Meetings are to take place in the coming weeks between the city council and the former industrial school at Lenaboy, Taylor’s Hill.

The West of Ireland Centre for Survivors and their Families recently called for the the building to be used as a centre for healing, arts, education and an historical/memorial and archival space must be central to that process.

Catherine Connolly TD met the Chief Executive of the city council Brendan McGrath to discuss the matter.

She said that she hopes that these meetings would result in meaningful conversations with survivors and their families as to the best use of the building given its history.

The Sisters of Mercy, who ran the industrial school, identified Lenaboy as a property to be transferred by way of a contribution towards the costs incurred by the state in responding to residential child abuse.

Deputy Connolly said that it  is shocking that it has remained empty since 2009 and that no explanation has ever been given for that.

The recent completion of negotiations between the Council and the Sisters of Mercy is the culmination of that process.

“The Council’s proposal to redevelop Lenaboy as a children and young people’s creative and cultural hub without consultation with survivors beggars belief given the history of the building,” Ms Connolly said.

Planned strikes by rail workers over the coming weeks have been called off awaiting a vote on new pay proposals.

The strikes were planned for 14 & 23 November and 8 December but were today cancelled following a Labour Court recommendation.

They say that the workers should receive a 7.5% pay increase over the next three years; 2.5% per year.

The ballots are to be counted on December 8th.

Threatened industrial action no longer proceeding, full services will operate on 14th & 23rd November, and 8th December

— Iarnród Éireann (@IrishRail) 10 November 2017

Breaking news: Irish Rail workers to ballot on Labour Court recommendation #railstrike suspended pending ballot of trade union group members

— SIPTU (@SIPTU) 10 November 2017

Are you a hoarder?

The School of Psychology at NUI Galway is seeking over 1,000 hoarders across Ireland to take part in an online study.

The largest study of its kind ever conducted in Ireland seeks to understand whether the experience of losing a loved one might make people more likely to keep useless belongings and have difficultly throwing things away.

The researchers are looking for people with all levels of hoarding to participate, ranging from people who may just have cluttered, disorganised homes to those who may have a serious difficulty, as well as people who do not hoard.

People who hoard often have very cluttered homes as they keep things that may seem useless to other people, buy things they don’t need, and feel they can’t throw anything away.

Previous research has shown that hoarders often feel a very strong emotional attachment to their belongings, and they might feel the need to save things should they need them in the future.

The researchers believe that this might be the key to understanding and helping people with this difficulty.

The study is being carried out by Dr Elizabeth Kehoe, a doctoral student on the clinical psychology training programme at the School of Psychology in NUI Galway and Dr Jonathan Egan, Deputy Director of the clinical programme.

Speaking about the study, Dr Kehoe said: “We are interested in the emotional reasons why people hoard, and with this study we will investigate the link between bereavement and other difficult life events, and hoarding.

“For example, belongings might bring a sense of comfort or safety following a loss.”

Dr Jonathan Egan Director from the School of Psychology added: “The team are really interested in a holistic view of why we collect things and why it can increase at times following a bereavement or personal upset.

“We want to hear from a large range of people, from those who would rate themselves as ‘life-long-Magpies’ to those who have noticed that it is becoming difficult to part with newspapers and other non-essential house-hold items, or even that their house is becoming very crammed and it affects the ability to share their home with guests.”

Catherine Connolly TD told the Dáil yesterday that it is unacceptable that the HSE has shown no desire to learn from its mistakes, given that taxpayers’ money is used for flawed internal investigations.

She said ‘we cannot trust institutions’ and that on every occasion that the HSE in Galway faced a crisis, their reaction was to ‘close ranks’.

“One thing I have learned in my professional life and on a human level is that institutions simply cannot be trusted. No institution can be trusted,” she said. “If he looks at the record of the HSE in Galway city, the Minister will see that, on every single occasion on which there was crisis, the reaction was to close ranks in a most effective manner.”

She also referred to Savita’s death to prove the HSE’s inability to solve crises.

“The unfortunate case of Savita Halappanavar only came to light because of the persistence of a journalist. If that tells us anything it is that we cannot trust institutions.

“Since then there have been a number of other inquiries in Galway, which I will not go into, but in which I have some personal involvement.

“From my personal experience I see absolutely no commitment from the HSE or from institutions in general to learn from mistakes, to acknowledge them and to actively involve the patient or the patient’s family.

“I find this particularly unacceptable given that, in the end, a lot more of taxpayers’ money is spent on inadequate internal investigations, inadequate external investigations, investigations which pretend to be independent and, finally, the appointment of independent people,” Ms Connoly added.

