Fantasy Football round 36 preview

Tue, Jul 14, 2020

Game week 35 came to a close on Monday night with a strike from Irish striker Michael Obafemi in the 96th minute to dent Man United's Champions League aspirations. The round saw plenty of upsets and action with West Ham, Watford, Bournemouth, and Aston Villa earning crucial wins in the fight against relegation, Sheffield United and Wolves clawing their back into European contention and Norwich City being confirmed as the first team to succumb to the drop.

New spaces for a new society

Thu, Jul 09, 2020

Over the years in this game, there has been many a fanciful idea that has been mooted and gave us all great headlines, but which ultimately come to nought. There was the much vaunted Corrib bridge from Knockferry to Kilbeg that would have diverted thousands of cars daily from near Headford to Connemara without ever bringing them into the city.

There was the plan by the late Dr Patrick Geraghty to construct a massive concert arena that would have seen the likes of Garth Brooks and Metallica playing to thousands in a massive shed in Glenamaddy. It was the be the Point for the West...or Westpoint.

Enjoy round 34 with food and a pint from Monroe's Tavern

Tue, Jul 07, 2020

With Monroe's Tavern announcing that it will open its doors to the world in late July, punters do not have the opportunity to watch round 34's matches in the pub's pleasant surroundings. However, the next best thing is available with Monroe's Takeaway and Dial-a-Pint service. Operating Wednesday to Sunday, simply call (091) 583 397 to place your order for food and a pint and the team at Monroe's will deliver right to your front door.

Enjoy Fantasy Football game week 35 with food and a pint from Monroe's Tavern

Tue, Jul 07, 2020

With Monroe's Tavern announcing that it will open its doors to the world in late July, punters do not have the opportunity to watch round 35's matches in the pub's pleasant surroundings. However, the next best thing is available with Monroe's Takeaway and Dial-a-Pint service. Operating Wednesday to Sunday, simply call (091) 583 397 to place your order for food and a pint and the team at Monroe's will deliver right to your front door.

Fantasy Football round 33 preview

Fri, Jul 03, 2020

The big news of round 33 has to be West Ham's dramatic victory over Chelsea on Wednesday night. Andriy Yarmolenko's 89th minute winner earned The Hammers a massive three points while dealing a hammer blow (see what I did there) to Chelsea's top four hopes.

We shouldn’t need Ministers to develop the west

Thu, Jul 02, 2020

We have had many types of politician represent us over the years. Those who have made us proud, those who have entertained us; shamed us; those who you wouldn’t with any confidence send to the shop, and those who have delivered in spades for the region. All of them had their merits, their demerits, their strengths and failings, all obvious only to the differing eyes of the beholders.

Perhaps the biggest trick that Ministers of the past carried out was the multiplication of their truth in the role that they played in diverting back to us the money that was justly ours. We all know of Ministers who ‘delivered for their area.” We saw the signs that “you are entering X country”; we know of caricatured TDs who are able to convince their constituent they were delivering, by catering for them on a one by one basis.

Fantasy Football round 32 preview

Fri, Jun 26, 2020

Can you believe we have two game weeks completed already? Yes, the return to football means games are coming at us thick and fast and this weekend sees the added bonus of the four FA Cup quarter-finals thrown into the mix.

Mad for road — the beginning of the new beginning

Thu, Jun 25, 2020

And so here it is, a wonderful glimpse of the appetising uplands to which we looked forlornly for so long since we put up the shutters in mid-March.

Around the country, the sports pitches are once again filled with the sweat-scented sounds of exertion, the beans in the coffee machines of cafes are awakened from their slumber as people seek a little bit of the old normal to ease themselves into the new normal.

The Club Championships are Right Around the Bend

Thu, Jun 25, 2020

Sport might be back at last and GAA action is said to be right around the corner. There are some concerns that need to be ironed out though. The first issue is with the time frame. It looks like some countries may need to decide between codes and this may mean that football is going to lose out. Counties are going to be forced to choose and this could cause a lot of problems between clubs. This is not going to be a problem for counties such as Tyrone, Donegal and even Kerry though. That being said, there may be problems for Galway and Cork. 

Dublin

Fantasy Football round 31 preview

Tue, Jun 23, 2020

I think it is fair to say the Premier League did not exactly return with a bang. Many of game week 30's 12 outings were characterised by slow build-up play, inaccuracy, and an all round lack of sharpish.

