The need for art to hold up a mirror

Thu, Sep 08, 2022

Societies are imperfect entities. Composed of unequal parts, of unfair power struggles. They are misshapen, with nooks and crannies into which the most horrific of injustices can be visited on those who are afraid to come into the light.

A place that is welcoming to all

Thu, Sep 01, 2022

Over the next few weeks, Galway will one again thankfully feel the rush of fresh blood through its veins when thousands of students come here for an experience that one hopes will be a positive one, and will help them forge a link with this city that they will hold for the rest of their lives.

Are we set for another winter of rural raids?

Thu, Aug 25, 2022

Ageing and solace are comfortable bedfellows. When the hustle and bustle of midlife passes by, a sort of solitude is idyllic for those of advanced years. Some would see it as a vulnerability and for those of an evil bent, see it as an opportunity.

Watch the iconic Cong-Galway sailing race this weekend

Thu, Aug 25, 2022

The annual Cong – Galway Sailing Race, Europe’s oldest and longest inland water sailing race, will take place this year on Saturday August 27 2022.

Carty leads his players up the hill for Jack and Jill

Thu, Aug 25, 2022

Connacht Rugby players swapped their rugby boots for hiking gear when they lined out to support the Jack and Jill Children’s Foundation this week.

The changing face of Shop Street

Thu, Aug 11, 2022

Nothing remains static in this dynamic world. In nature, we see growth, development and decay. Our very life would be an impossibility without this all-pervading law of change or motion. Nothing remains constant no matter how good it has been. To be wedded to the past and to shut eyes to the future is a form of mental slavery. Nostalgia is all very well, but we must always be unafraid of change.

Here, on the other side of everything

Thu, Aug 04, 2022

I’ve a great grá for this time of the year. Here, on the other side of everything. Here, with most of the Galway year behind us; the Races, the arts festival, the summer influx of event aficionados.

Our county teams created pride and a legacy — now support our clubs

Thu, Jul 28, 2022

I love the perspective you get a few days out from something. At a time when the emotion has dissipated, the becalmed excitement allows you to think freely, having cast away any conscious bias.

Galway, be emboldened by all who wish you well

Thu, Jul 21, 2022

So here you are, men of Galway; for the first time in a generation, back to a familiar field. And you are here because you have faced down every challenge laid in front of you....and this Sunday, will be just another.

The quest for that elusive ticket

Thu, Jul 14, 2022

Getting a ticket for an All-Ireland final is an art-form. One that might, in time, become to be represented in the sea of art in which we are all currently sailing here in Galway.

Tents and tackles — the signs of summer

Thu, Jul 07, 2022

Probably most of our lives, we have lived unaware of the Signified and the Signifier of semiotics, so beloved by the linguist Saussure. But these theories espoused in those studies are what make life worth living, as they spark memory and association.

Churches still feeling the impact of the pandemic

Thu, Jun 30, 2022

Lest we think that the implications of the pandemic are items of the past, maintained on video for retelling in some future decade’s episodes of Reeling In the Years, there are still many walks of life that have felt the blow of the lockdown and restrictions, and which are unlikely to ever recover from them.

Galway project a step on road to energy independence

Thu, Jun 23, 2022

So much of what will shape Galway in the remainder of this century will centre on where we position ourselves in terms of innovation, quality of life, sustainability, inclusivity and community.

When people look back a century from now, we would hope that they would not see this period as one of stagnation, of a lack of innovation, of an absence of imagination. Such an analysis would indeed be a damning one, although we might not be around to feel its consequences.

Flights give certainty and confidence to our islands once again

Thu, Jun 09, 2022

Every community and society has gems that it has to protect. Whether they be social, cultural or geographic, there are aspects of life for which future generations will chastise us if we let them falter or disintegrate in any way.

The need for someone to be proud of

Thu, Jun 02, 2022

Wouldn’t you know that with the first rustle of the exam papers that the weather was going to improve and that at long last we can head into a sort of summer.

'Culture helped us through such difficult times'

Thu, May 26, 2022

Let us arise from our two year Covid-induced coma, and get set, go, for a summer that looks like returning to something like normal.

We have to accept Covid has changed much in our life - not least our work place practices, our incomes, how we shop, how we travel, and how we celebrate. And while easing back into life after lockdowns also comes with some difficulties, the prospect of a summer in Galway is one to be welcomed and embraced with the line-up of our internationally acclaimed festivals and events returning to our city - the Galway International Arts Festival, Galway Races, Galway Film Fleadh, and oyster festivals.

Noble gesture to accompany the heroes out at sea

Thu, May 19, 2022

It goes without aying that we are all filled with admiration for those heroes who risk their lives so we may live ours. Our minds do not have to go far back to remember those who have died in the service of rescue on this side of the country.

Bring on the sounds of summer

Thu, May 12, 2022

Each day of our lives, it is our duty to make deposits in the memory banks of those who come after us, to create signifiers of different times, some far away place we can then all go to when we need to let ourselves drift from the humdrum of the present, while contemplating the future.

Younger than the Cathedral

Thu, May 05, 2022

Give or take a few weeks, I'm the same age as Galway Cathedral. Both of us have aged gracefully, one a bit greyer than the other. To be fair, the Cathedral looks like it has a few years on me, as all such buildings should.

An air of change abounds

Thu, Apr 28, 2022

There’s a lot of change in the air at the moment — Galway gets its new bishop this weekend; the University formerly known as University College Galway and latterly NUI Galway will soon be known as Ollscoile na Gaillimhe — University of Galway; the RTC/GMIT is now ATU; Jurys is to become Leonardo; and there’s a new bridge due to span the Corrib; and dare I say it, Galway are beating Mayo again.

E-paper

Read this weeks E-paper. Past editions also available from within this weeks digital copy.