Today, MetLife officially celebrated the opening of a new Global Technology Campus in Galway, with the company planning to employ approximately 200 skilled IT professionals when at full capacity.

The opening saw MetLife joined by the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Frances Fitzgerald TD; Michael D’Arcy, Minister of State with Responsibility for Financial Services & Insurance and other dignitaries.

Great to be in Galway for opening of Metlife technology campus & announcement of 200 Jobs pic.twitter.com/DPro4OXH34

— Frances Fitzgerald (@FitzgeraldFrncs) 7 November 2017

This new Global Technology Campus continues MetLife’s effort to bring employees together in state-of-the-art, collaborative environments, while reducing its geographic footprint.

“Digital innovation continues to reshape our lives and the way we view the future, and it reinforces the reality that every company needs to become a technology company in order to survive,” said Marty Lippert, Executive Vice President and Head of MetLife Global Technology and Operations. 

“Our new Global Technology Campus in Galway will be a dynamic center of change, and it will be at the heart of creating the digital solutions that will transform how our customers interact with us every day around the globe. We look forward to deepening our roots in Galway and Ireland, where we have found a business-friendly environment and a deep talent pool of skilled workers.”

Including its existing office in Dublin, MetLife’s presence in Ireland will grow to more than 500 employees once recruitment at the new Global Technology Campus is complete.

Speaking at the office opening, Michel Khalaf, President of MetLife US and EMEA also noted, “MetLife’s new Global Technology Campus builds on our significant presence in Ireland which is the hub of our European insurance businesses.

“Just as we have done in Dublin, we look forward to growing our workforce here in Galway in the coming years and contributing fully to the local community. Today is confirmation of our strong and successful link with Ireland and represents a vote of confidence in that relationship into the future.”

An Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald TD, said that she was delighted to help launch this “wonderful new Global Technology Campus” in Galway.

“This is an extremely exciting project, and the Irish Government is very pleased that our ongoing work in driving competitiveness and providing quality skills is paying dividends in attracting cutting-edge projects like this.

“This development will see a further 200 people employed in Ireland and we look forward to our continued fruitful relationship with MetLife in both its Galway and Dublin operations, well into the future,” she said.

CEO of IDA Ireland Martin Shanahan said: “The opening of this new Global Technology Campus is a significant step for MetLife, represents a substantial investment by the company and demonstrates very clear commitment to Galway and the West Region.

“MetLife announced last year that it was establishing this campus with the creation of 200 jobs and this state-of-the-art permanent premises will allow them to continue to recruit up to that capacity.

“It shows too that Galway has both the required skills for global companies such as MetLife to establish and grow here and the property solutions they need. I wish MetLife all future success in Galway.”

Gardaí were called to NUI Galway seven times between 2014 and early 2017, according to figures seen by the Irish Times.

Records released under the Freedom of Information and seen by the Irish Times show that the incidents occured after student drinking got out of hand.

There were six male students and two female students involved in the incidents.

Elsewhere, between 2011 and 2014, 10 male students at University College Dublin faced preliminary hearings for breaches of student discipline.

Two were referred to a discipline committee.

In 2012, three UCD student protesters were given warning letters and fines when they threw eggs at then taoiseach Enda Kenny, in response to third-level fees. They were cautioned by an Garda Síochána.

Almost €20,000 has been raised for the restoration of the church in Clifden which was destroyed by thugs two weeks ago.

The contents and interior of the Holy Trinity Church, Errislannan were badly damaged, and it is estimated that it will take up to €70,000 to return the church to its former glory.

That’s according to Reverend Stan Evans, the Priest in charge of the Church of Ireland church.

Errislannan Church near Clifden extensively vandalised. pic.twitter.com/xqr671lxEI

— Diocese of TKA (@DcoTKA) 26 October 2017

The community was horrified and saddened by this destruction and people from across Galway and indeed the island of Ireland have donated to first of all weatherproof the church and stop further damage being caused to the interior.

The damage included Bible being thrown through a window and the pulpit being split in two.

The altar rail was completely ripped from its fixings and thrown through the east window of the church and all lights were smashed.

The organ in the church was also been smashed beyond repair.

Donations can be made on the official gofundme page here.

County Galway has seen a 38% increase in the number of people on the council housing waiting list in the past year, new figures have revealed.

The data obtained by Sinn Fein under freedom of information show that County Galway has seen a increase 27% higher than the national average of 9%.

In 2016, there were 3,414 people on council house waiting lists in the County, and the up-to-date figures show that there are now 2,087: an increase of 1,327 people.

Galway City, however, has seen the biggest drop in numbers awaiting housing in Ireland.

