A man who was seriously injured in a crash outside Kinvara on Thursday afternoon has passed away at University Hospital Galway.
The incident, happened at around 1.30 pm on the road between Kinvara and Ballindereen.
The man who was 43 and a resident of the Ballyvaughan area was cycling at the time of the crash and he was airlifted to UHG where he was being treated for serious head injuries.
It is undersood that he had been on a life support machine at the hospital and he passed away there last evening (Saturday).
His name is not being released until all next of kin have been contacted.
Gardai from Gort carried out a forensic examination of the scene following the crash, and are continuing their investigations regarding the cause of the fatal crash.
Meanwhile a man in his 60s who suffered injuries in a two car crash at Kilgarve, Creagh near Ballinasloe on the Athlone Road on Friday night still remains in a serious condition at Portiuncula Hospital this evening (Sunday)

The post Man injured in Kinvara crash dies in hospital appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Galway County Council has completed less than two percent of it’s mortgage-to-rent applications.
Figures compiled by the Irish Times show the county local authority has completed just one out of 74 applications or 1.3 percent.
Galway County Council is followed by Cork County Council which has completed three out of 161 applications or 1.8 percent.
The highest proportion completed is recorded by Waterford County Council with eight out of 110 applications complete – or 7.3 percent.
Just under three thousand cases of borrowers in severe mortgage arrears were put forward for the scheme by the end of last week.
Out of these, just 110 or three percent have been complete.

The post County council completes less than 2% of mortgage to rent applications appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The man who died in hospital following a crash outside Kinvara last Thursday has been named locally at Kevin Smith from Ballyvaughan.
The incident, happened at around 1.30 p.m last Thursday on the road between Kinvara and Ballindereen.
46-year-old Kevin Smith was cycling at the time of the crash.
He was airlifted to UHG where he was treated for serious head injuries.
It’s undersood he had been on life support at the hospital and passed away on Saturday evening.
Gardai from Gort carried out a forensic examination of the scene following the crash.
Meanwhile a man in his 60s who suffered injuries in a two car crash at Kilgarve, Creagh near Ballinasloe last Friday night still remains in a serious condition at Portiuncula Hospital.

The post Man who died following Kinvara collision named locally appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A Galway T.D has called on the Minister for Communications, Alex White and Comreg to investigate companies which offer telecoms packages over the phone.
Fianna Fáil Deputy Micheál Kitt says a number of Galway people have told him that they were offered an enticing package over the phone to change service provider.
The deal is confirmed over the phone and no written contract is issued.
The customer then finds that large bills accrue after a certain period because the fine details of the contract are not made clear, such as broadband being excluded from the deal.
Speaking to NewsBreak, Deputy Kitt says Comreg should insist that companies provide a written contract with terms and conditions:

The post Galway TD urges more stringent guidelines for telecoms companies appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – There’s fallout in the Fianna Fail party after two Galway TDs say they are not willing to rule out a possible coalition with Sinn Fein.
It comes as the party’s Justice Spokesperson Niall Collins says Sinn Féin is a “political cult” and says there’s ‘no way’ he’d go into coalition with the party.
He was speaking after Deputy John McGuinness, Galway East’s Colm Keaveney and Galway West’s Eamon O’Cuiv have said they are not willing to rule it out.
This is despite the fact that Fianna Fáil party leader Michael Martin has said that Sinn Fein and Fianna Fail policies are not compatible.
Fianna Fáil’s Niall Collins says he’d be completely opposed to any deal with Gerry Adams’s party.

The post Two Galway Fianna Fail TDs won’t rule out coalition with Sinn Fein appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Contracts have been awarded to progress the construction of new student accommodation at NUI Galway.
The 1.4million euro contract for a design team for the new student accommodation at Upper Newcastle Road has been awarded to Coady Partnership Architects, based in Dublin.
The contract for quantity surveyor services for Phase 1 of the student accommodation project at Corrib Village has been awarded to Aecom based at Kirwan’s Lane.
The contract is valued at 330 thousand euro excluding VAT.

