Roscommon 1-10

Galway 1-7

Ivan Smyth at Dr Hyde Park

THE Galway minor footballers face an uphill battle to progress through to the knock-out stages of the Connacht Minor Football championship after a damaging three point defeat to Roscommon last Friday.

A poor, error strewn opening-half display proved fatal as Galway trailed 1-4 to 0-4 at the interval despite enjoying wind supremacy. Although Neil McHugh’s side managed to move within a point of Roscommon on two separate occasions during the second-half, the damage was done earlier in the contest.

Galway’s tally of 12 wides, eight of which came during the opening half,  left them vulnerable. The boys in maroon were also guilty of overcooking passes to the inside line which only served to stall any momentum generated and hand possession back to Roscommon.

Although Galway boss McHugh admitted their shooting needs to be brushed up ahead of a pivotal showdown with Mayo, he feels his side’s struggles to win the ‘dirty ball’ was more costly.

“We had a lot of opportunities and even towards the end we were creating chances. The effort was there, and they took on the shots. You can’t fault a guy for putting a ball a foot or two wide. We were beat and I have no issues with the final score.”

Galway now face into a critical home tie against Mayo this Friday. They beat Roscommon by six points in the opening round of games with the margin in no way flattering the winners as the men in primrose and blue scored a late 1-1 to avoid a double-digit defeat. Kobe McDonald, son of Mayo football legend Ciarán, scored 1-5 and will take close monitoring.

Galway knew they needed a strong start especially with the elements behind them, but were dealt a big blow early on. Roscommon were impressive in utilising the full dimensions of Dr Hyde Park as they stretched Galway and got the reward in the third minute.

Pictured: Galway defender Donnacha Naughton who was on the scoresheet against Roscommon on Friday night andGalway minor footballer Killian Joyce who converted a brace of frees against Roscommon at Hyde Park.

Two women on the opposite sides of the country have come together to celebrate their remarkable connection – as the two longest-surviving functioning transplant recipients in the country.

Bernie Glynn, from Ballylee between Peterswell and Gort, received the precious gift of a deceased donor kidney transplant 45 years ago, on March 2 1979, at Jervis Street – the same hospital where Christine Kelly underwent hers five years earlier. That makes Bernie the longest functioning kidney transplant from a deceased donor – and Christine, the longest functioning kidney transplant from a living donor.

Now both in their seventies, they’ve subsequently triumphed over cancer while their donor kidneys continue to function well.

And their stories underscore the progress in medical science and the impact of organ donation, honoured by surprise visits from fellow recipients.

This success also credits the dedicated medical teams who cared for them over five decades.

In acknowledgment of their extraordinary stories the Irish Kidney Association arranged for surprise visits by fellow transplant recipients to their homes in Dublin and Galway to present the ladies with bouquets of flowers – further honouring their remarkable resilience and inspiring others on similar paths.

Making a surprise visit to Bernie’s home to present her with flowers, on behalf of the IKA, to mark her milestone 45th transplant anniversary was Ruth McGann from New Inn, who herself underwent a transplant from her living donor brother Gary McGann ten years ago.

Caption: Bernie Glynn.

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.

His voice is instantly recognisable across his home county and there’s hardly a sporting occasion without him. When he’s not on Galway Bay FM, he’s an award-winning star of the stage – and if that wasn’t enough, now he’s running for Galway County Council.

But last June, Ollie Turner was facing a different kind of battle, when he presented with symptoms such as breathlessness and palpitations whilst lying in bed, with some simple everyday activities also becoming difficult.

His breathlessness had persisted since February and became worse at night when lying down.

Though Ollie did not show signs of swollen legs, this would be another typical symptom of what he later learned are the symptoms of heart failure.

Now Galway Bay FM’s Head of Sport is going public with his own heart health journey to raise awareness of heart failure, a common condition which will affect one in five in our lifetime.

Ollie is teaming up with the Irish Association of Heart Failure Nurses (IAHFN) for their #BumpUpThePump campaign during European Heart Failure Awareness Week 2024.

Heart failure occurs when the heart does not circulate blood around the body as well as it should. When blood cannot circulate freely, congestion occurs causing fluid retention in the lungs, legs and stomach.

This can occur for a variety of reasons, as a result of damage caused by heart attack, high blood pressure, valve disease, diseases of the heart muscle and heart rhythm disorders. Heart failure can also occur due to other diseases, which ultimately damage the heart such as diabetes, lung diseases, excess alcohol, certain drugs, and infections.