In 2016, there were 3,322 on the list in Galway City, while now the figure stands at 2,232. Only one other council in Ireland saw a drop of over 1,000.

Eoin Ó Broin TD, whose office obtained the figures, said that new housing need is now outstripping new social housing provision.

“This is rise is even more troubling when you consider that this increase has occurred while an additional 18,671 households have signed up to HAP tenancies during the same period,” he said.

He called on Minister Eoghan Murphy to review his social housing targets for 2018 and beyond and secure additional funds to increase his targets.

“When a household goes into the Housing Assistance Payment they are removed from their Councils waiting list. As HAP tenancies rise the number on the Council waiting lists should fall. Instead the opposite is happening.

“The reason is very simple. The government is not building and buying a sufficient number of social housing units to meet the every growing level of demand. This is yet further evidence that the Government’s housing plan is not working,” Ó Broin added.

The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government  says it is currently finalising the 2017 figures and expects to be in a position to publish up-to-date data in the coming weeks.

New NUI Galway research has discovered that a protein called iNOS in the body is a key cause for the aggressive spread of triple negative breast cancer, which results in increased risk of early death from the disease.

The findings from the research led by Dr Sharon Glynn found that inducible nitric oxide synthase or iNOS made cells more resistant to treatment such as chemotherapy and caused a spread of the cancer.

The study was conducted by the Discipline of Pathology at NUI Galway’s Lambe Institute for Translational Research, and were published in two international journals, examining the role of iNOS and another protein COX2 in this type of breast cancer.

iNOS and COX2 are normally activated when the body experiences inflammation and wound healing.

Dr Glynn’s research shows that when both proteins are expressed together in triple negative breast cancer, they lead to faster tumour growth and help the tumour to spread around the body.

Almost 30% of women in the Western world are diagnosed with this form of breast cancer, which currently cannot be treated or stopped with therapies such as tamoxifen and is limited to treatment through chemotherapy and surgery.

Triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive form of breast cancer is frequently diagnosed in younger women ranging from their thirties and upwards.

In the first study, published in Oncotarget, Dr Glynn and her NUI Galway colleagues Dr Pablo Garrido, Dr Aideen Ryan and Professor Grace Callagy found that women with increased expression of iNOS were at greater risk of their breast cancer spreading to other parts of their body, leading to poor survival rates.

They conducted a study of 206 women across the Western seaboard diagnosed with breast cancer at Galway University Hospital between 2000 and 2016, and found that iNOS was a factor in the poor survival rate of Irish breast cancer patients with triple negative breast cancer.

It made the cells more resistant to treatment such as chemotherapy, aiding in tumour cell growth and a much higher risk of the disease spreading, leading to death.

Speaking about the research, Dr Sharon Glynn at NUI Galway, said: “The results from both studies will be used to develop screening methods to identify which patients are at increased risk of developing the lethal disease.

“The team are also focused on developing new therapeutic drugs that shut down both of these proteins and reduce the spread of cancer which can lead to premature death in the future.

“Both proteins have been identified as key drivers in the spreading or metastasis of triple negative breast cancer, and targeting them may save the lives of these patients.”

The second study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences was edited by the Nobel Laureate, Dr Louis Ignarro, a world expert in nitric oxide biology.

Dr Glynn collaborated with Dr Debashree Basudhar and Dr David Wink at the National Cancer Institute in the US and demonstrated for the first time that patients who express high levels of iNOS in conjunction with high levels of the protein COX2, are at an increased risk of tumour progression throughout the body and high risk of death. The study was carried out with patients from Maryland in the US.

It found that five years post-diagnosis, less than 40% of women with high levels of iNOS and COX2 survive, compared to 95% of women with low levels of both proteins.

OVER half of lecturers promoted at NUI Galway in the latest promotion scheme were women, according to a new NUI Galway report published today.

The report released today includes data on its latest senior lecturer promotion scheme, through which 33 lecturers advanced.

An investigation has been launched after a woman was found dead at a hotel in Oughterard.

The woman, 64, was discovered in a bedroom at the Connemara Lake Hotel at 11.30am yesterday morning (Monday).

@rtenews Gardaí and Galway Fire Service at scene of Connemara Lake Hotel in Oughterard where a woman died yesterday pic.twitter.com/J1jwX4AsHO

— TERESA MANNION (@TeresaMannion) October 31, 2017

A statement on the hotel’s website reads: “The Connemara Lake Hotel confirms that a guest tragically passed away while staying in the Hotel over the weekend. The Hotel is closed until further notice while an investigation takes place by the Garda Síochána.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the deceased, their family and friends.”

A post-mortem is to be carried out later today at University Hospital Galway.

