The critically acclaimed, award-winning podcast, Promenade, created by Wicklow-born but Galway-based storyteller Andy Gaffney, returns this season with another immersive and emotional journey.

Known for its deeply resonant, true-life stories and acclaimed for its unique narrative style, Promenade’s third season delves into the theme of ‘Moments of Connection,’ weaving tales that explore the powerful, enduring connections that shape and change lives.

“Memories are like time travel,” says Gaffney. “With each season, I aim to uncover how deeply personal moments connect us, no matter how different our lives may be.”

Season three takes listeners on a global journey with stories that range from the awe-inspiring to the heartbreaking.

Highlights include a young girl’s unexpected rescue on a Sri Lankan film set in the 1980s, a Texas radio host’s 71-year-long broadcasting legacy, and an extraordinary encounter where a young barber in the 1960s finds himself in Paul McCartney’s house, witnessing the debut of now-legendary Beatles songs before causing a stir by cutting McCartney’s hair.

Promenade also offers poignant, personal stories, including celebrated writer Louise O’Neill’s deeply moving tribute to her grandmother.

Each story in Season three is thoughtfully woven into a production theme: a radio signal searching for connection, with each episode merging seamlessly into the next—a hallmark of Promenade’s unique storytelling approach.

From its very first release in November 2022, Promenade has earned widespread praise for its evocative themes, previously exploring the sensory triggers of memory, and received raves as “stories that will burrow their way into your heart.”

Promenade Season Three will be available from Monday 9th December on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and on www.theshift.ie.

Pictured: Promenade…created and produced by Andy Gaffney.

Discovery of green algal bloom on Lough Corrib in mid-November has been described as a ‘wakeup call’ – with potentially serious consequences for Galway’s water supply.

Anglers feared the toxic algae could morph quickly into a more dangerous blue-green algal bloom, which would threaten the city’s drinking water source.

Galway City Council issued a ‘ban notice’ last weekend after multiple reports by anglers and kayakers of green algae bloom on water near Menlo.

“The green algae in Coolough Lakes is going out into the main river where the city gets its drinking water. The City Council need to get off their backsides and put a plan together to deal with this,” said one city-based angler, who asked not to be named, but who has seen the algae in person from his boat.

The local authority said it was investigating and warned the water “may cause illness in humans and animals, including pets”.

But regular lake users feared this latest bloom was advance warning of potentially more serious and more toxic algae blooms to come on Galway’s drinking water source.

Michael McGrath of Lough Corrib Angling Federation said the reports of green algae needed to be taken seriously.

“It’s one step from catastrophe,” he warned.

“It’s a green-algae, but if it goes to blue-green algae it turns toxic. You get cyanobacteria. The green algae can also be very dangerous.

“The problem with most water filtration systems in Ireland is they are not geared to remove that type of toxin out of the water, so it can end up in our drinking water.

“The green algae generally doesn’t produce that type of toxin but it can still be toxic and it can swing over very quickly to blue-green algae, which is completely toxic,” Corrandulla-based Mr McGrath said.

He feared the Corrib and other water systems were running out of time.

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Fears have been expressed that a traveller feud involving warring families in Galway City and Tuam is escalating after a series of petrol bomb attacks on homes at both locations over the past week.

Gardaí have told the Galway City Tribune that they fear someone will be seriously injured or worse as the feud between the Ward and McDonagh families ramps up again.

Back in 2021, there was a notorious ‘graveyard incident’ in Tuam when warring factions engaged in a brawl that left seven people in hospital.

But the roots of the bitter feud go further back, to 1996, when another huge melee broke out in the same graveyard and the bitterness between the two families has not abated in the meantime.

“It is getting worse. And it has now spread to Mayo where an individual living in England arrived home and ignited a row which is connected with the incidents in Tuam and Galway city,” said a Garda source.

The tension between the two families in both Tuam and Galway city ‘has escalated’, they said, with petrol bombs being thrown at houses on the Headford Road and at Castlepark in Galway city, as well as in Gilmartin Road in Tuam.

Gardaí have appealed for information over the attacks. It is understood that another family involved in the ongoing feud live in Ballinrobe.

In one incident, at around 10pm on Tuesday of last week, a petrol bomb was thrown at a house at Bothar An Choiste, Headford Road, causing extensive damage to a front room.

The following day, Wednesday, a petrol bomb was thrown at a house at Gilmartin Road in Tuam. On this occasion a black Audi A6 was seen pulling up at the residence and two males got out of the car. Then, last Sunday at around 11.30pm, a device was thrown at a property at Gort Cam, Ballybane.