A man who made everyone feel they were Boss

Thu, Jun 18, 2020

I haven’t walked around the streets of the city for about three months now. Any trip into town left me dispirited in the early days of lockdown, the grass long in the Square, the grey walls even greyer, the colour you associate with that time of year drained from everyplace. And everyone.

Fantasy Football round 30 preview

Tue, Jun 16, 2020

It's back baby! Yes after 100 days without Premier League football, Fantasy managers must get back to their drawing boards as we head into the final nine rounds of 2019/20 season.

A nation holds its... buffet

Thu, Jun 11, 2020

What is a nation if its citizens cannot hang over the buffet station with a hangover? Or stand at the juice machine topping up the glass until just the pips remain. What sort of life awaits if the joy of pub socialising has to be accompanied by the forced consumption of a carvery dinner, which you throw back while looking at your reflection of a perspex screen. What chance have you of getting an extra ball of mash if you are not there yourself, urging the chef, go on, go on, yes....and all the veg. Potatoes, chips, roast and mash please...

If the queuing for the loos involves a traffic light system, will whole hordes of female revellers have to wait for green at the same time to share their opinions, or can you get a group pass? Can anyone get drunk anymore if they have to book a state of advanced tranmsmogrification online three days before?

5 Fun & Productive Activities To Enjoy Together At Home

Tue, Jun 09, 2020

Practising responsible social distancing means spending a great deal of time together at home, maybe only leaving once a week or so for groceries or other necessities. This may sound like a recipe for boredom or even disaster but there is no reason not to make the most of the opportunity everyone has been forced into. Sharing activities not only passes the time in a positive way but it also helps people grow closer together. There are also many useful guides and articles online that can show you how to keep busy while in isolation at home. They include useful tips such as keeping in touch with your friends and family, keeping fit, and organising the perfect home office setup. Whether you are in lockdown with your partner, your children, or your parents, here are some fun activities that you can all enjoy at home together.

Have patience with those re-emerging

Thu, Jun 04, 2020

Imagine if you can, that you have been hibernating in the far end of the chamber at Newgrange all year, wrapped up in the darkness, comfortable with your own forced comfort, and only stirred and woken by the advancing light of that solstice sun making its way like an orange sabre, as if it is setting fire to the dusty floor until it rests at last at your bare foot.

Backing the businesses to rebuild your community

Thu, May 28, 2020

I remember someone saying to me some years ago during a brush with mortality, that normality is one of the most underrated aspects of our lives. And how true that is. There is a wonder in surrounding ourselves with those lived experiences and situations that give us comfort and familiarity. In truth, we might bask away a good share of our lives surrounded by the cushion of normality.

What are you going to bring with you into this strange new world?

Thu, May 21, 2020

There are many new faces on the small country roads where I run each morning. People I have never before encountered out discovering the wonder of the countryside, finding the delights that have surrounded them for decades but which they might have never noticed to this extent. How many people have rediscovered the wonder of exercise? Granted it is easy now at this time of the year with the sun shining and the birds belting their little hearts out from every branch... and with less traffic on the roads making it safer for children to discover the wonder of cycling.

The re-opened Galway should have broader lungs

Thu, May 14, 2020

I am a firm believer in the maxim that out of every adversity grows opportunity, a positive reaction from an unforeseen change. And now more than ever, this optimism is needed.

Time for us to back the local businesses that back us

Thu, May 07, 2020

When we think back to when things were simpler. No, I don’t mean February. I mean back in the mists of time when all we knew were the horizons on the edge of our towns and villages. Back then, we did not have a greater knowledge of the world outside. For us, our existence and almost everything we required was lived and available within that small geographic location. Back thing everyone was local, apart from blow-ins to the bank or school who, to be fair, had to be local from somewhere else, and would probably end up our locals (unless forty years later they did something bad and we’d start calling them blow-ins again.)

What you’re feeling is what we’re all feeling

Thu, Apr 30, 2020

There is a scene in the film White Mischief where a permanently-sozzled character Alice de Janze played by Sarah Miles, makes her way to the window on a grand morning and looks out across the African plains, takes in the endless heat and staring at what lies before her, groans and says something along the lines of “Oh God, not another bloody beautiful day.”

E-paper

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