The post Progress on new student accommodation at NUI Galway appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The sod will be turned this week on a major motorway service station near Loughrea. (12/8)
Supermacs boss Pat McDonagh is building the Kiltullagh Plaza development at the Kiltullagh Junction at exit 16 on the M6 motorway.
Planning permission for the motorway service station was granted a five-year extension in 2013.
Junior Transport minister Michael Ring will visit Kiltullagh to lay the foundation stone at 2pm on Wednesday.
The Kiltullagh Plaza will be located in the townland of Carrowkeel, just off the Loughrea exit from the M6 motorway.
It’s understood the development will be based on the Obama Plaza service station in Moneygall, County Tipperary.
It will include a shop, restaurant, fast-food outlet, picnic and parking areas and filling station, and all associated services.
The service station will be accessible to traffic travelling both eastbound and westbound on the M6.

The post Work to begin on major motorway service station near Loughrea appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

A Barna man has won the annual Maeve Binchy UCD Travel Award, worth €4,000, and plans to follow the route of an epic journey taken by Lenin nearly 100 years ago.

John McHugh, from Ballard, is the son of Sean and Mary, and is currently a post-graduate student of fine arts at UCD. He is also working towards the completion of his debut collection of short stories.

Winners use the award to fund a travel opportunity to enhance their creative writing – John’s intention is to track Lenin’s journey in April 1917, from Switzerland to Leningrad.

“The sealed carriage, containing Lenin, travelled through Germany, Sweden, Finland and across the Baltic Sea, and I want to follow this exact path,” he says.

“The entire journey, which began with Lenin hearing in passing about the beginning of the revolution in Russia – a moment itself worthy of a Monty Python sketch – is bizarre, surreal, and rife with potential.

“What fascinates me about travelling is the period before you arrive at your destination, how all your thoughts are either lost in the past or drifting to the future. In the midst of travelling, the present is partially erased for the journey-goer.

“Maeve Binchy herself explored a form of this idea in ‘The Lilac Bus’, where the journey to Rathdoon acts a mode of reflection. The bus grants the characters’ sustained space to examine themselves, whereas Rathdoon and Dublin act as present points of drama. It is the quality of fluxion between past and future – musing upon past decisions whilst racing towards future ones, the present neither here nor there – which Lenin’s journey represents for me.”

The Maeve Binchy UCD Travel Award, which is only in its second year, commemorates the late author’s love of travel and her creative writing.

The Award is open to any student currently enrolled in UCD’s College of Arts & Celtic Studies.

“The Maeve Binchy UCD Travel Award is greatly cherished by our student body and the UCD School of English, Drama and Film has been delighted to develop it, with the support of the Maeve’s family.” Professor Margaret Kelleher said.

“We can see its value, not only in the many quality applications we have received, but also in the widespread welcome for a writing award that encourages imagination and supports adventure. This a very fitting way to mark the continuing legacy of Maeve Binchy and we all warmly congratulate John on his success.”

The post Student travel award winner retraces Lenin’s epic journey appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children” – Nelson Mandela.

Last year, my brother Christopher and I traveled to Cambodia for the first time, where we volunteered with Children with Hope for Development (CHD), a grassroots NGO that is bringing a high standard of education to over 200 children living in one of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged regions, Takeo Province.

BY ASHLEY McDONNELL

Despite their lack of funding, CHD was running three English classes a day as well as a French class and a Maths class for students aged between four and 12. In addition, the school, consisting of four Cambodian teachers and on average between two to four volunteers at a time, was attempting to aid the region’s bright and enthusiastic children in breaking out of the continuous cycle of poverty that they have been born into.

On arrival in Po Village, Christopher and I assisted in launching their first IT class which also attracted older students, giving them a first opportunity to become familiar with a computer, a vital skill in progressing to university or in securing a job in more developed areas of Cambodia.

The IT class was taught on second hand computers in a dark shed with no lights or even a fan, amplifying the average temperature of 30 degrees in Takeo. The conditions were overwhelmingly basic, with lizards and other creatures constantly disrupting teachings.

In 2014, our fundraising efforts in our local community of Craughwell were extremely successful thanks to generous friends and family. ieDepot.ie matched our original total of $3,000 in order to bring our final donation to $6,000, the sum needed to completely finance the school’s first concrete building.