But the device failed to ignite, and a black car was seen leaving the area at speed with a distinctive black sticker on the back window.

Anyone with information on any of these incidents, including dash cam footage, is asked to contact Galway Garda Station at 091 538000 or the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111. Gardai in Tuam also say that a car was rammed in Gilmartin Road around the time of the petrol bombing.

An estimated 12,500 Formula One fans packed onto Salthill Prom for the sold-out Red Bull F1 Showrun in Galway on Sunday night – as some of the fastest engines in the world ironically brought the city to a halt.

The speed and power of two Formula One cars, combined with mesmeric bike and drift displays, made it a night to be remembered on the West Coast – except for unwitting drivers who found themselves in logjams because of road closures in the city.

Motorsport fans poured into town all afternoon, descending on the car park on the Prom to catch a glimpse of the Red Bull F1 fleet on display, with the Oracle Red Bull Racing team putting the finishing touches to their cars ahead of the 7pm start time.

Wet conditions did not dampen the spirit of those in attendance, with the crowds warmed up by magical performances from motorcycle trials rider Dougie Lampkin and Irish drift star Jack Shanahan.

Anticipation had reached fever pitch just as British F1 legend Coulthard tore down the Prom in one of the two RB7s used in the night’s event.

He was then joined by former Austrian F1 driver Patrick Friesacher in the second RB7, making it a record breaking night for Oracle Red Bull Racing — the first time ever two F1 cars have performed simultaneously at a Red Bull Showrun event.

By the event’s end, the crowd were left in no doubt of the cars’ championship winning capacity – the two RB7s were driven by Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber in the all-conquering 2011 season.

The sold-out event marked the second Red Bull Showrun in Ireland in two years – a testament to the appetite for Formula One in the country.

And with sightings of the Formula One car across Connemara earlier in the week, Irish F1 fans will be keen to find out what David Coulthard and the Oracle Red Bull Racing crew were up to — with a reveal expected before Christmas.

Pictured: David Coulthard entertaining the crowd of more than 12,000 spectators on Salthill Prom during the Red Bull Showrun. ©INPHO/Bryan Keane.  Inset: after completing his run. Photo: Sebastian Marko.

Celebrated Galway artist Joe Boske and local poet Michael Quinn are set to release Rathgar Odyssey, a limited-edition booklet pairing Boske’s iconic prints with Quinn’s evocative poem about a journey through Rathgar and memories of Galway.

Available exclusively at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop beginning November 20th, the booklet showcases a dozen of Boske’s beloved Galway-themed line drawings, alongside Quinn’s poetic musings on work, pints at Dublin’s 108 pub, and sundry other topics.

A renowned figure in Galway’s arts scene, Boske’s surreal, nostalgic prints have become cherished pieces of local culture, especially for those who have experienced the Galway Arts Festival or visited Tigh Neachtain, where his work decorates the walls.

Quinn’s poem brings an intimate narrative to Boske’s illustrations, leading readers through reflections of daily life and homecoming.

Poet, writer and musician Gerry Hamberry was fulsome in his praise for the project.

“In this stunningly attractive and highly amusing publication that extraordinary talent that is the artist Joe Boske teams up with Michael Quinn, wordsmith extraordinaire, to produce a piece of work that is both hugely engaging and visually spectacular,” he said.

“Michael Quinn weaves a humorous and witty tale that combines gulping pints in a Rathgar pub with nods and winks to some of literature’s giants including Joyce, Wilde, Blake and Grey’s Elegy to mention but a few, while Joe Boske’s art continues to reveal his genius for capturing the real and the surreal in a single frame.

“Leafing through the pages of this fine publication is to join these two great talents on an entertaining ramble through the garden of artistic and poetic delights.”

The publication, limited to 1,000 signed copies, has already seen strong demand, with over 250 copies pre-ordered. Interested readers are encouraged to reserve a copy through Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop in-store or online at www.charliebyrne.ie.

Rathgar Odyssey will launch at Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop at 6pm next Wednesday, November 27, with the authors in attendance.

Joe Boske has spent over forty years shaping the visual landscape of Ireland’s arts scene with his whimsical, surreal designs for events like the Galway Arts Festival, Kinvara’s Cuckoo Fleadh, and more. His posters have become collector’s items and are beloved by locals and visitors alike.

Michael Quinn, retired and based in Galway, penned Rathgar Odyssey as part of a workshop led by the late Galway poet Kevin Higgins.

Currently working on his debut poetry collection, set to release through Little Gull Publishing in 2025, Quinn’s collaboration with Boske marks a new chapter in Connemara-based publishing.

Pictured: New book….Joe Boske.