-age classes.
This should be reduced to 20 pupils for two-age group classes and to 15 for groups of three or more ages.
Sinn Féin Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said large class sizes was putting pressure on teachers, and jeopardising pupils’ education and future.
“The national average at the moment is 27 pupils per class, which is far too high. We want to see that brought down to classes of no more than 20 pupils,” said Senator Ó Clochartaigh.
“It is not acceptable that over half of the pupils attending primary school in Galway are in classes of 25 or more and that nearly one in four are in classrooms where there are more than 30 pupils.
“The Government needs to invest more in education and to put the resources in to bring down the pupil teacher ratio. These figures prove that it is a particular problem in Galway.
“Higher numbers in classrooms impacts on the amount of time a teacher has to give to each individual child, and then if there are children with special needs in a class with 25 or more pupils, that obviously takes up more of their time and impacts on educational outcomes.
“There’s also the matter of overcrowding. You have some classrooms in Galway where children are on top of each other, and that’s not a good environment for learning in. There has been an under-investment in education and it is the children who suffer. The Government needs to invest to bring down class sizes because children only get one chance at education and it is not fair to this generation of young learners,” said Senator Ó Clochartaigh.
When Lucia Blizniakova moved to the Aran Islands nearly a decade ago she described herself as extremely shy, but as the years passed by she grew more confident. So confident, that she recently opened an art gallery on Inis Mór to display and sell her work.
Nine years ago, Lucia, who always had a keen interest in art, packed up her bags and art supplies and moved from Slovakia to “the rock.”
She had little to no English when she began her new journey, but slowly learned the language while she worked at the island’s hotel.
For extra income, Lucia continued doing what she loved the most – drawing portraits.
The Slovakian native has been practicing art since she was six years old at school and during her high school years she trained as a fashion designer.
She was always “obsessed” with art. While she’s skilled in all creative aspects, her passion is portrait drawing.
Back in Slovakia, Lucia worked in a factory but balanced that with drawing portraits for commission work.
It was then she made the dramatic move to engage in a different lifestyle on the Aran Islands
“My first plan was to come here for two years, make some money and go home,” Lucia said.
“But, of course, I fell in love with this island, and I always wanted to go to Ireland . . . that was my big dream. I never thought that dream would happen.”
So Lucia, who is now 35, become a foreign resident of the island. The more she drew, the more popular her work became with islanders.
“People knew my work, so I decided why not take another step to try to do something bigger,” Lucia explained.
She has been putting together her “Aran Islands Collection” which contains drawings of the beautiful island scenery.
Along with working on her collection, she’s drawing portraits for commission.
On May 13 last Lucia and her fiancé, Rónán Mac Giollapharaic, opened an art gallery called Aran Fine Arts, or Fioráliinn as Árainn, in the island village of Kilmurvey.
Ronan’s work consists of stunning pen and ink drawings that are full of ornamental details.
Since opening the gallery, the talented couple have received a great response from both islanders and tourist.
“We’ve had huge, massive support from islanders. It’s a really great community, I’m really lucky,” she said.
But, one of the most rewarding aspects of opening the gallery was making contacts with artists scattered all over the world who travelled to the popular tourist spot.
“The first few days we didn’t really sell anything, but people were coming in and they were really amazed. I didn’t really care that I didn’t sell anything. What made me really happy was that artists from New York or Germany were amazed by my work and I was amazed by their work,” Lucia added.
Lucia and Ronan are now planning to further decorate the outside of the gallery to attract more customers.
Although she doesn’t admit it, Lucia is now fluent in English, but she wants to completely master the language before she starts really buckling down to learn Irish.
“I can only give orders to the dog in Irish right now,” she laughed.
“It’s a really hard language, but I’m trying.”
Even though she’s kept herself quite busy, she hopes to start working on another collection soon focused on drawing portraits of islanders.
■ Along with the gallery, Lucia’s work is displayed and sold on her website lucia-b.com and her Facebook page.
Little did teenagers Maureen Breslin and Sheila Hayden know the day they started working in Ballynahinch Castle seventy years ago that one day they would be special guests at the hotel for afternoon tea. The women, who have both raised families in their adopted Connemara, remembered the hustle and bustle of getting ready for the hotel’s opening day on June 9, 1946.
The hotel was then the property of the State and Eamonn De Valera himself presided over the official opening. It was his vision that it would be a beacon for international tourists in a new Ireland.
