Connacht Tribune

Holidays broaden mind – and underline why you love home

Published

5 years ago

August 30, 2018

A Different View with Dave O’Connell

If you want to think holidays in France are cheap, start your break in Switzerland. Suddenly paying eight quid for a pint seems like a bargain. And lunch for three people – with one drink – can easily top the ton.

That’s why my eyes lit up at the price of a ferry trip in Basle; less than two Swiss Francs seemed like a steal . . . until you discovered that it took you from one side of the Rhine to the other on a hook line and a journey that was like your honeymoon night – all expectation and over in seconds.

Only at the end of this particular experience, you were back on dry land.

I’d never been in Switzerland before this summer, although I have in-laws who kept asking me, despite the fact they know me.

So this year we went – and it was worth the wait; the mountains, the lakes, the weather, the welcome . . . and the sort of the hygiene we used to get when the nuns ran our hospitals.

If Switzerland were any cleaner you’d think there had been a national outbreak of OCD, because you’d have more chance of finding litter on the streets than a winning Lotto ticket blowing in the wind.

The prevailing smell is money, because wages are off the scale; but they’d want to be because you could wipe out the average Irish weekly wage at lunchtime – and that’s presuming you don’t have drink.

Your average home is around a million and you wouldn’t find more new cars on a garage forecourt.

All-Ireland Final day isn’t high on the social calendar in Basle, but there’s an oasis in every desert. This watering hole was called Flanagan’s, and it was a sea of maroon and green.

Ironically, the green outnumbered the maroon for one primary reason; because Neil Boyle – Moycullen man and Jes graduate – is the owner of a global plane hire company called Jet Aviation.

And he hired a load of guys who used to work in Shannon.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Connacht Tribune

Opposition waits to see effect of fall-out to end of eviction ban

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2023

Harry McGee

Senator Pauline O’Reilly...stern warning.

World of Politics with Harry McGee

An Opposition party is a bit like an invading army trying to surmount the defences of a seemingly impregnable fortress – constantly surveying the moat, the drawbridge, the doors and the battlements to spot any weakness.

For a Government party, the chink usually reveals itself when it tries to push through a deeply unpopular policy – like, for example, the decision to bring the eviction ban to a close at the end of March.

The Government’s thinking was that, by delaying the end of it, it was storing up problems for itself. The longer it left the measure in place, the bigger the queue of landlords who wished to sell up when the restrictions were lifted, triggering a huge number of evictions.

As it was, even ending the restriction now, according to campaigners such as Peter McVerry, was going to cause a “tsunami” of evictions.

Senior Coalition figures admitted that it was going to have an impact on homelessness in the short term.

As soon as the Government announced it was lifting the ban, there was a hue and cry from the Opposition.

Several back benchers in Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael expressed concern but were brought around by assurances from senior Ministers that local authorities and approved housing bodies would be given the go-ahead to buy properties from landlords who were selling up and leaving tenants in situ.

However, if there are any upsides to the move, they will not become apparent for months at the very least, by which time there could be a big spike in the homelessness figures.

From the moment the decision was made, the Green Party TD for Dublin Central Neasa Hourigan signalled she opposed the move.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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Connacht Tribune

Marine Park looks dead in the water

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2023

Dara Bradley

An artist’s impression of the proposed Páirc na Mara complex in Cill Chiaráin.

Plans to develop a marine park in Conamara were dealt a major blow this week after An Bórd Pleanála refused to grant planning permission for the development.

Galway County Council had already rejected proposals by Údarás na Gaeltachta to develop Páirc na Mara on lands east of Cill Chiaráin village.

The regional authority responsible for economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht, appealed the decision to the planning appeals board but it too has refused to grant permission.

This latest decision blows a big hole in Údarás na Gaeltachta’s job creation plans for Conamara – its five-year employment strategy launched last year hinged on jobs growth from Páirc na Mara.

Reacting, in a statement to the Connacht Tribune, Údarás na Gaeltachta said it was awaiting ABP’s Inspector’s Report.

“This will help to inform how we proceed in the coming weeks. We remain committed to the Páirc na Mara project and to sustainable development and job creation in the Iorras Aithneach Gaeltacht area,” it added.

In a letter from ABP member, Chris McGarry, the Board gave two reasons for refusing the plan.

They related to the lack of information about the potential impacts of climate change; and the potential impact on water levels and the water supply in nearby water sources.

The proposal involved phase one of the continued development of a marine innovation park on a brownfield site of nine hectares, to include a number of marine-based industrial facilities and educational and applied research sites at Cill Chiaráin.

Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.

Connacht Tribune

Galway wrap up campaign with big victory in Mullingar

Published

1 day ago

March 23, 2023

Ivan Smyth

Galway defender Tiernan Killeen who was one of their goal scorers in Sunday's comprehensive National League win over Westmeath in Mullingar.

Galway 4-27

Westmeath 1-12

Ivan Smyth at Cusack Park

GALWAY hurlers fired in 2-8 without reply in the final 15 minutes of this National League tie as they secured a flattering 24-point victory over a gutsy but outclassed Westmeath outfit.

On Sunday, Conor Cooney looked sharp as he fired over five points from play for the second game running. Daithí Burke was solid once more at centre back and even though Westmeath moved Davy Glennon on him in the second half with the aim of dragging the Turloughmore man away from goal, Burke went about his business in a typically quiet and efficient manner.

With brothers Davy and Ronan Glennon facing off on opposite sides, this was a unique occasion for the pair. Davy did fire over a point but was starved of quality ball. From a Galway perspective, Padraic Mannion and TJ Brennan were the next best in defence as the pair both grabbed a point apiece. Evan Niland was reliable from the dead ball and when he moved out from the full forward line, he was more effective in linking the play.

Galway clearly possessed the superior stickmen and never trailed but after a promising start they faded out of the game, going 11 minutes without a score. They finished the first-half strong to see their lead increase from three points after 27 minutes to nine at the break. The third quarter was sloppy from a Galway perspective as they were outscored by six points to four in the first 20 minutes of the final period before the reinforcements arrived against a tiring Westmeath.

Galway then rattled in 3-9 and conceded just a solitary point thereafter with Declan McLoughlin and Jason Flynn grabbing goals before wing back Tiernan Killeen added another late on. After a poor start in Ennis seven days prior, Galway raced out of the blocks notching five points in as many minutes.

Cianan Fahy opened the scoring after eight seconds while Brian Concannon, Liam Collins, Niland (’65) and Conor Cooney gave Galway the ideal start. Cooney could have had a goal before arrowing over but Tommy Doyle produced a brave block, one which saw him retire injured moments later.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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