Serious infrastructural deficiencies in housing and transport are threatening indigenous industries in Galway – and foreign direct investment will be redirected elsewhere unless the problem is addressed.

That’s according to the leader of the city’s largest business representative group who said Government needed to act to address the imbalance in development between Galway and Dublin.

This comes as several businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors report difficulty finding staff – and one of the key challenges is a total lack of affordable accommodation for would-be workers.

The CEO of Galway Chamber, Karen Ronan, told the City Tribune that the organisation had been working tirelessly to lobby Government ahead of the publication of Budget 2026, and the finalised National Development Plan (NDP), to “invest in Galway’s ambition”.

“Our big issue is on infrastructure and housing – we need to be looking at practical ways to support increasing housing stock,” she said.

“The West has been forgotten about for too long. I met with Jack Chambers (Minister for Public Expenditure) and he said he was committed to addressing the inadequacy of funding for the West,” continued Ms Ronan, adding that Budget 2026 alongside the rollout of the new NDP had the potential to provide ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.

One opportunity which the Chamber has been highlighting, she said, was the potential to unlock accommodation by returning ‘over-the-shop’ units to use – but the current means of doing this was blighted by red tape.

“That doesn’t mean compromising on safety or regulations, but it’s about addressing the need for endless form-filling – and also making business owners aware of the supports that are there for them,” said Ms Ronan.

“At the current rate, the housing crisis is only getting worse and without addressing infrastructure issues, we [in Galway] won’t be able to attract foreign direct investment and our indigenous industries will not be able to grow,” she said.

Staff shortages were attributable to a number of challenges, including housing, she said.

Pictured: CEO of Galway Chamber, Karen Ronan

St James’ 1-17

Milltown 1-11

By Eanna O’Reilly at Tuam Stadium

St James’ booked their place in the last eight of the senior football championship with a convincing victory over Milltown on Sunday afternoon in Tuam Stadium. The city side had far too much quality for their opponents and were fully deserving of the result against a Milltown side which flattered to deceive.

Eoin Godwin’s charges had two-point lead at half-time, after a promising first-half performance. However, Milltown failed to push on and were comprehensively outplayed in the second-half. The North Galway side could have no complaints with the result on the day.

Playing with the wind in the opening half, Milltown began brightly with an impressive two-pointer from James Kavanagh after three minutes. However, St James’ soon asserted themselves with four consecutive points.

Jonah Culligan, Jack O’Neill, Johnny Duane, and Brian Kane all registered scores as St James’ looked lively in attack. Michael Martin soon pointed his first free at the other end, after a foul on Eoin Mannion.

Two minutes later, St James’ goalkeeper Cian Costelloe landed a ’45, to give them a 0-5 to 0-3 lead. Milltown dominated the second quarter of the game and outscored their opponents by 0-4 to 0-1. Godwin’s charges began to use the elements to good effect, with Michael Martin sending over an impressive two-pointer from the right wing.

An excellent delivery from Kavanagh found Mannion in the inside line, and the corner forward took a good score over his shoulder. Mark Hehir then pointed a free, after a foul on Mannion, who was causing problems for St James’.

Jack Nolan pointed his first free at the other end, before Sam Feerick took a good score for Milltown, after a pass from Liam Costello. It left the North Galway side ahead by 0-8 to 0-6 at half time.

The city side narrowed the margin shortly after the resumption, when Costelloe landed his second ’45 of the afternoon. Brian Kane then took an impressive score from a tight angle in the right corner, which levelled the contest.

Michael Martin edged Milltown ahead with a free, after a foul on Mike McWalters. However, Milltown failed to score again during the next 15 minutes. St James’ completely took over, tallying seven consecutive points to take control of the game.

Nolan pointed two close-range frees, before he kicked a superb two-pointer from the right wing, after a pass from Dessie Hynes. Nolan then set up Culligan, who fisted over from close range. St James’ looked to have all the energy and were playing at a pace their opponents couldn’t replicate.

Pictured: Michael Martin of Milltown drives past the challenge of Ryan O’Toole of St Michael’s in Tuam Stadium last Sunday. Photo: David Cunniffe.

Galway United manager John Caulfield says the idea of ‘revenge’ doesn’t come in to the equation as the Tribesmen head back to Richmond Park this Friday night for a second meeting in five days with St Patrick’s Athletic (7.45pm).

United bowed out of the FAI Cup at the quarter-final stage in Inchicore last Sunday, losing in extra-time in a game which they probably shaded matters in the regulation 90 minutes, and the players must put that disappointment behind them as they go in search of valuable league points in their bid to maintain their top-flight status.