Maureen, from Ballinamuck in Co Longford and Sheila from Ballinaheglish, Co Roscommon had just finished their training in two separate Tourist Board colleges, set up by the new government to train people who would build up a tourist industry.
They were thrown in at the deep end of their daily duties – Maureen as a waitress and Sheila as a cook – but their youthful enthusiasm eased the six-and-a-half-day working week.
On Thursday, surrounded by family members and hosted by the hotel’s General Manager Patrick O’Flaherty, the women regaled the company with memories and yarns.
They spoke about being excited at being away from home and involved in a new venture but the realities of the post-war rations were still part and parcel of their lives.
Maureen remembered how the tea was rationed and how a colleague tried to sneak a cuppa for himself one day only to be disturbed by the then manager, a formidable woman. The young staffer was told to run an errand and, on his return, discovered the manager had discovered the tea pot and probably had the tea herself as she never mentioned it!
Ballynahinch Castle manager Patrick O’Flaherty
Maureen, an elegant woman surrounded by four of her nine children and a number of grandchildren, laughed when she remembered some of the high jinks of staff, especially the younger ones like herself trying to steal away for a few hours.
“We used to bicycle all over the place, so it was no wonder we met local lads. We covered the whole of Connemara on those bikes,” said Maureen who met and married John Davitt from nearby Ballinafad.
John passed away forty years ago when Maureen was still in her fifties and, for a time, she became the postmistress in Ballinafad.
Her son Peter joked about the jam being served in a cup for the afternoon tea and that it might not live up to his mother’s standards, but Des Lally of Ballynahinch Castle explained the cup, part of a Blue Willow collection, was now considered ‘contemporary chic’.
Des has been part of the hotel’s fabric for 33 years and has known Peter for years so the banter is good natured, adding to the homely atmosphere of the informal but special event as he encourages everyone to have seconds of the fresh open crab sandwiches, the tenderest of beef, also on brown bread and Coronation chicken sandwiches which are possibly a nod to a certain Queen’s 90th birthday but most definitely in honour of the two former staff members who could match the Royal member in years and style!
Even the hotel’s new chef, Galway city native, Ultan Cooke came out of the kitchen to see the special guests, legends among staff.
Maureen and Sheila certainly enjoyed the food, which also included carrot cakes, scones, macaroons and chocolate mousse and the champagne, but it was quite obvious they enjoyed remembering old friends and colleagues who had since passed away, including Sheila Stanley, nee Moore, Frank Cummins, John Luskin, Gerald Nee, Bina Nee, Eddie Joyce, Michael Vahey, Josephine O’Keeffe, Mary Battle and Charlie Cummins.
Herself and Sheila remembered someone buying their first car – an Austin Cambridge for £200 – but both women mostly remember going everywhere on bicycles. They lived in staff quarters in the courtyard, near the pig styes and the barns where the cattle were kept at nighttime. It was so different from the hotel’s extension, which they were shown including the new staff accommodation which features its own restaurant.
Maureen Breslin and Sheila Hayden return to Ballinahinch Castle for its 70th anniversary, having worked there on its opening day.
They remembered the Queen of Tonga visiting for lunch on a visit to Ireland following Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation in London.
Maureen recalls: “She was a fine woman dressed in wonderful cololurful clothes. I had never seen anyone like her.”
She also remembers many guests coming over from Ashford Castle including actors John Wayne and Maureen O’Hara while they were filming The Quiet Man.
The women and their families looked at old photographs from the hotel’s archives and laughed as they were shown black and white images of themselves in uniforms holding up fish as big as 14 pounds caught in the river on the grounds. They also studied old tarriffs and posters advertising the hotel. One from 1961 showed that it cost £19 and 19 shillings to stay in Ballynahinch for a week. That was an all-inclusive rate. Bed and breakfast was just £2 (about €52 in today’s money). The use of the bathroom was extra as rooms then didn’t have ensuites – a far cry from today’s luxury rooms.
The hotel now boasts 48 rooms thanks to a recent extension and revamp which has doubled the size of the bar – still the only local bar for miles. There’s a new patio off the dining area and the hotel has been re-decorated without losing its old world charm.
That work was undertaken after billionaire Denis O’Brien and a regular to the hotel for years, bought the hotel for a reported €6.5million in 2013.
