The Tuam Herald

The Tuam Herald issue May 23

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 11:32:54 +0000

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The Lady Gregory and Yeats Heritage Trail

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:14:20 +0000

BY Tony Galvin
AT LAST: an alternative to the mandatory tour of Connemara — whatever the weather — when visitors arrive. The newly launched Lady Gregory and Yeats Heritage Trail takes in many of the sights of South Galway, with the focus on the area’s great literary, artistic and cultural legacy as well as the heritage of the trail’s eight main locations.
This heritage initiative was set up to show that this area has much to offer the visitor and to facilitate access for those who wish to visit sites associated with Yeats, Lady Gregory and the Irish Literary Revival.
The easy-to-follow map shows there are alternatives for the discerning visitor to the Cliffs of Moher and Connemara, and the project could well serve as a template for many other locations that wish to highlight their particular attractions for visitors, and for heritage tourists in particular.
I set out to follow the trail one recent fine morning and not only did I have a most enjoyable day, thanks to the trail taking the organisational heavy lifting out of the equation all I had to do was stick to the route, arrive and soak up the sights.
As I was coming from Tuam, my first stop was St Brendan’s Cathedral in Loughrea, to see Harry Clarke’s truly magnificent stained glass windows. You don’t have to be a fan of ecclesiastical architecture or even of stained glass to appreciate that Clarke’s work is a national treasure, which deserves a wider audience.
Then it was off down the Gort road to the walled garden at Woodville House. This gem came as a welcome surprise, as I’d never before been down this particular road, never mind being aware of Woodville’s existence. Trojan work has been carried out to restore the Victorian walled garden to its former splendour, and the work continues. This is a must-see for gardeners. The head gardener is as informative as she is welcoming and tours can be arranged.
While there I met Margarita Donohue of Woodville, who came up with the initial idea for the trail, and Cllr Bridie Willers, a passionate advocate of local initiatives such as this. Over tea in the old stable block, now converted into a museum and tea-rooms, they outlined the thinking behind the Lady Gregory and Yeats Heritage Trail.
Realising that much of the heritage of the area was being presented in a piecemeal fashion, they got together to create a circuit that would encompass much of what this beautiful, but often overlooked, area of South Galway has to offer.
The history of Woodville and its former residents, along with that of the nearby Roxborough estate, could serve as a primer for 19th and early 20th century land agitation and the great social changes wrought over this period.
Indeed, part of the trail incorporates the restored gates at Roxborough, where Lady Gregory was born, with a fine information stand explaining the history of the house, long gone, and its importance.
After a quick stop there, Margarita and Bridie guided me to Killinane Graveyard where many members of the Gregory family are buried. This is also being enhanced as part of the initiative and will prove an interesting diversion for those following the literary trail. The beautiful vistas of the surrounding countryside must be seen to be appreciated.
Next it was off to Thoor Ballylee, a restored tower house that was once the home of WB Yeats. There is a small heritage centre here and in the past I’ve explored the castle, but enquiries should be made for up-to-date information on visits. That said, it’s a delightful place for a picnic by the river and a must for all true Yeats fans.
From here it is just a short spin to the Kiltartan Museum, which houses interesting memorabilia from the Gregory and Yeats era. Again, enquiries should be made regarding opening times.
Next stop is Coole Park, a familiar location for many of us, but no matter how many times I visit I’m still awed by its beauty and tranquillity. Every visit presents something new: this time I managed to get lost while trying to locate the spot on the lakeshore where Yeats saw the 59 swans that most of us learned about in school:

The trees are in their autumn beauty,
The woodland paths are dry,
Under the October twilight the water
Mirrors a still sky;
Upon the brimming water among the stones
Are nine-and-fifty swans