There are just seven games left in the season, and United’s next three could go a long way to determining their fate. They go into Friday’s game – which is being televised live on Virgin media Two – sitting eighth in the table, level on points with Sligo Rovers in the play-off spot, but just above their Connacht rivals on goal difference.

The two sides meet in Eamonn Deacy Park on Monday night (7.45pm), and United are at home again on Friday week when basement side Cork City visit the Dyke Road venue. Win those two home games, and Caulfield’s side will be able to breathe a little easier down the final stretch of the campaign.

Drop points and things will get a little hairy: lose either home game – perish the thought of losing both – and United will be in real trouble, but for now, all the focus is on Friday’s trip to Dublin.

“I’m not sure about owing them one, you just have to come out and play and get stuck into them. That’s what we have to do,” Caulfield said when asked about the need to even the score on Friday night after last Sunday’s cup defeat.

“The lads gave everything, we know that, it’s just that the problem for us at the minute is that we need to just turn it around and get a result,” the United manager said after Sunday’s game.

United went into that cup tie as underdogs, and they did need a 90th-minute equaliser from David Hurley to force extra-time, but for much of the game before that they were the more dangerous-looking team.

They had a glorious chance to open the scoring in the first-half only for Jimmy Keohane to scuff his shot when clear through on goal; and while there was no argument with the red card picked up by Killian Brouder in extra-time for a foul on Mason Melia, there were questions as to whether the Pats man should have been on the field after a crude challenge of his own in the first-half.

“No one really gave us a chance, but in the first-half the game boiled down to we had the best chance in match. A fantastic move, a great passing move, Jimmy [Keohane] straight through but didn’t connect with it properly and you’re going in at half-time disappointed you are not 1-0 up.

“There was an incident here in the first-half when Melia lunged. I think in lots of cases, that was over the ball and would have been a straight red card, you could see he had lost the head, a few of those decisions at the moment just aren’t going our way,” Caulfield lamented after the game.

Sunday’s game started with the home captain Joe Redmond presenting a wreath to United skipper Brendan Clarke in memory of Ollie Horgan; and Pats manager Stephen Kenny spoke graciously of the difficult times United have been through in the past month or so.

United will hope that Sunday’s game will be a turning point for, while the result went against them, the performance was as good as there has been for the last couple of months. They just need to put the ball in the net, but Caulfield insists there will be no cup hangover this week.

“They are professional players and have to get back in and we have to refocus. I mean you get the disappointment out of your system tonight [Sunday] and you refocus tomorrow for next week, all the talk from tomorrow, we’ll be out next Friday and try get a result here,” he said.

Brouder will be suspended as a result of last Sunday’s red card, while Conor McCormack is also a major doubt after picking up a back injury after he was introduced as a substitute on Sunday. Greg Cunningham is also a long-term absentee: he has missed the last three games, with Caulfield saying the former Republic of Ireland senior international “won’t be back for a while”.

Pictured: Ed McCarthy opened the scoring for Galway United in their 3-1 win at home to St Patrick’s Athletic back in June, his only goal of the season: both he and United could do with him finding the net again in the coming week. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

Serious infrastructural deficiencies in housing and transport are threatening indigenous industries in Galway – and foreign direct investment will be redirected elsewhere unless the problem is addressed.

That’s according to the leader of the city’s largest business representative group who said Government needed to act to address the imbalance in development between Galway and Dublin.

This comes as several businesses in the hospitality and retail sectors report difficulty finding staff – and one of the key challenges is a total lack of affordable accommodation for would-be workers.

The CEO of Galway Chamber, Karen Ronan, told the City Tribune that the organisation had been working tirelessly to lobby Government ahead of the publication of Budget 2026, and the finalised National Development Plan (NDP), to “invest in Galway’s ambition”.

“Our big issue is on infrastructure and housing – we need to be looking at practical ways to support increasing housing stock,” she said.

“The West has been forgotten about for too long. I met with Jack Chambers (Minister for Public Expenditure) and he said he was committed to addressing the inadequacy of funding for the West,” continued Ms Ronan, adding that Budget 2026 alongside the rollout of the new NDP had the potential to provide ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.

One opportunity which the Chamber has been highlighting, she said, was the potential to unlock accommodation by returning ‘over-the-shop’ units to use – but the current means of doing this was blighted by red tape.

Pictured: CEO of Galway Chamber, Karen Ronan

A new festival, the Corrib Féile FLOW: For the Love of Water will take place this weekend, running from Friday to Sunday, with events in Oughterard, Inchagoill Island and Galway City to celebrate the heritage, community and culture that flows across the waters and along the shores of Lough Corrib.