“Oh, it’s all changed since our day. There were only about 24 bedrooms then, but we were kept busy. They were great years. I enjoyed every minute,” says Maureen, who, like Sheila, has seen her own children and now grandchildren working in the hotel.
Des points out that even when the women left the hotel to get married and raise families, they continued to promote the hotel in their own way – Maureen as a postmistress for a while (Ballinafad 2 used to be the hotel’s telephone number, Patrick reveals as he reads from an old advertisement) and Sheila through her sons, Michael and Eamonn Nee, as bus operator and postman respectively. Sheila’s late husband, Eddie, passed away a number of years ago.
The women were presented with bouquets of flowers while Patrick’s wife, Cliona took photographs and later they were interviewed by Josephine de Courcey for her Sunday night programme, Senior Side of the Street, on Connemara Radio, which will be broadcast in a few weeks’ time.
An old hotel register from Ballinahinch Castle along with photographs of former staff.
In raising a glass of bubbly to the women and their families, Patrick joked how they had “rescued two wayward Connemara men” which probably hadn’t gone down well with the local girls.
He said they had both contributed to the fabric of the local community and the region by having arrived at the hotel when they did but also by their continued association with the hotel through their families.
Everyone agreed that paying homage to the two former staff members had been a lovely way to celebrate the opening of Ballynahinch as a hotel 70 years ago.
Galway passengers who fly out of Ireland West Airport at Knock are fuming that they still have to pay a €10 development charge despite the county’s two local authorities pumping in around €100,000 into the facility over the past couple of years.
Now, outgoing Cathaoirleach of Galway County Council wants this charge terminated for good in view of the amount of money that has been contributed to the airport from both Galway County Council and Galway City Council.
Cllr Pete Roche said that the development charge had become something of a joke at Knock Airport and was one that had infuriated passengers to such an extent that they were now considering Shannon as an alternative to fly out from.
“We are all in favour of regional airports and we want them to survive, but to impose this so-called development levy has gone beyond a joke at this stage. It just should not be in place.
“As far as I am aware there are six local authorities including Galway City Council and Galway County Council who have made substantial contributions to Knock Airport who still insist on imposing this charge on passengers before boarding. The public are sick to their teeth of it,” Cllr Roche added.
Every passenger who boards a plane in Ireland West Airport is obliged to fork out €10 per head. A family of two parents and four children, for example, heading out for a holiday in the sun are down €60 before they even step onto the plane.
Cllr Roche said the levy leaves a sour taste amongst passengers and it has become an increasing discussion point on plane journeys from Knock.
Ireland West Airport claims to be responsible for 200,000 bed nights annually in County Galway alone with the city, Connemara and the Aran Islands the main beneficiaries.
Management said, during a presentation to Galway County Council two years ago, that almost a quarter of their business comes from County Galway and equally they contribute significantly to the tourism industry here. The airport employs more than 300 people directly and indirectly.
But Cllr Roche said that while the airport at Knock was a huge asset for the West of Ireland and he did not want to see anything threaten its future, the charging of a €10 development levy rankled with passengers flying out from there.
He said that the least the management of the airport could do was to waive the €10 for passengers coming from local authority areas who have made a financial contribution to the facility.
When the presentation regarding Ireland West Airport was made to Galway County Councillors, Airport representative Donal Heaney said that he wanted Galway County Council to invest in the future of the airport and share in the profits in the future.
There were complaints from a number of councillors including Cllr Roche, Martina Kinane, Jim Cuddy and Eileen Mannion about the €10 development charge.
Mr. Heaney said that it was a necessary charge and one that was imposed in privately run airports in England and across Europe.
Fáilte Ireland is to redouble its efforts to highlight the Wild Atlantic Way after a survey showed that only a small number of potential visitors from overseas were aware of the route.
The low level of awareness came as a surprise to Fáilte Ireland which has carried out an intensive promotion of the Wild Atlantic Way in recent years.
The long, bright days have been ideal for Wild Atlantic Way touring in recent weeks – and there is a noticeable traffic increase on the west Connemara roads.
However, the Wild Atlantic Way needs more highlighting.
According to an overseas survey only 7% of a group of 4,000 potential visitors to Ireland were aware of the Wild Atlantic Way.
Fáilte Ireland officials at a meeting in Carna in Connemara said the findings were somewhat surprising insofar as an intensive promotional campaign is ongoing.
They now want to bring the awareness level up from 7% to 20% in the next year.