The scene has been preserved while a forensic examination is carried out.

Tens of thousands of spectators took to the streets of Galway yesterday evening to witness the 2017 Macnas parade.

People lined the streets in the heart of the city from early yesterday afternoon and thousands more watched live streams of the festival from around the world.

Spectacular Halloween Parade 2017 in Galway thanks to #Macnas pic.twitter.com/Lne1M8NURu

— Galway Tourism (@galwaytourism) 29 October 2017

Many people were drawn to the main attraction, which was a giant old man with his dog, who navigated the streets in a boat.

Another amazing @MacnasIreland Parade in #Galway #MacnasParade pic.twitter.com/EuL2ZeWhjW

— David Muldoon (@daviddooner) 29 October 2017

Best @MacnasIreland #Halloween parade yet! Huge congrats to all involved. No one does festival like #Galway! pic.twitter.com/JudM7GNqS8

— Rory Monaghan (@IrishEnergyGuy) 29 October 2017

‘Port Na bPúcaí’ or Song of the Spirits was the theme for this year’s parade, which celebrated the magic and mystery of life here in the West.

The full parade can be watched below.

Broadcaster and doctor Ciara Kelly has revealed that a “prominent man in the Irish media” could be an Irish Harvey Weinstein after a woman contacted her to say she had been raped by the man forty years ago.

In a string of tweets, the Newstalk host suggested a well-known figure in the Irish media could be a serial offender, after hearing one woman’s story and well-known rumours about this man’s behaviour.

Ciara Kelly said that she has been warned that this person is violent, that he beat his wife and that he “had a car back in the day he offer girls lifts home – the passenger door handle was broken.”

The tweets were posted after Dr Kelly described as ‘depressingly accurate’ a Fintan O’Toole artice entitled We all know a Tom Humphries, even if we don’t we do.

She said: “He messaged me immediately after the first meeting by Twitter DM. He was v complimentary “you are v talented we must meet for coffee” he said. I declined something about him made me uneasy. I was polite though I was friendly. Many many messages came I declined other invitations.

“I met him again – we were at same event, I spoke to him briefly but didn’t engage – I was with friends. More messages came “who do you think you are? You’re becoming a national joke” late at night followed by “please forgive me I don’t know what came over me” the following morning.

“I didn’t reply – it went on for months, I spoke to friends they all had stories they’d heard “Be careful he’s violent – he beat his wife” he had a car back in the day he offer girls lifts home – the passenger door handle was broken – they couldn’t get out.

“I have friend he did same to – he plagued her – ‘be careful he’s supposed to be awful’. The messages – bizarre in their over familiarity stopped eventually and I half forgot.

“Then this woman approached me ‘I came still smell him on me – there were lots of us,’ she said.

“And I believed her. I’ve thought a lot about this and am shaking writing these tweets but I believe that women that this man raped her and likely others and I believe he beat his wife and had a car he gave lifts in… so I’m putting this out there…”

Dr Kelly asked people to come forward if they believe they know the person in question, to come forward.  “If you think you know who I’m talking about… and if you have been affected please contact me and let’s try to right this,” adding the hashtags #IBelieveYou and #IrishWeinstein.

If you have been affected by anything in this article, visit Galway Rape Crisis Centre, or call the hotline on 1800 355 355.

Award-winning journalist for the Irish Times will be in Galway to give an interesting public lecture entitled ‘Bernard Shaw and the Uses of Celebrity’ to mark the publication of Judging Shaw on Tuesday, 7 November at 6.30pm.

The event is being hosted by NUI Galway in conjunction with the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

The event will take place in the Aula Maxima at the University and will be followed by a panel discussion on “Making Judging Shaw” moderated by Professor Patrick Lonergan, NUI Galway with Ruth Hegarty, RIA, Barry Houlihan, James Hardiman Library and Fintan O’Toole.

Judging Shaw is the fourth book in the Royal Irish Academy’s award-winning ‘Judging’ series and looks at the legacy of George Bernard Shaw (GBS), Nobel prize-winner for literature and internationally renowned playwright, intellectual and commentator.

The book, written by Orwell-prize-winning journalist Fintan O’Toole, traces the growth of ‘GBS’, the first great global brand, and discovers how Shaw created this most modern of concepts.

Judging Shaw brings together a new insights on the making and invention of GBS, the complex relationships Shaw had with both England and Ireland, through times of revolution and after; reconsiders the ‘dark side of GBS’ as well as his death, commemoration and legacies.

The illustrated volume features over one hundred digitised archival documents, sourced from institutions around the world, including NUI Galway’s digital theatre collections at the Hardiman Library, many published for the first time and which visualise the great achievements and also wide range of networks Shaw lived and worked in.