Oughterard Courthouse is the venue this Friday, with events to mark Culture Night running from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. These will include an art exhibition: Lough Corrib, Our Legacy – Ár gCroí from Philippa Maguire of the local UachtarArts collective.

The Courthouse is also hosting a polyphonic video project from Dr Stefano Odorico of the Limerick School of Art & Design. And there will be a Community Forum Talk with Luke Drea, Senior Community Water Officer with the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO). All these events are free but must be booked. This can be done on Eventbrite.ie.

Oughterard Courthouse will also be a focal point on Saturday, with a free arts and cultural events, and a Corrib Voices video showcase that celebrate communities living around the lake. That runs from 10am to 5.30pm.

And there’s also a boat trip to Inchagoill Island, running from 12.30pm to 3.30pm, with boats departing from Oughterard and Lisloughrey Pier in Cong.

David and Patrick Luskin of Corrib Cruises will lead a heritage walk on the historic island, while ecologists Jo Ruane and Dr Cillian Roden will speak on its diverse wildlife.

Craic, ceol and fireside chats are also on the menu, with people advised to bring a picnic for the outing.

The Inchagoill trip costs €30. Again booking is essential and can be done on Eventbrite.ie

On Sunday, the city’s Commercial Boat Club at Woodquay will be the venue for a series of talks, workshops and demonstrations that will run from 11am to 2.30pm

Galway City Council Biodiversity Officer, Paula Kearney, will open proceedings and the event will include demonstrations on biosecurity, macro-invertebrates, and Kick Sampling with LAWPRO. Participants on Sunday will include Dr Frances Giaquinto, Dr Cillian Roden, Dr Rob Gandola and Dr Jan-Robert Baars.

Anglers from the Commercial will give displays on fly-tying and there will be free Kayak Taster sessions with Kayakmor, Galway Kayaking Tours.

All events on Sunday are free, but booking is required.

For full details on all events taking place during Corrib Féile FLOW: For the Love of Water, go to corribbeo.org.

Pictured: Inchagoill Island…one of the weekend’s highlights.

Soccer Wrap with Mike Rafferty

Maybe it’s good fortune, good luck, or maybe just bad play, but the fortunes of two of the city’s leading sides were certainly polar opposites in the opening weeks of the Premier Division season.

In Drom on Friday evening, Salthill Devon scored the winner deep in additional time for the second week in succession and in the process picked up six points. In contrast Mervue United fell to a shock defeat against newly-promoted Craughwell United; while a week previously, they also dropped points following a draw with Colga and now are five points in arrears of the side they ran so close to the title last season.

Maree-Oranmore are one of three unbeaten teams in the division and they are the current table toppers. In the Championship, Hibernians and St Bernard’s have stolen a march on the rest of the chasing pack as they share leadership, with Corrib Rangers in their slipstream.

PREMIER DIVISION

Salthill Devon 2

Athenry 1

Devon have been here before, put to the pin of their collar by teams who work extremely hard to stay in the game and offer a challenge in their own way.

Their second game of the season was a repetition of the first, in that they were the better team, but against good opposition found it hard to break them down and generally have their own way.

Two weeks ago in Headford, Devon got a 94th minute winner to escape with all the points on offer against Moyne Villa. In Drom last Friday night, they left it to the 95th minute to get the better of Athenry. It was probably a fair result, but the visitors pushed the champions all the way.

The sides were just separated by a Colin Kelly goal at the break, as the striker fired home after goalkeeper Ed Philips had made a smart save to keep out an Enda Curran shot.

From the outset on the resumption, the visitors were on the front foot and not afraid to take on their more experienced opponents. Just a minute in, Callum Carroll flashed an effort across the face of goal, with no takers to apply the finish.

A quick counter-attack saw Carroll release Kieran Brown down the line, but good defensive cover by Pat Branyai averted the danger. All the early threats were coming from the visitors as the excellent Ronan Hogan, Dara Hislop, Kieran Browne, and Corey Walker kept them on the front foot.

It took a reactionary leg block by Devon goalkeeper Arek Mamala to deny Carroll as his cracking effort from outside the box looked goal-bound. Athenry eventually got the ultimate reward with the equaliser on 56 minutes, as Hogan threaded a near pass down the line to Molloy and the impressive 20-years-old cut inside before firing a cracking effort beyond the reach of Mamala to tie up matters at 1-1.