Fáilte Ireland client services manager, Brian Quinn said the opening up of the Alcock and Brown site in Clifden next month – one of the focal points on the Wild Atlantic Way – would further boost Connemara.
Galway’s students are still feeling the pinch of recession, and relying on State help to tide them over during hard times.
New figures reveal that more than a three-quarters of a million euro was paid through a hardship fund to students attending Galway’s two third level institutes.
Education Minister Richard Bruton said some €759,498 was dispersed to third level students in Galway through the Student Assistance Fund.
That included some €485,954 to students of NUI Galway, and some €273,544 for students of Galway Mayo Institute of Technology.
The hardship pay-outs relate to the academic year 2014-2015.
Minister Bruton said the Student Assistance Fund, “provides financial supports to students who are experiencing short-term or ongoing financial difficulties.”
The fund is administered locally within each higher education institution, he said, and the monies are provided on an annual basis to each institution by the Higher Education Authority.
During the 2014-2015 academic year, some €6.6 million was paid out by the State, to hard-pressed students under this scheme.
It amounted to €8.35 million nationally in 2013-2014; €11 million the previous year and 9 million the year before that.
GMIT said its students cannot use the fund for tuition fees or to cover student loans. “The objective of this fund is to assist students in a sensitive and compassionate manner who might otherwise, because of financial reasons suffer hardship or be unable to continue their third level studies. The fund is intended to tackle educational disadvantage by providing financial support to enable students to fully benefit from their third level studies,” GMIT said.
It is to be used to pay for day-to-day expenses that are necessary to allow them to participate in third level, including rent, transport, food, medical costs, books, and childcare costs. Receipts must be submitted.
“Some students find themselves experiencing financial hardship despite penny-counting during their time in the University,” said NUIG Students Union.
It added the fund is designed to “tackle disadvantage by enabling students to fully benefit from their studies.”
Sarah McGinley was just five weeks pregnant when she discovered a lump on her neck.
Doctors reassured the young teacher that it was pregnancy related, and it wasn’t until after her son Rua Patrick was born and the lump persisted, that she was referred to the endocrine clinic.
After a long wait, an ultrasound, a biopsy and some honest warnings from her the doctor at the clinic, Sarah was diagnosed with Stage 2 thyroid cancer.
“Nothing really was made about it and they weren’t too worried about it at all, and every time I went for an appointment I would tell them my symptoms like they asked,” she said.
Sarah would tell her doctors of her symptoms, most of which were normal, except for the lump on her neck which was thought to have been pregnancy related goitre.
Her bloods were always fine and never gave away any warning signs or showed up any malfunctions of the thyroid.
“When I was lying down I couldn’t swallow properly and it was quite restrictive on my neck and I could see it.
“Not that I was paranoid or anything, but I knew there was something wrong.”
At the clinic, Sarah remembers her doctor’s honesty and efficiency with being able to spot the abnormalities almost immediately.
Soon after, Sarah had her thyroid removed along with some surrounding lymph nodes.
The 32-year-old from Wellpark received radioactive iodine treatment in St Luke’s Hospital in Dublin, where she was in isolation for almost a week.
“It was very difficult at the time. I think the hardest part was when I got home and I couldn’t actually go back to my own house because you can’t be near children or pregnant people for a different amount of time for each person.
“So for me, I wasn’t able to share a bed with my partner or the baby or be near him.
“I was able to be in the same room as him so long as he didn’t come near me which is impossible with a baby, so I kind of had to keep my distance for another week then, so that was hardest on me but he didn’t even notice!”
Despite these difficulties, Sarah was able to have some well-needed rest while on the radioactive treatment, completing schoolwork and watching television.
Adamant she was going to breastfeed her son until he was one, Sarah recalls the disappointment of being told she couldn’t continue to do so.
It was her surgeon’s kindness and empathy with handling her situation that largely got her through her diagnosis and ultimately arriving at acceptance of her illness.
“She was so empathetic; she just very kindly talked me through how the surgery would affect me and how I wouldn’t be able to continue breastfeeding and that really broke my heart.”
Acceptance of her illness came after Christmas when Sarah believed she was fit to return to work, but didn’t realise the toll which the surgery would take on her, as well as everything else that would be coming.
Her surgeon, Orla Young at UHG, and nurse sat her down to kindly explain to her that it was okay not to go back to work just yet.
