Stage is set for the 57th Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

The 57th Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival makes a welcome return to the marquee in Galway Harbour next weekend. The festival has been acclaimed as “one of the 12 greatest shows on earth” by The Sunday Times, and attracts over 10,000 international and local attendees each September.

Galway Pearl crowned at the Meyrick

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

One of the most popular elements of the festival is the crowning of the Oyster Pearl. Running since 1956, the competition seeks “talented and personable” young women who act as the face of the festival for its duration and the year ahead. Each Pearl is nominated by a local business, and the 2011 installment which took place at the Hotel Meyrick on Monday evening attracted 11 participants.

Paulius takes the plunge twice

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Just weeks before taking the plunge into marriage, Sodexo Ireland employee Paulius Gracius (pictured right) undertook possibly a more risky dive.

Galleon’s charity menu

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

The Galleon Restaurant has teamed up with charity worker Ronan Scully to help raise funds for the Self Help Africa charity.

The restaurant, located in Salthill Village, has created a special Self Help Africa menu and will be donating €5 from each sitting until the end of September towards Scully’s fundraising for the Great Ethiopian Run - which he will be running this November.

Lelia Doolan to launch Lady Gregory Autumn Gathering next week

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Lelia Doolan, the renowned film producer, lecturer, theatre director, and a woman whose energy fizzles if confronted by a cause she feels needs a champion, will launch the 17th Lady Gregory Autumn Gathering on Friday September 23.

Weather fails to dampen Clifden Lifeboat 10k

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Severe weather warnings did not dampen the enthusiasm of participants in the annual Clifden Lifeboat 10k race which took place on Sunday September 11 last.

Out of 111 people who registered, 93 finished the course which is deemed by many seasoned runners as one of the hardest race they ever ran. The first man across the line was Chris Mc Grath in 38.08 minutes and Roundstone woman Emer King was the first woman to cross the finish line in 45.29 minutes.

Ballinasloe fair and festival launches nine day festival programme

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

The programme of events for the 2011 Ballinasloe October Fair, worth in the region of €8.5 million to the local economy, was officially launched by Mayor of Ballinasloe, Cllr Mike Kelly at a special reception at the Carlton Shearwater Hotel in Ballinasloe on Monday night.

Attended by sponsors, local councillors, and officials, committee members and volunteers, the launch event marks the beginning of the countdown to this long standing traditional fair which is set to attract more than 85,000 visitors to Ballinasloe from Saturday October 1 to Sunday October 9.

Local democracy? It’s just a myth

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

“The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public - Robert F Kennedy

From Tinseltown to children’s theatre and Baboró

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Saturday Night Live and theatre shows for children might seem to be at the opposite ends of the performance spectrum - can you picture what Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi might have come up with in front of youngsters? - yet they spring from the same performance philosophies and ideas developed in Illinois in the 1920s.

Something for everyone and everything is free at Galway Culture Night

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Excitement is building for this year’s Culture Night, when artists from Galway and beyond get to showcase just why the city is at the forefront of the arts.

City outer bypass to be included in new national development plan

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

The Galway City Outer Bypass will form part of the new National Development Plan, the contents of which are due to be revealed in October, it was confirmed last night.

Bed push raised vital funds for cystic fibrosis charity

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Funds raised from a charity bed push in the city will be used to improve facilities at University Hospital Galway for people with cystic fibrosis.

Remembering Ann Marie who never came home

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

About 18 years ago when I was working in The Tuam Herald, word came to us that there had been an attempt to bomb the World Trade Centre. The plan involved parking a truck below the North Tower, near one of its corner crutches. The intention was to bring down one tower, possibly into the other, and kill thousands of people. The plan did not work, but unfortunately seven people were killed and thousands received varying degrees of injuries. The reason there was a Tuam connection is because there was a local woman who was working on one of the towers. Ann Marie McHugh came from a well-known local family — her parents Padraig and Margaret ran the Town Hall Tavern in the heart of the town — so news of her terror on that occasion was a story of considerable local interest. On the phone from New York (because there was no email or internet in those days), she told me how, as an asthmatic, she was terrified as she had to descend 80 flights of stairs to make it out from the smoke-filled building. It took her hours to make her way down the darkened stairwell and she spoke of her relief reaching the ground and seeing the light through the smoke.

Ten years ago on Monday next (the day not the date), the news came through that a plane had crashed into one of the towers. We switched on the TV and watched the burning building, horrified to see another plane approach the other tower. At first we thought it was a TV replay of the first one, but were shocked to quickly discover this was not the case. My thoughts immediately went to Ann Marie McHugh as she was the only person I knew who had worked in the towers. But I had no knowledge of whether she would be caught up again in a second drama at WTC.

Massive fire destroys Shannon Oaks hotel

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Extensive damage was caused to a hotel in Portumna after a fire broke out yesterday afternoon spreading quickly through the premises which was evacuated.

Ethics investigation finds Crowe breached guidelines, but did not do so deliberately

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

An investigation into allegations that Cllr Michael Crowe failed to comply with his obligations to disclose property interests under the Local Government Act 2011 has found that while the councillor breached the Act he did not do so deliberately.

Brothers get nine months for robbing a man on ‘The Line’

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Two brothers who robbed a man as he walked along the railway line in Renmore and threatened to cut his throat if he did not comply, have each been sentenced to nine months.

Operation to recover tragic diver’s body could get under way today

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Rescuers working to recover the body of an experienced cave diver who died while exploring an underground system near Gort earlier this week are hopeful that a specialist dive team will be in a position to travel here today to help with the operation.

Artur Kozlowski (33), a Polish man who had been living in Dublin since 2006, died while diving in Pollonora cave in Kiltartan on Monday. Mr Kozlowski was a very experienced diver and instructor, and was regarded as the foremost cave diver in the country. He holds a number of diving records including the deepest underwater cave dive in Ireland and the UK — 103 metres — which he undertook at Pollatoomary, Co Mayo, in 2008. He was a regular visitor to south Galway and had been exploring the Pollonora cave since 2007 and, together with his friend and colleague Jim Warny, had also discovered some 6km of new underwater passages in the Gort area.

City council labelled a ‘toxic brand’ as farcical traffic meeting offers no solutions

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

A special meeting of Galway city council on Monday to discuss immediate solutions to the city’s traffic problems descended into a playground squabble between councillors and officials, offering no immediate solutions.

Bypass is not a traffic solution says Connolly

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

The city outer bypass is “a non starter” for dealing with the city’s traffic congestion problem, which can only be solved by a combination of light rail and City Hall’s smarter travel initiative proposal.

This is the view of Independent councillor Catherine Connolly who was speaking following Monday’s city council ‘much talk, no solutions’ meeting regarding traffic congestion.

Baboró delightful and exciting programme promises a world of imagination and wonder

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

A world of imagination and wonder will be opened up to Galway children though theatre, dance, literature, and a host of fun events during next month’s Baboró International Arts Festival For Children.

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