A fortnight ago, I had the chance to travel back to Takeo for the opening ceremony of the two new classrooms, an incredible event in which the students, parents, teachers, volunteers, village leaders and local monks attended.

Everyone celebrated together, eating, drinking and dancing for hours. I don’t think I have ever experienced such happiness amongst a group of people in one day, with every child smiling and dancing until it was time to go home.

The new building was blessed and everyone said thank you for their great fortune, as the new classrooms are something that most could never have possibly imagined being built in their local community, where the majority of houses are yet to have running water or electricity.

The future is bright for CHD and their growing number of students, as the children’s level of English is improving dramatically and their eyes are being opened to a life outside of the rice fields where people have enough money to eat three meals a day, to have more than one set of clothing and to have showers with hot water.

Furthermore, the organisation now has a big plan in order to become sustainable, so that they no longer need to rely on donations from around the world.

They are going to build accommodation for the volunteers to stay in, which not only means there will no longer be a need for volunteers to cycle 20km a day in the blistering heat, but also that the income generated from food and board will go towards covering all of the NGO’s costs.

CHD also plans to start a small farm, selling eggs and other products in the local village. The transition from an organisation that relies on others for support to a social enterprise will give CHD the freedom to grow and expand at a much faster rate, with the hope that they will someday have the standard of education that we are fortunate to benefit from in Ireland.

If you’d like to make a donation to CHD to help them reach sustainability, you can do so online: http://goo.gl/Yas3Hj or at  www.iedepot.ie and see blog/category/cambodia-school-building-appeal.

For anyone interested in volunteering with CHD in the future, send an email to ashleymcdonnell@live.com and I’d be more than happy to answer any questions.

The post Galway siblings help Cambodian village to build new school appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

A young mother who was using a bag of heroin a day and was found with €3,000 of the drug stashed in her bedroom would have been dead soon if Gardai had not found her, a court has heard.

Judge Marie Keane said this was “last chance saloon” for Sarah Howlett (27), of 323 Castle Park, Ballybane, when she pleaded guilty at Galway District Court to a plethora of shoplifting, handling stolen goods and drug-dealing charges, committed across the city since succumbing to the highly addictive drug.

Howlett pleaded guilty to stealing expensive, new release DVDs from Zhivago on Shop Street on July 4 last year.

She pleaded guilty to stealing more popular console games from Cex, Williamsgate Street, and handling the games from the store, knowing they were stolen on six different dates in June and July of this year.

Howlett also pleaded guilty to having €3,000 worth of heroin in her bedroom on January 21 last and having the drug for sale or supply.

She further pleaded guilty to stealing perfume and headphones from TX Maxx which were recovered, and a €400 Dyson vacuum cleaner from Curry’s in Terryland last month which was not recovered.

She finally pleaded guilty to stealing groceries and kids’ toys from Tesco at Galway Shopping Centre and to stealing other items from Homestore and More in Wellpark.

Handing letters from the HSE into court, defence solicitor, Olivia Traynor said her client has a very serious heroin addiction which she has been battling for some time.

She said Howlett’s situation was “absolutely dire” when Gardai raided her home in January and found the heroin.  Howlett’s children are already in care and their father died in tragic circumstances, Ms Traynor added.

“She was using a bag of heroin a day and Gardai feel she will be dead in a very short period of time if she does not get help,” Mr Traynor said.

She said Howlett had been discharged from the Beaumont Stabilisation Unit on April 5 last and was making every effort to get herself ‘clean’ before these offences were committed.

Ms Traynor said Howlett committed the offence to get money “to get her next fix”.

“When I saw her back in January she was in a very bad place. She looks a lot better now,” Ms Traynor said.

She asked Judge Marie Keane to adjourn sentence and give Howlett a chance to link in with the support services and see if she would engage with the probation service and get more help for her addiction.

Judge Keane said Howlett was quite a menace to Cex.

“She is repeatedly going in there to steal the most up-to-date box sets, including the Love/Hate one,” she observed.

Mr Traynor said Howlett had brought items into Cex to sell, and that was how she was caught and charged with handling stolen property.

Those offences, she pointed out, occurred between June 30 and July 8 last and were all committed to feed the heroin addiction.