“I was feeling really exhausted, wiped out exhausted, and they said yes, that’s totally fine and expected and normal and really validated my feelings and me realise that it’s ok, and I was now someone who was really sick which is difficult to get your head around when you’ve not been sick, ever.”
Now officially cancer free, Sarah ran the Colour Dash race with her brother Joe and sister-in-law Jess last week to give back to Cancer Care West and the Daffodil Centres which were a huge help to her.
The Centre also offers counselling to family members and those affected by cancer as well as massages to patients.
Sarah has since returned to work at St. Joseph’s special school where she has received nothing but support from the principal, students and their families.
“I feel like there’s normality returning to my life. When you’re dealing with going to hospital and being told that you have a cancer diagnosis you suddenly enter a parallel universe that’s out of your comfort zone.
“Everything is so strange, and you don’t have a frame of reference for any of it and you feel very uncertain of everything.
“The support, love, understanding and kindness my amazing family, friends, colleagues at St. Joseph’s Special School [where she works in Newcastle], staff at Cancer Care West and the Irish Cancer Society have provided me with over the past nine months has kept me positive and completely focused on getting the all clear which I got today from St. Luke’s.
“My story is ultimately a happy one and I send strength to the families who don’t get to experience the happy ending I did.”
She hopes that Cancer Care West can produce more helpful booklets with the proceeds she raised. Sarah has a fundraising page that can be found here
Galway City Council will have to spend up to €1.5m on repairing three landmark castles and the Browne Doorway – or risk losing them forever.
Chief Executive Brendan McGrath said the Council must spend €250,000 for emergency work in the short-term as some are in danger of collapsing – one castle has stones currently falling down, while another is a location for antisocial behaviour, which is damaging the fabric of the building.
The four structures – the Browne Doorway in Eyre Square, Menlo Castle, Terryland Castle and Merlin Castle – are the priority projects earmarked for conservation by the city.
A report on their management estimates costs of between €166,000 and €322,000 for the Browne Doorway, up to €601,000 for Menlo Castle, €234,000 for Terryland and around €327,000 for Merlin.
The comments came after councillors were asked to approve a six-year heritage plan for the city until 2021. The previous heritage plan had proposed significant work on the structures but funding was never approved by the Government, only a small amount to draw up a management plan.
Cllr Donal Lyons told this week’s local authority meeting that unless funding was secured nationally and work undertaken in next couple of years, these valuable examples of ancient heritage would be lost for future generations.
Cllr Terry O’Flaherty said she hoped she lived long enough to see the ugly perspex around the Browne Doorway removed.
City Heritage Officer Jim Higgins said that up until 2006, it was envisaged that the Browne Doorway would be moved to the Galway City Museum. It was now in need of urgent conservation which would have to be approved by councillors.
Chief Executive Brendan McGrath agreed that its presentation did not reflect well on the city.
The previous heritage plan set out 38 projects which were either completed or rolled over. This second plan would incorporate those not finished, with a long list of others to be achieved over the next five years to promote heritage awareness and best practice in conservation and management as well as care for the city’s heritage.
In a separate motion, Cllr Terry O’Flaherty called on the Council to install CCTV at Merlin Castle and playground to deter antisocial behaviour.
Funding for the cameras has already been approved but had not been erected, despite the numerous pleas of residents to do so. This was agreed unanimously by members.
Galway City Council is seeking tenders for the provision of an all-weather pitch at Cappagh Park, and the refurbishment of sports facilities in Renmore.
Two separate contracts are on offer – and it’s hoped works can begin in the coming months.
The Cappagh Park contract will involve the construction of a synthetic sports surface, fencing, ancillary equipment and landscaping works.
The Renmore contract will include the construction of a new soccer field, ancillary equipment, landscape and drainage works at Melody’s Field.
Both projects are being carried out using funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport and it’s hoped contractors will be on-site by Autumn.
The deadline for tenders for the Cappagh Park project is Wednesday, while the deadline for the Melody’s Field development is Thursday.
A vacant city office block is to be converted into student and tourist accommodation for up to 90 people.
Galway City Council has given the green light for the redevelopment of the block at Sandyfort Business Centre beside Cemetery Cross.
‘Swuite Bohermore’ will be run by an international accommodation company and some student residents will be appointed as paid ‘wardens’ to police anti-social behaviour.