The goal seemed to give a kick start to Devon and Kelly and Mikey Fox had near-post shots cut out by Philips. Substitute Cole Connolly had a chance to put one over on his former side, but after his initial shot was kept out by Philips, his rebounded effort was deflected away for a fruitless corner. Another smart stop by Philips later thwarted Timmy Molloy.

As the clock wound down the visitors began to drop deeper and deeper. There was almost no midfield, but an eight-man defence as Devon were allowed to dictate matters, but were still struggling to get through on goal.

The visitors posed the occasional threat from a long ball or counter-attack, but the longer the game went on, less and less was seen of them in attack. Meanwhile the experienced players in the Athenry defence like Declan Cullen and brothers Morgan and Aaron Leggett were working overtime to clear their lines, as a powerful Devon attacking force of Curran, Kelly, and Connolly were all chasing the match winner.

It finally arrived on 95 minutes, when a cross from the left by Calym Crowe was laid off by Princewell Diala and in a flash Kelly drilled a low effort beyond Philips to make it 2-1 and give the home side a dramatic win.

Salthill Devon: Mamala, Branyai, B Molloy (Imudela 85), Byrne, Crowe, O’Rourke (Collins 62), Murphy (Connolly 53), T Molloy (Diala 79), Kelly, Curran, Fox.

Athenry: Philips, Hogan, A Leggett, Cullen, M Leggett, Hislop, Brown (Mehdi 79), Conway (Sheedy 63), Walker, Carroll (McCoy 75), Molloy (Corcoran 82).

Referee: John O’Connor.

Pictured: The Salthill Devon B side which beat Colga B 1-0 in Drom last Friday in the Championship. Back row, from left: Dermot Forde, John Eastwood, Enda Cullen, Johnny Burke, Sam Golden, and Jamie Allen. Front: Eugene Greaney, Billy Archibald, Vinny Faherty, Gearóid Ó Leidhinn, and Derek O’Flaherty. Photos: Iain McDonald.

FINDING SOPHIE – DECADENT THEATRE AT TOWN HALL

REVIEW: JUDY MURPHY

Standing ovations are often given for performances in Galway when, really, a good round of applause would suffice.

But the ovation that occurred on the opening night of Decadent Theatre’s Finding Sophie was utterly deserved – and totally spontaneous.

It’s 13 years since audiences first met the central characters, Larry (Kieran Coppinger) and Sophie (Charlene Kelly) in Sanctuary, which Blue Teapot Theatre Company commissioned from playwright Christian O’Reilly.

In Blue Teapot’s play, the pair were young and in love. But because they both had intellectual disabilities (ID), Irish law prohibited them from progressing their relationship –having sex was definitely illegal.  When they did decided to, it ended in disaster.

In Finding Sophie, Christian revisits their lives. Thirteen years have elapsed and their paths cross again, in different circumstances.

Larry’s parents are dead and he’s temporarily living with his uncle Gerry (Denis Conway) whose main pastime is watching horse racing on the telly, while drinking beer and eating takeaways.

Sophie lives in a home nearby, with her carer, Elaine (Anna Healy), who really does care for her.

Jarlath Tivnan and Tara Finn are first onstage, discreetly positioned to help with set changes and to offer prompts to Kieran and Charlene when needed.

Before the action begins, Tara and Jarlath give a brief synopsis of events 13 years ago and what unfolded when Sophie and Larry attempted to ‘get the ride’ as his uncle Gerry crudely puts it when he’s attempting to discourage any reunion.

Much water has passed under the bridge since then. Sophie is less mobile than before, likening herself to “an old woman”, as Larry insists she isn’t. Their attraction remains strong but life isn’t simple, especially for people with ID, even if the law has changed.

Charlene and Kieran are brilliant at expressing the frustration of being told how to live their lives, based on other people’s perceptions of their limitations; even if those people are acting for the best of reasons.

There’s lots of humour too and they have wonderful comic timing

Christian O’Reilly’s script delves into emotions, without being mawkish or patronising, something that could have happened in the hands of a writer without his understanding and ability. And he asks hard questions of society and its treatment of people with ID.

Andrew Flynn directs with a deft touch, allowing  the play to breathe: to be serious, funny – and uncomfortable at times. But, for this couple who still care so much for each other, dreams can come true.

Sophie’s secret is shared. Larry’s uncle grows as a human being and we see how a carer who cares can make all the difference.

The set and lighting are simple and effective while the use of music – whether it’s old favourites or in the background – adds to the atmosphere.

A moving, provocative, funny and life-affirming night’s theatre.

Pictured: Charlene Kelly and Kieran Coppinger in Finding Sophie.