Coole is another ideal location for a picnic, but the tea-rooms there serve a wide variety of food. On the day I visited I enjoyed my lunch outside in what was part of the old stable block and farm buildings. Next door there is an interpretive centre where maps and information can be obtained. Coole, of course, was the home of Lady Gregory and central to the Irish Literary Revival.
My final stop was on the other side of Gort, to visit Kilmacduagh, one of the most extensive and impressive monastic sites in the country, which also boasts Ireland’s tallest round tower. This site, set in verdant countryside with the Burren as a backdrop, has up to now been inexcusably absent from promotions of established tourist locations, but the launch of this new heritage trail will hopefully bring it the wider attention it deserves.
The Lady Gregory and Yeats Heritage Trail is a shining example of a community co-operating to highlight the heritage of parts of our county — and country — that are sometimes a little neglected by tourism officialdom.
Writing about it can only provide a sketch of what’s on offer: the only way to appreciate it fully is to get the excellent map available and go and experience the sites for yourself. It’s a great experience for locals and visitors alike. For more information check:
www.ladygregoryyeatstrail.com

A new House of Pain in the West

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:08:42 +0000

By JIM CARNEY
Mayo .4-16
Galway .0-11

OUTNUMBERED three to one, Galway midfelder Fiontán Ó Curraoin feeling the pressure exerted by the O’Shea brothers Aidan (on left) and Séamus (No. 9), and the Mayo centre half-back Donal Vaughan, in the Connacht Championship semi-final at Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

IN one review of the book House of Pain: Through the Rooms of Mayo Football, a characteristically laconic line was borrowed from the great songwriting analyst of angst, Leonard Cohen … “the heart with no companion.” That’s how the Galway football community, the large family always dressed so proudly in maroon and white, are feeling this week.
That 2007 book, by Irish Times sportswriter Keith Duggan, examined Mayo’s failure to win the Sam Maguire Cup since 1951, and all its attendant pain and heartbreak. And while Mayo may still be a long way off from reaching the Promised Land they’re now a top four team in the All-Ireland Football Championship, no doubt about that.
For the second successive year, a very good — tantalisingly close to great — Mayo team have the credentials, the talent, organisation, ambition and desire to go all the way.
The recession may have inflicted a massive “hit” on the construction industry, but a new ‘House of Pain’ is being built — in Galway!
Now is not the time to write the county’s Gaelic football obituary; for anything can still happen in a competition that is no longer knock-out in the first round. Galway are still in the Championship race and I believe we must respect their right to give their own answer to what happened at Pearse Stadium last Sunday, by responding positively to their “back door” game on Saturday, June 29th (against another first round losing county, from any province).
What we can say is that all who support Galway football, this year and every other year, now know the extent of the damage done by the slump in the county team’s fortunes over the past twelve years: all the one-point defeats on big days, often from leading in the closing stages; Galway’s poor record in the qualifiers, the inability to find a settled midfield since the retirement of Kevin Walsh, the crazy way that managers weren’t kept for longer than a year or two, or they didn’t wish to stay for longer than a year or two; and in recent years the decline in Galway’s League displays.
The 17-point margin of defeat by Mayo last Sunday was what really shocked the GAA world, but was it much worse — Mayo are a top team — than last year’s tame surrender to Sligo in the second half of the Connacht semi-final at Pearse Stadium, followed by a qualifiers defeat away to lowly Antrim? How effectively would it have papered over the Galway cracks if Mayo won by only six points like they did in Castlebar two years ago?
Looking ahead to the last Saturday in June, there are many things that Galway must change as a matter of urgency. Game management, a phrase common in rugby now, needs to be vastly improved, especially in defence where mistakes led to the three goals that helped Mayo to a 12-point half-time lead, 3-9 to 0-6. There was no system to help a lone defender under pressure; no back-up or cover when hard-pressed defenders were dispossessed; no third man to help the two midfielders who were losing their aerial and ground battles; no Plan B when the high ball into the Galway full-forward line wasn’t creating goal chances, and it was astonishing that only one change in personnel was made at half-time. In my opinion, at least three starting players — it would not be fair to name them — would probably have been more relieved than disappointed if they had been replaced at the interval.
Game management the next day must be devised by the team management, not the players, but the players will carry a huge responsibility on June 19th — to save their own reputations, for a start; to restore some pride in the Maroon and White with a battling display and a victory, and to tell us — from out on the field of play — whether or not Galway as a force in inter-county senior football is in a state of crisis and helpless to do anything about it.