Earlier this year, Kildare-based Tim Sheahan of IVS Student Development Bohermore Ltd sought permission for a change of use of the building to 77 professionally-managed student and self-catering holiday apartment suites (65 single suites, 8 twin suites and 4 two-bed suites); a reception area, TV/cinema lounge, juice bar and games area, roof terrace with seating and basement parking for 57 cars and 63 bicycles.
IVS is part of the Iveragh Student Accommodation group, which has extensive experience in designing and developing purpose-built student accommodation in Ireland, the UK and Germany.
“Swuite Bohermore offers high quality and professionally-managed student and holiday self-catering apartment suites and ancillary facilities specifically designed for use during the college semester by senior undergraduates, post-graduates and visiting academics and in the summer season by short-term tourist visitors,” the planning application reads.
The suites are single and twin occupancy and are fitted with private en suite bathrooms, wardrobe and under-bed storage, double size bed and kitchenette.
A management team will be employed by IVS and will include a full-time operations manager, an administrator, a site maintenance worker and cleaning staff.
“During the academic semesters, out-of-hours times will be covered by a concierge or overnight security professional and retained student wardens with a mature outlook and who are resident on site and fully-trained in Health & Safety matters,” the application reads.
Following concerns from local residents, the applicant said that access to the roof terrace will be facilitated by management on a pre-arranged basis.
“The area will be designated a ‘quiet zone’ and all activities will be monitored by staff on CCTV. All users of this space will be reminded of their Health & Safety obligations and the need to demonstrate good neighbourliness.
“All residents must abide by the Code of Conduct accompanying their tenancy agreement in the development.
“Anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in this area or any other area of the facility and any breaches will be severely deal with,” the applicant said.
The residents from a house at adjacent Grealishtown told planners: “Our rear garden is an amenity that is very precious to us. It is very calm, peaceful and secluded. The thought of being overlooked by strangers between the hours of 10am to 9.30pm fills us with dread.”
There’s been a major fish kill on a tributary of the Sinking River near Dunmore which flows into the Clare River.
The stream in question, known as the Yellow River, is an important spawning and nursery habitat for young trout and salmon.
Inland Fisheries Ireland is currently investigating the fish kill on the Yellow River
Staff were notified over the last few days and an immediate inspection revealed large numbers of dead fish, including crayfish, over one kilometre downstream.
Staff traced the source of the pollution to silage effluent leaking from a silage pit on a farm in the area
Samples and photographs were taken, and it’s likely a prosecution will be taken in light of the severe nature of the pollution.
Inland Fisheries Ireland says water levels are low in many rivers, so any pollution has a much greater impact.
CEO Dr Ciaran Byrne says it’s vital to prevent any leakage from silage pits, and to ensure slurry is only spread in suitable conditions and well away from streams and drains.
He points out recreational angling in Ireland is worth €836 million to the economy and supports over 11,000 jobs.
The public is asked to assist fisheries staff by reporting all instances of illegal fishing or pollution to the confidential 24 Hour hotline 1890 347 424.
Two people from Galway undergoing dialysis are gearing up to compete in the European Transplant and Dialysis Sports Championship next month.
Zimele Brown from Gleann na Rí in Renmore and Linda Waters from Athenry will participate in the games in Vantaa, Finland to celebrate life through sport and to highlight the importance of organ donations.
The two athletes are a part of Transplant Team Ireland, which consists of 29 athletes around the country ranging from ages 18 to 78.
Linda has endured a kidney and pancreas transplant and is currently undergoing haemodialysis treatment, which cleanses the blood of toxins, extra salts and fluids through a dialysis machine called artificial kidney.
Despite her unfortunate medical history, Linda always looks forward to these games. She sees the championship as another support system in her life.
“It’s like another team. Everyone has been through something difficult and everyone looks out for each other,” she said.
More importantly, it’s a way showing people the importance of organ donations and how they change lives.
“My donor was young and when you look at a young person these days they’re out playing sports and travelling. I feel like this is a way of honouring my donor and showing people that, yes, I’m still ill, but I’ve not given up,” Linda said.
This year, she’ll participate in the 50-59 age category for shot putt, tenpin bowling and petanque (a form of boules).
Zimele is also in preparations for the games. He’s originally from New Orleans, but has been living in Galway since 2010.
He’s currently waiting for a kidney transplant and is also undergoing haemodialysis treatment.
Zimele isn’t going into the games blindsided either, he has a bit of experience in the competition. In 2014’s games in Poland he received four medals.