Noting Howlett’s drug charges were serious, Judge Keane said she was faced with a dilemma.

“If I send her to jail – where she should go to protect the retailers of Galway – I’m concerned that her drug addiction is likely to get worse rather than better,” she said.

Judge Keane said it was with great reluctance she would order a probation report on Howlett prior to sentence.

She adjourned the matter to October for a probation report and told Howlett it was “last chance saloon” for her. “I’m sure you have the Gardai tormented,” the judge added.

Howlett, who looked pale and gaunt and who hugged her handbag to her chest during the hearing, promised Judge Keane she would co-operate with the probation service.

The post Gardaí discover €3,000 of heroin in young mum’s bedroom appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Funding of almost three quarters of a million euro has been announced for the completion of the Picture Palace in the city.
Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys says the funds will be given to Galway City Council to get the long-awaited project over the line.
The Department of Arts has agreed a partnership approach with the local authority and Solas Picture Palace Limited.
The project got underway in 2009 but was stalled at various stages due to a lack of funding.
The new arthouse cinema at Spanish Parade will be a three-screen cinema with state of the art digital and film projection systems.
The largest screen will accommodate 178 people, while the other screens will accommodate a total of 151 people.
The building will also house a café and a bookshop.
Today’s announcement brings to almost €2m the amount of funding provided by the Department of Arts for the project.
Speaking to Galway Bay fm news, Minister Heather Humphreys says Galway’s reputation as a city of culture will be enchanced by the new venue.

The post Government allocates three quarters of a million euro to city’s Arthouse Cinema project appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

There is growing uncertainty over the future of the tourist office in Salthill – which has been closed for the past five years.

Despite calls from city councillors for the office – located beside Galway Atlantaquaria – to be reopened, Fáilte Ireland believes that with the growth of tourism websites, there is no need for a second office in the city.

The defunct office is located three miles from the one in Eyre Square.

Fiona Monaghan of Failte Ireland explained there is also a complication with ownership; the tourism agency owns the building, but the City Council owns the site.

“Failte Ireland lease the site from Galway City Council… at one point the Council expressed an interest in selling the land.”

According to research carried out by Failte Ireland, tourism in Salthill is mostly domestic. Building from that, Irish people generally don’t use tourist offices at home.

The increased use of technology – with the likes of Tripadvisor offering information online – has left the requirement for two tourist offices in such close proximity unnecessary.

On top of this, the economic downturn saw no work for seasonal workers who had historically worked in the office in Salthill.

The use of tourist offices have been restricted generally to foreign holiday makers and with the main office in Eyre Square, it has been deemed unnecessary to reopen the office.

“The Atlantaquaria [adjacent to the tourist office in Salthill] currently offers a wide range of information for tourists as it stands,” Ms Monaghan said.

But Sinn Féiin councillor Cathal Ó Conchúir stressed “at a minimum, this facility should be open during the summer months”.

“After much investigation of the issue, I have discovered that most of the difficulty with reopening of the building results from the fact that the site is owned by Galway City Council, while the actual building is owned by Fáilte Ireland.

“The Council has made numerous attempts to come to an agreement with Fáilte Ireland to resolve this madness but there has been no satisfactory reciprocal response.

“Many entrepreneurs have come to me suggesting exciting, innovative ideas for the building. With a little imagination, it could double up as Tourist Office as well as a venue for various events and enterprises.

“I am calling on Tourism Minister Michael Ring to investigate this unbelievable situation immediately so that an important tourist venue such as Salthill and its environs can be enhanced by having a proper information outlet,” said Cllr Ó Conchúir.

The post Salthill tourist office is still closed after five years appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – There are fears that the ‘cash for gold’ industry is leading to increased numbers of burglaries across Galway.
Tuam area councillor Mary Hoade says the industry, which pays out cash in exhange for unwanted gold items, needs to be urgently regulated.
She says a recent spate of burglaries across the county could be linked to the trade, as items of jewellery are often targetted by thieves.
Councillor Hoade says the government needs to take action.