Luckily for Ollie, his heart failure was detected early, but in fact he had symptoms which began many months earlier.

Caption: Ollie Turner at work in Galway Bay FM.

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.

Galway 2-24

Carlow 2-14

THE championship debut of the Galway senior hurlers would hardly have put the fear of God into their main rivals with this workmanlike victory over minnows Carlow at a sparsely attended Pearse Stadium on Sunday.

Having left some of their heavy artillery on the sideline, Galway must be worried that the likes of Conor Whelan, Joseph Cooney, Aaron Niland, David Burke and Darren Morrissey had to be sprung from standby as a gallant Carlow outfit got too close for comfort in the third quarter.

A shock outcome wasn’t really on the cards, but you could sense the unease in the maroon ranks when Carlow had trimmed a nine-point deficit to just four after 52 minutes and they would have been closer only for the impressive Martin Kavanagh seeing a thunderous effort rattling off the crossbar.

At least, Galway responded to the mini-crisis in positive fashion as they rattled off 1-7 without reply – including three Whelan specials – to kill off a brave Carlow challenge.

Overall, it was something of a mixed bag from the hosts and as team manager Henry Shefflin warned afterwards, a similar display won’t cut the mustard when Kilkenny roll into Salthill on Sunday.

Though the team management’s selection was compromised by several players still returning to full fitness, the chosen 15 sent into action against Carlow raised some eyebrows and one anticipates a third of them won’t make the cut for the visit of the Cats.

Virus victim Cianan Fahy was a late withdrawal from the Galway half-back line, with Adrian Tuohey filling the vacancy and the Beagh man had a barnstorming ten minutes in the second quarter, including rattling over a terrific long-range point.

Supporters continue to keep a close eye on new coach Eamon O’Shea’s influence on the team’s forward’s play and there was some positive evidence in the first-half when angled deliveries from out the field freed up Cathal Mannion for a hat-trick of points.

Pictured: Galway’s Declan McLoughlin comes under pressure from Carlow’s Dion Wall durimg Sunday’s Leinster senor hurling group clash at Pearse Stadium. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

Health, Beauty and Lifestyle with Denise McNamara

We are all hearing so much about how important hormones are for our general health and wellbeing.  They are also notoriously difficult to regulate. But there are things that we can do in our everyday habits that will avoid disrupting our hormones, according to Mike Kocsis at BalancemyHormones.

Hitting Snooze

Hitting the snooze button on your alarm may seem like a good idea at the time however, its likely to be detrimental to your day.

When you wake, the sleep hormone melatonin begins to decrease whilst the body’s levels of cortisol rise. The increase in cortisol encourages the body to wake and feel energetic for the day and sparks the release of serotonin, adrenaline, and dopamine, explains Mike.

“When you hit snooze, you are postponing your wake window. As a result, the brain doesn’t signal the body to release the hormones that motivate us to feel alert for the day ahead. “Delaying the release of Serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline will ensure that we feel tired for longer. As a result, when pressing snooze, we are increasing the feelings of tiredness as opposed suppressing it.”

So, avoid the temptation for another ten and instead throw back the duvet and jump out of that bed. With the weather turning, that’s all the easier. It may just signal a remarkable new day, new week, new month.

Checking Emails

Grabbing your phone first thing is now something many of us are guilty of.

The work from home culture has blurred the lines between the start and the end of the working day, often leading to people checking their emails as soon as they wake. This may seem like a way to get ahead of the day however, its often throwing your hormones off balance.

Pictured: Binge watching TV can play havoc with your hormones

Kilkenny 4-23

Galway 1-14

John McIntyre at Nowlan Park

ON the law of averages alone, Galway’s remarkable run of positive results against Kilkenny in minor hurling was bound to end sooner rather than later but few anticipated that this dominance would be halted in such brutal fashion at Nowlan Park on Saturday.

Unbeaten by the Cats at this level since 2010, the latest crop of Galway minors walked straight into the equivalent of a hurling haymaker against a seriously a talented Kilkenny team which cantered to an 18-point victory.

This round-robin provincial championship fixture represented Kenneth Burke’s debut in inter-county management, but it proved a chastening experience for the St Thomas’ clubman and his team who never really got to grips with the skill, cohesion and greater physical power of their hosts.