“It’s a great to represent Ireland. I’ve never represented the US before in anything really.
“It’s a good way to meet other people on dialysis and hear their stories and find out any similarities or differences,” he said.
In this year’s games, he’ll be competing in the 30-30 age category for ten pin bowling and petanque.
He says he competes for his three beautiful teenage girls and his loving wife, who is his constant support system.
This is the ninth European Transplant and Dialysis Games and will take place July 10 -17.
Events include badminton, tennis, table tennis, cycling, darts, golf, petanque, swimming, ten pin bowling, mini-marathon and track and field.
Transplant Team Ireland has six newcomers and the most dialysis athletes to ever travel abroad to represent their country.
Out of the 23 men and 6 women on the Irish team, 22 of them are transplant recipients – 17 kidney, 4 liver and 1 combined kidney/pancreas, while seven of athletes are currently receiving dialysis treatment.
A newcomer to the games, but also the youngest team member is 18 year old Matthew NcNieve, a kidney transplant recipient from Mayo.
Also travelling with the group is Claire Kennedy, the team medical director, who works in the transplant department at Beaumont Hospital.
The inspirational athletes met with Dublin’s All-Star Alan Brogan for a motivational talk.
Nearly 500 participants from 25 countries throughout Europe will be involved in the biennial event. All athletes at the games will either be on a dialysis or have already received a kidney, liver, heart, lung pancreas or bone barrow transplant.
In Poland, the team was ranked in top three positions on the medals table, taking home an impressive 18 gold, 18 silver and 31 bronze medals.
The policy to phase-out homeowners’ use of plastic domestic waste bags should be binned, a city councillor has recommended.
From July 1, plastic bin bags used by city dwellers to dispose of refuse will only be permitted in “exceptional circumstances”.
Refuse and recycling bags used by private bin companies such as City Bin are being phased-out and from next month waste will only be collected from wheelie bins.
Retailers have been put on notice that individual bin bags will no longer be on sale.
The policy is national and is being implemented locally by Galway City Council.
The local authority said bags will only be permitted to be used by households who meet certain criteria. Exceptions will be allowed but must be applied for.
The exceptions include that the properties are too small to store wheelie bins and the street outside the property is too narrow for wheelie bins.
Labour Party councillor Niall McNelis said the policy was poorly thought-out and should be re-visited.
“The first thing to say is that it was the retailers who informed me about this, not the Council and the lack of consultation on it is very disappointing,” he said.
Cllr McNelis said the ban on bin bags will drive people out of the city centre, and it will also encourage more fly-tipping.
“We’re trying to encourage people to live in the city centre but how is this going to help. People living in city centre apartments don’t have room for wheelie bins; and if you are on a first floor apartment, how are you going to drag the wheelie bin downstairs and get it upstairs again?
“Illegal dumping is already a problem and this will only encourage it. What could happen is people will use the public bins in the city to dispose of their household waste, and that will end up costing the Council more because they will have to be emptied more often,” said Cllr McNelis.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh called for the proposed new bin tax to be scrapped.
Speaking in the Seanad he said: “One of the final acts of Labour and Alan Kelly in Government was to allow private companies to hike the cost of refuse collection. These new charges are to be imposed from the beginning of July. Even though he promised that there would be a reduction in costs for 83% of households what we are actually seeing are massive increases – in some cases well over 200% of the charge they currently pay.
“In Galway we are seeing a standing charge of over €224 being imposed on some homes, before any bin is lifted. The same company is apparently only charging the good people of Leitrim an €80 standing charge for the same service. The pay by weight costs are being piled on top of this.
“This is an extra tax which will hit families who are already at the pin of their collar with water charges, property tax and other stealth taxes.
“I have called on the Minister to suspend these charges and come in to the parliament to debate how we can really help people to reduce the amount of refuse they generate and put a fair, efficient and equitable system in place for refuse collection.”
Residents in the Old Monivea Road area of the city are to hold a meeting later today ( 21/06) to discuss the future use of the disused Crown Square site.
Locals are concerned that conditions previously agreed for the use of the former Crown Control site could be changed.
It follows a submission received to the draft development plan which could remove the 20% cap on residential, as well as change height restrictions and access points.
The site in now within NAMA.
The local residents group is to gather at Flannery’s Hotel on the Dublin Road this evening at 7.30.