The post Fears that ‘cash for gold’ industry is encouraging burglaries appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Funding has been secured for flood mitigation works at Baile and tSagairt in Spiddal.
Over 13 thousand euro has been approved for drainage maintenance work along a 700 meter stretch.
The works will include the removal of flood debris and blockages under the bridges.
The money was sought by Galway County Council following flooding at one of the bridges on the Baile an tSagairt Road.

The post Funding secured for flood mitigation works in Spiddal appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A state-of-the-art ocean observatory has been installed off the coast of Spiddal.
The project has been delivered by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), the Marine Institute and Commissioners of Irish Lights.
Equipment has been deployed to give researchers and ocean energy developers insight into the Galway bay marine environment.
The observatory is now entering a commissioning period and is expected to be operational in the coming months.
Data from the equipment will be fed via an underwater cable, which was deployed last April, to the Marine Institute in Renville, Oranmore where analysis will take place.
Declan Meally from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland says it will allow consistent monitoring of Galway bay.

The post Galway Bay Ocean Observatory project completed appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A decision on plans for a major expansion of Galway Harbour will be made next month.
An Bord Pleanála has set a target date of September 11th for decision on the controversial project.
The proposed development provides for the reclamation of 27 hectares from the foreshore and sea bed, and the relocation of activities to new quays, jetties and yards adjacent to Galway Harbour Enterprise Park.
The area of development is designated as Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and is a proposed National Heritage Area.
An oral hearing on the project was held in January where Senior Inspector Paul Caprani heard submissions from a variety of prescribed bodies and local groups.
A decision on the project has been awaited for some time now.
The Board has now deferred its decision until September 11th.
The full development would take 8 years to complete with phase one planned over a 43 month period.

The post Board to decide on Galway harbour expansion plan next month appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – City councillors are to be briefed at their next meeting in City Hall on an agreement to facilitate the progression of works on the long-awaited picture palace.
It comes as almost three quarters of a million euro in funding has been secured for the project following an announcement by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Heather Humphreys today.
Work on the venue began in 2004 but the project has encountered several setbacks including funding difficulties and the developer pulling out in 2009.
The project team is now working to complete the cinema with a revised deadline of 36 weeks time, with work set to resume next month.
It’s hoped it will be open in time to host the Galway Film Fleadh in 2016.
The city manager is to provide a comprehensive report to councillors on the proposed agreement with the department.
It’s understood this will involve a recommendation relating to funding to be provided by the city council.
Lelia Doolin of Solas Picture Palace Limited says the funding is a huge boost.
We’ll hear from the project team on FYI Galway from 5 this evening

The post Councillors to be briefed on plan to progress picture palace appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A Galway East TD says rural communities across Galway need to be supported during the construction of the Gort to Tuam motorway.
Fianna Fáil TD Colm Keaveney says some localities are concerned over local road closures that have been implemented to facilitate the works.
He claims that one shop has already closed, and local communities are worried that this might become a trend.
Deputy Keaveney says revitalisation programmes are needed to make sure that rural communties can sustain business.

The post Concern over impact of M17/M18 motorway construction on rural communities appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Householders and businesses in Woodford are facing days of disruption to their water supply.
Water levels in the reservoir serving the area are currently low, due to a problem with the pump system.
Galway County Council says the village will be affected daily between 11.30pm and 7am, from tonight.
It says the disruptions are likely to continue for a number of days, while it works with Irish Water to resolve the matter.

The post Woodford faces days of water supply disruption appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Over 3100 students at schools across Galway are getting their Leaving Certificate results today.
1,595 girls and 1,512 boys from the city and county sat the state exams in June.
Of these, 82 students sat the Leaving Certificate Applied programme.
This year, almost 58,000 students took the exam at venues across ireland – up from just under 57,000 in 2014.
Most students will collect their marks in person, but the results will also be available online at examinations.ie from midday.
There’s been an increase for the third year running in the numbers failing honours maths – up one percent since last year to 5.2 percent, but there’s been a rise in grades for ordinary level maths.
One student has achieved nine A1s, while eight achieved 8 A1s.
Edudation Minister Jan O’Sullivan says it marks the end of a long wait for students and parents.

The post Over 3100 Galway Leaving Cert students to receive results appeared first on Connacht Tribune - Galway City Tribune.