Also being unveiled is a new exhibition to coincide with the publication of Judging Shaw.

Co-curated by Barry Houlihan of NUI Galway, Ruth Hegarty and Jeff Wilson of the Royal Irish Academy and Fintan O’Toole, the exhibition brings a wealth of archival images and stories from Shaw’s remarkable public and private life, drawing on many experiences such as time spent in the West of Ireland at Coole Park, the home of Lady Isabella Augusta Gregory, Shaw’s political and socialist writing, his theatre as staged in London, Dublin and also in Belfast after his death.

The legacy of Shaw is considered in the ‘afterlife of GBS’, how his work was staged in contemporary times and how his life was commemorated. Before he died, Shaw noted those around him were ‘going Shaw-mad!’

The exhibition will be open to the public at the O’Donoghue Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance, NUI Galway.

Speaking in advance of the public lecture, Professor Patrick Lonergan, said: “We are delighted to welcome Fintan O’Toole and the Royal Irish Academy to NUI Galway to explore and celebrate the life and work of George Bernard Shaw.

“This university is deeply committed to preserving our nation’s theatrical heritage through our work in archives, allowing us to offer courses that give our students a unique behind-the-scenes perspective on Irish theatre.  We also are strongly committed to promoting awareness of that heritage through talks, publications, and other activities.

“This beautifully produced book and the fascinating exhibition that accompanies it will bring huge pleasure to readers and theatre-makers around the world, ensuring that Shaw’s legacies – as a dramatist and a political thinker – will have an impact for generations to come.”

Fintan O’Toole said: “Shaw had an ambivalent relationship with Ireland, but Ireland had a very ambivalent relationship with Shaw. He is by far the most influential, famous Irish person who has ever lived. There is no other Irish person that had the global reach that Shaw had. He is a vast terrain.

“It is a pleasure to see the book translated into an entirely different medium in the exhibition and one of the things that you see in it is that as well as being a great thinker, a great political activist, great dramatist, as well as that he was one of the world’s great posers.”

Admission is free but places are limited and NUI Galway are asking people to register at www.conference.ie .

The total allocation for providing accomodation for Travellers in Galway City rose from €40,000 in 2016 to €209,000 so far in 2017; however, no new accomodation units have been built to date this year.

Galway County Council’s budget also rose, from €117,000 to €625,000, with 0 Traveller accomodation units being provided.

Under the Housing (Traveller Accommodation) Act 1998, housing authorities have responsibility for the assessing the needs of Travellers and also the implementation of Traveller Accommodation Programmes in their areas.

This means the Traveller accomodation crisis in Galway is the responsibility of both councils.

Mary Lou McDonald TD asked the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government Eoghan Murphy if he had

The current round programmes were adopted in 2014, with the five-year rolling programmes running from 2014 to 2018 and Budget 2018 provides for €12m toward Traveller-specific accommodation.

On receipt of all proposals, allocations for 2018 and the number of units to be delivered in all local authority areas will be finalised early next year.

Sinn Féin wants to hear from the people of Connemara in relation to the Irish language, Gaeltacht and community development issues.

A public meeting, hosted by Peadar Tóibín TD & Senator Trevor O Clochartaigh, will take place this Friday, 27th October in An Crompán Community Centre in Carraroe.

Information gathered will help to develop Sinn Féin’s Irish language and Gaeltacht policy.

The party’s Irish Language and Gaeltacht spokesperson, Trevor Ó Clochartaigh said that we are at a ‘crucial time’ in relation to the Irish Language and the Gaeltacht.

“The language planning process is in chaos, we have a crisis in the number of native speakers, we have severe rural depopulation in remote areas and a lack of employment, while the state foists new policies on communities without the requisite supports and resources being provided.

“Sinn Féin want to hear from the community on these questions and other issues, including  the role of Údarás na Gaeltachta, what essential services are needed most urgently, supports for Irish speaking families and the development of Irish medium education in the Gaeltacht,” Senator Ó Clochartaigh said.

They will also be holding a series of meetings during the day with the Department of the Gaeltacht, Údarás na Gaeltachta, the Language Commissioner, TG4, Raidió na Gaeltachta, the Co-operatives and community development companies, Comhar Naíonraí na Gaeltachta and Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta.

“At 7pm in the evening at An Crompán Community Centre, on the Industrial Estate in Carraroe, we will be asking the people of the area for their opinions. All are welcome to attend that meeting.

“We will use the information we gather to help strengthen and further develop Sinn Féin’s Irish language and Gaeltacht policy, as well as keeping pressure on the state to live up to its obligations in this regard as well,” he added.