ONE MAN in Maroon and White who played his heart out, Paul Conroy, against Mayo full-back Ger Cafferkey.

IT WAS an excellent, powerful performance by James Horan’s Mayo team, winning their county’s first Connacht three-in-a-row since the late 1940s and early ‘50s when they achieved a four-in-a-row in the province and two All-Ireland titles back-to-back.
For the record, it also put Mayo into the lead in victories over Galway in the Connacht S.F.C., 39 to 38.
Mayo were dominant from the start on Sunday, with right half-forward Kevin McLoughlin getting onto the breaking ball three times in the opening few minutes. The two O’Shea brothers from Breaffy, Aidan and Séamus, controlled midfield; Donal Vaughan and Colm Boyle were outstanding in the Mayo half-back line and so was Keith Higgins in the full-back line. Goalkeeper David Clarke also did everything asked of him, while Cathal Carolan, Enda Varley and Donal Vaughan got the first-half goals and the fourth “major” came late in the game from the fit-again Andy Moran, on as a sub.
Cillian O’Connor was involved in all four Mayo goals.
Galway created only one clearcut goal opportunity but Danny Cummins, who was one of the home team’s better performers over the 70 minutes, shot straight at the well-positioned Mayo goalkeeper from a tight angle.
Only four other Galway players could be happy with their displays, Jonathan Duane, Paul Conroy, sub Shane Walsh (only 19) and, for courage and heart, Michael Meehan.
A bad day was made worse by two red cards in the second half: Gareth Bradshaw (captain for the day in the absence of Finian Hanley) and Niall Coleman. They will be suspended for Galway’s next Championship match (June 29) but will be available to play club football this weekend.

Mayo: D. Clarke, captain; K. Higgins, T. Cunniffe, G. Cafferkey; L. Keegan (0-1), D. Vaughan (1-1), C. Boyle; A. O’Shea, S. O’Shea; K. McLoughlin, C. O’Connor (0-6, four frees), C. Carolan (1-0); E. Varley (1-3), A. Freeman (0-1), A. Dillon (0-2). Subs., S. McHale, for Cafferkey, half-time; R. Feeney (0-1), for Freeman, 55 mins; D. Coen (0-1), for Dillon, 58 mins; J. Burke, for Keegan, 60 mins; A. Moran (1-0), for Boyle, 62 mins.
Galway: M. Breathnach; J. Duane, C. Forde, G. Sweeney; G. Bradshaw, captain, K. Kelly, G. Sice; N. Coleman, F. Ó Curraoin; T. Flynn, P. Conroy (0-1), C. Doherty; S. Armstrong (0-3, frees), M. Meehan (0-5, four frees, one 45), D. Cummins (0-1). Subs., S. Walsh (0-1, free), for Doherty, 23 mins; J. Moore, for Sweeney, half-time; G. O’Donnell, for Armstrong, 55 mins; E. Concannon, for Sice, 63 mins; M. Martin, for Meehan, 63 mins.
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo).
Herald Sport Man of the Match: Colm Boyle (Mayo).

• Mayo will next play Roscommon in the first of the Connacht semi-finals, on June 16th at Castlebar.
• Next Sunday, May 26th: London vs Sligo at Ruislip, London.
• June 23rd: second semi-final, Leitrim vs London or Sligo, at Carrick-on-Shannon.
• July 21: Connacht final.

Spotlight switches to Galway Club Football Championships

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:07:09 +0000

By BILLY COSS
AFTER a fortnight of wildly contrasting fortunes, inter-county matters will be put on hold next weekend as the Claregalway Hotel and Bon Secours Hospital-sponsored Galway Senior Football Championship swings into action.
There was a levelling out of standards last year with precious little separating the top sides in a closely-contested, if not quote vintage Championship.
Corofin and Killererin have been regular winners over the past couple of decades but for only the fourth time since the late 1980s, neither club featured on County final day. Tuam Stars recovered from one final defeat to reach another, emerging clubs St James’s and Mícheál Breathnachs put together their best-ever Championship seasons but when all was said and done, Salthill-Knocknacarra hit form at just the right time to claim their first title in seven years, and third in total.
Twenty-one clubs line up this year with all ten of next weekend’s first round winners, along with NUIG, qualifying for the last 16 in mid-August. It will be ‘do-or-die’ Championship football in the traditional sense for the defeated sides with the five remaining slots filled by each of the qualifier winners. Two clubs, Claregalway and Killanin, were relegated to Intermediate Championship football last October, a result of relegation being scrapped in 2011, but only one team will make the drop under this year’s format.