Regardless of Galway’s upcoming fortunes in further round-robin group ties against Dublin and Wexford, they are guaranteed a place in the knock-out stages, but at least they have now seen the standard they must aspire to and that might be no bad thing. One expects that the boys in maroon will improve over the coming weeks, but they will need to.

Individually, several Galway players had good moments – not least centre back Jonah Donnellan, midfielder Eoghan Mulleady and half-forward Ciarán Leen – but Kilkenny were operating at a difference level and had star performers in Larry Phelan, Jack Dollard, David Barcoe, Anthony Clifford, Jake Mullen, Patrick Lacey, Conor Holohan and the towering Bill McDermott.

At times, Galway didn’t look up to the pace of the game. On numerous occasions they were turned over in possession due to a slowness in movement and striking, but that is something that can be worked on. Players like Brian Callanan never threw in the towel only to be eventually swamped by a superior force.

Pictured: Galway players Ronan Murphy, Ciarán Leen and Stephen Keane show their disappointment after losing heavily to Kilkenny in the Leinster Minor Hurling Championship at Nowlan Park on Saturday.

Heartless burglars broke into the former home of an elderly woman days after her burial – only to find that some of her relatives were still staying in what they thought was an empty house days after her funeral had taken place.

The robbery-gone-wrong occurred in the Headford area last weekend, according to local Cllr Andrew Reddington as he claimed that professional thieves were trawling sites like RIP.ie to identify their marks – and swooping when they think the properties are vacant.

The Fine Gael councillor said that this attempted robbery came just days after the person’s funeral – but was foiled when relatives staying at the house interrupted them and they swiftly left the scene.

“The woman who died lived alone and they would have suspected that her home was empty. When the relatives popped their head out the window, the two lads ran,” he said.

“I’ve always suspected that burglars are watching RIP.ie and the likes and targeting the houses of people who have died and their relatives – this just confirms it,” said Cllr Reddington.

He said the house in question, which was targeted in broad daylight, was surrounded by other properties in the town, and there was “no other reason it would be targeted”.

Gardaí had been called, he said, and he had spoken to the investigating members over the weekend.

“Where this house was, there is no way in the world it would be robbed on a normal day – it’s on the main road with plenty of neighbours around.

“It’s open season for these burglars because all the details are on these websites – addresses and times they will be out,” Cllr Reddington continued.

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.

1924

Rescued from oblivion

Lovers of the West will read the report of the adjudicators at the Connemara pony shows with very real pleasure.

It is evident that a famous western breed is being rescued from oblivion not one minute too soon. As a result of the careful classification that the shows made possible and practicable, and of the nominations that are offered by the County Committee of Agriculture, it will be possible to build up a foundation stock true to the traditions of the pure type.

At Cashel, no fewer than seventy-four ponies were shown, and eighteen mares, and two stallions were selected. At Maam Cross, fifty-four were shown and seventeen mares were selected.

Lack of sufficient suitable stallions appears to be the difficulty, but this can possibly be overcome by a suitable distribution of the five selected from the thirty-five shown.

The main thing is that a great western breed of ponies has been saved.

Pictured: Students from Coláiste Éinde, Salthill, who took part in the Liturgical Festival for the schools of the Galway Deanery on May 4, 1964.

A leading Galway tour operator was elected to the board of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) at their Annual General Meeting at Dublin’s InterContinental Hotel last week.

Maura Fahy of Fahy Travel takes her place on the board of the ITAA, which represents Ireland’s travel Industry, bringing together over 100 travel agent members and 70 affiliate partners.

Maura, whose father Sean V Fahy is a past editor of the Connacht Tribune, runs a thriving business on Bridge Street in the heart of Galway city.

As leading member of the ITAA members, she joins over 140 outlets in different towns and cities throughout the Republic of Ireland. All travel agent members are financially guaranteed to trade in the Republic of Ireland.

The AGM also heard that Angela Walsh, CEO and founder of FROSCH Ireland, has been officially re-elected as President of the Irish Travel Agents Association.

“It is a great honour to be elected as president of the Association. I am extremely grateful to begin working to further the association’s mission as we look forward to a brighter future of travel,” said the President.

“I am very excited to work with the board and members as we bring new ideas to life. With new solutions and voices, we will continue to support and enhance the travel industry together,” she added.

Pictured: Maura Fahy of Fahy Travel