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The Final Whistle – No heart, no self-belief, no passion, no excuses

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:06:38 +0000

HERE’S what others thought of Galway vs Mayo, starting with the reaction of 1998 All-Ireland winning Galway captain Ray Silke, writing in The Examiner on Monday morning.
“Sometimes there can be no excuses. You put your hands up, hang your head with mortification and admit: We were abysmal. We did not play with any organisation, passion, heart or conviction. We did not play like a team and we did not stand up and be counted like men. We let ourselves and our county down.
“That was the story for Galway. They were abysmal. No organisation. No fire. No self-belief. Whatever modicum of belief they had was gone by the time they handed Mayo three of the softest goals seen in Championship football for a long time. All of those goals came from unforced Galway errors.

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Family fun at Toghermore this weekend

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:05:44 +0000

YOU can get out and enjoy a Family Fun Day on the extensive grounds of Toghermore House this Sunday.
The event will not only showcase the campus which is home to the area’s mental health services, but it will also raise funds for the local branch of the Irish Wheelchair Association and Tuam and District Mental Health Association. It is also an opportunity for people who may not have experienced the 35-acre campus to visit the tranquil grounds. There will be lots of fun for all the family from family races, Tuam Scouts, bouncy castles, gynmastic and cheerleading displays, a Bocce demonstration, local stalls and a BBQ. Live music will be provided throughout the afternoon by many of Tuam’s new and well-established musicians and bands.
The fun gets underway at 1 pm and will run until about 5 pm and all are welcome.

Call for traffic calming changes after fatal crash on N17

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:04:58 +0000

By TOM GILMORE
MORE questions are being asked regarding controversial traffic calming measures at Carraghy, Knockdoe following the death of 23-year-old Martin Naughton from Bodane in a crash there in the early hours of Monday morning.
Martin, the elder son in a family of four children of Tom and Bernie Naughton was the sole occupant of the jeep and he died when his vehicle collided with the traffic island and bollards as he was driving towards Galway at approximately 2 am on Monday.
This is the first fatality since the traffic-calming measures were put in place there some months ago but they had previously been heavily criticised by a number of Galway Co Councillors and by some members of the public.
However, the most stringent criticism yet has come from Cllr Peter Roche in the wake of Monday morning’s fatal crash there.
Cllr Roche is critical of the National Roads Authority (NRA) for the way the traffic-calming measures were designed and he wants them changed before anyone else loses their life there.
“It is sad and sickening to say that ‘we told you so’ and even the dogs in the street know the design is bizarre. It’s like an obstacle course.
“If those who designed it were there for the investigation after Monday morning’s crash they might see the need for change and any funds for changing these measures should come from the NRA who imposed that plan on Galway Co Council,” he added.
Cllr Roche says there is a need for a re-design but he says that sadly that will come too late for the Naughton family.
“The Director of Services and his staff at Galway Co Council only implement the plans that come down from the NRA.
“I acknowledge that both the NRA and the Road Safety Authority (RSA), who sometimes feed into those designs, do excellent work with many safety measures but I have to disagree with this one,” he said.
Cllr Roche claims many Co Councillors had serious concerns about the narrowing of the carriageway there.
“For example if you were towing a trailer transporting a wide load such as a mobile home or a harvester or a turf cutting machine those narrow lanes are very prohibitive,” says Cllr Roche.
“Putting in this sort of staggered traffic calming measure on a national primary route such as this was not good practice in my books and it’s a wrong that needs to be righted,” he added.
Martin Naughton, who lost his life there, was a popular young man and a member of a well-known business family from North Galway. He worked as a manager in a supermarket in Ballymote, Co Sligo and had only returned to his job there in January after sending a year working in Australia. Many of the messages of sympathy that flooded into his parents’ home this week came from people who knew and loved Martin during his short sojourn working near Melbourne.
His parents Bernie and Tom, his sisters Karan and Michelle, younger brother Kevin, grandmother Teresa Naughton and the extended family have expressed their thanks to all who have sympathised and have been so supportive of them in their tragic loss.
All who knew Martin have spoken of his good humour and his jolly ways and his mother Bernie said he was totally devoted to his family, his girlfriend Linda Cullinane and their nine-month-old son Cillian.
“Martin was a kind, happy person who was friendly and loved so much by us all and we are devastated by his death,” says his mother.
His remains were removed to University Hospital Galway were a post mortem was carried out yesterday (Tuesday). Martin’s remains will repose at the family home in Bodane tomorrow evening Thursday from 5 to 8 pm and he will be removed to Kilconly Church for 12 noon Mass on Friday. He will be laid to rest afterwards in Kilconly Cemetery.
A traffic plan will be in operation for those paying their respects at the family home on Thursday evening with a one-way system in operation from Newell’s Forge. Traffic will enter the village from this end and exit at the T-junction in Cloonaglasha either left to Kilconly or right towards Duddy’s of Kilbannon or back to Tuam via Doogra village.

Children going hungry to school — teachers share their lunches

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:04:49 +0000

By TOM GILMORE
CHILDREN are going to school without any breakfast. And teachers, who often shared their lunches with some of them in the past can no longer do so.
because the situation has got so bad. That’s according to members of Co Galway Vocational Education Committee.
While Oranmore Cllr Liam Carroll said that “some teachers estimate that 50 per cent of students were coming to school without breakfast,” Cllr Peter Roche, who raised the matter, said that while the percentage was less than that it was a major problem in many schools.
Maura Ni Chéide from Inverin made the comment about teachers sharing their lunches with pupils.
“I often saw teachers giving some of their lunches to pupils but the problem has escalated so much now that it is more difficult to deal with it in this way,” she said.
Teacher and Athenry member Seamus Hynes said teachers were now at the coalface in dealing with a raft of problems that have hit families during the current recession.
Mirror image of society problem

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Taoiseach to see evidence of his mother’s work in Mountbellew

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:04:33 +0000

WHEN Taoiseach Enda Kenny visits Mountbellew’s Colaiste an Chreagáin on Friday week, May 31, he will be presented with a folder of some of his late mother’s work and correspondence from her time there as a teacher.
Prior to her marriage to Enda’s father, Henry Kenny, the then Maire E (Eithne) McGinley taught at the school from November 1939 to August 1942. As was required then, she had to retire when she got married.
It was confirmed at this week’s VEC meeting that the Taoiseach will visit the school at 9.45 am on Friday week to unveil a plaque for its 80th anniversary.

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Transformed facilities to enhance summer season at Tuam Stadium

admin — Wed, 22 May 2013 09:04:17 +0000

By JACQUELINE HOGGE

PADRAIG Conroy installs new sanitary ware in the new-look ladies’ toilets at Tuam Stadium.

GALWAY’S summer of football may have been cut short at the weekend, but Tuam Stadium is hoping a recent makeover will see a long, fruitful campaign of club championship action enjoyed by the masses at the famous north Galway ground.
Once considered a no-go area, even for those in direst need, the stadium’s toilets have been renovated and upgraded to include an impressive suite of facilities.
Seven new cubicles mean there shouldn’t be any lengthy queues for the more fervent female fan, while new bathrooms have also been provided for gents, the disabled, and even those in need of a nappy change.
The work, which has been co-ordinated by the newly formed Tuam Stadium Committee, is being carried out by a community employment scheme, under the watchful eye of John Joe Holleran, County GAA Board Vice Chairman and former football board chairman.
CE scheme supervisor Ted Kerrigan said the stadium had taken a lot of flack down through the years, but it was now up to local people to support the ground.
“We need to start at the bottom and work our way up, which is what this first stage of work is about,” he said.

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