The award winning Tartare Café + Wine Bar in Galway City will be closing down in just two weeks, co-owner JP McMahon has announced.
Tartare, recipient of the Michelin Bib Gourmand award, is the co-owned by McMahon and Drigin Gaffey.
In a statement on Instagram, the two announced that Tartare will be closing down on September 4 due to a multitude of economic pressures.
JP McMahon said that that COVID has made it difficult to run three restaurants, with challenges including finding quality chefs, and that spiraling costs this year in particular have challenged the sustainability of the business.
“With having the other two restaurants, running Food on the Edge, alongside other commitments, I felt we had to consolidate and focus on the bigger picture.”
Drigin Gaffey said, “Tartare was a passion project and we are proud of what we achieved in 5 years. I will particularly miss the cultural events we ran there.”
“Of course it is always sad when a business closes but we have other passions we want to focus on. I am happy that we have been able to integrate the Tartare staff into our other restaurants.”
The statement from the two said that the lease for Tartare’s premises was also coming up for a rent review, which was another catalyst for this decision.
“It is with sadness we must announce the closure of our café and wine bar, Tartare, on Dominick Street in Galway.”
“Over the last five years Tartare has been an outlet for our culinary creativity by being a younger sister to Aniar and being awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand, a hub of social connections through the hospitality our team are known for and a promoter of local arts communities through our Theatre Talks and Wine and Design series.”
After a somewhat damp start to the week in places tomorrow, weather conditions in Galway should be dry for the week ahead, with temperatures in the high teens.
This will eb cloudy but dry in Galway, with temperatures falling to around 15 degrees overnight, and with just a light breeze.
Monday will be a mixed bag, with outbreaks of rain, heavy at times in the morning in particular.
Coastal areas may see showers throughout the day, but there is also a chance of sunny spells in the afternoon, particularly inland, where rain will mostly clear up as the day goes on.
Highest temperatures on Monday of 18 to 20 degrees, with a light to moderate variable wind.
Tuesday will be an improvement on the start of the week, with rain in some places in the very early hours, but clearing up over the morning.
The day will be dry for the most part, Met Eireann predicts, with partly cloudy skies, but also some clear bright spells later in the day.
Temperatures on Tuesday will see highs of 16 to 19 degrees, with a light westerly wind for most of the day.
Headed into the midweek, things will be somewhat cooler, with the mercury not going over 17 or 18 degrees.
Conditions will be somewhat cloudy for most of the day, but breaking up in the evening time, and remaining dry.
The Lough Derg RNLI lifeboat rescued a family of four aboard a boat with engine failure in rough waters and heavy weather this week.
The lifeboat was called out by Valentia Coast Guard around 5pm on Thursday, to assist a 43ft cruiser suffering engine failure.
The lifeboat Jean Spier launched with helm Steve Smyth, Keith Brennan and Chris Parker on board.
Weather conditions on the lake were rough, with westerly winds Force 4 gusting 5 and good visibility.
At 5.15pm the lifeboat arrived on scene having located the vessel midway between Garrykennedy and Ryan’s Point at Youghal Bay.
All four people on board were safe and unharmed and wearing their lifejackets. An RNLI volunteer transferred across to the casualty vessel and reported back to the helm that the engines were overheating.
Given the weather conditions and location, the helm decided to take the vessel under tow to the safety of Garrykennedy public harbour.
The boat was brought safely back to harbour shortly after 6pm that same evening, and the lifeboat returned to its station.
Jeremy Freeman, Deputy Launching Authority at Lough Derg RNLI advises boat users to, “ensure your engines are serviced and that you have a means of communication should you get into difficulty on the water”.
Slow Roast Sandwiches & Coffee. Photo: Slow Roast via facebook
The popular Loughrea diner Slow Roast sandwich bar and coffee shop is expanding with a new branch opening next week.
Conor and Sarah are well known for their delicious grilled sandwiches such as the Sunday Roast, with safe & onion stuffing and their signature cheese blend.
Another popular choice is the Hang & Cheese, with honey & mustard glazed ham and the house cheese blend, or vegetarian options such as the garlic and mushroom Aragh Musha, or the classic grilled Cheese Please that keeps it simple.
On top of these fixtures on the menu, each week also sees the addition of a limited edition special sandwich, available from Wednesday to Saturday only.
The takeaway sources their meats and ingredients locally, and everything is prepared and slow roasted in house, for that melt in your mouth meat texture.
Of course, a good takeaway needs good coffee to go with it, and Slow Roast can certainly boast that after winning the Greatest Coffee category at the inaugural Galway’s Greatest awards by Galway Bay FM earlier this year.
Slow Roast aren’t slowing down in their success, with the opening of a new branch in Athlone next Wednesday, August 24, from 9am to 4pm.
The new takeaway can be found at the big yellow building just up the road from the Sheraton Hotel.
Pictured celebrating the win at the shop that sold the winning ticket are Conor Donohue (left) celebrates with Staff members Rebecca Nic Dhonnacha, Annabel Ní Chonghaile, Evan Ó Gríofa, Anna Canavan, and Barbara Seoige. Photo: Andrew Downes / Mac Innes Photography
Store owner Conor Donohue and his staff in Connemara celebrated a lucky day for one of their customers on Saturday, a €1 million Eurmillions win.
The Costcutter store in Bealadangan sold a ticket worth €1 million for Friday night’s EuroMillions ‘Ireland Only Raffle’ draw.
Pictured above is Conor celebrating with staff members Rebecca Nic Dhonnacha, Annabel Ní Chonghaile, Evan Ó Gríofa, Anna Canavan and Barbara Seoige.
Conor Donohue said that that he was shocked at the news, as this is the second millionaire they minted in the past year.
“Last November we sold a winning ticket worth over a million to another customer. I’m just delighted, I’ve a feeling its someone local as we’ve such loyal regular customers”, he said.
“I took over the business twelve months ago, so I must be bringing some element of luck myself!”
“We’re all looking forward to the buzz this will create over the next couple of days and we wish the winner every best with their prize”, he added.
Photo: Andrew Downes / Mac Innes Photography
The ‘Ireland Only Raffle’ winning raffle code in last night’s EuroMillions draw, which is worth €1,005,000 million to one Galway player is: I – NCR – 419.
Friday night’s draw also saw a player from Wexford scoop the EuroMillions top prize of €500,000.
The winning quick pick ticket was sold on the day of the draw in Corrigan’s Spar Supermarket, Main Street, Oulert, Gorey, Co. Wexford.
The winning numbers in the EuroMillions Plus draw which are worth a cool €500,000 to one Wexford player are:8, 16, 17, 39, 44.
The National Lottery is encouraging all of its players to check their tickets carefully.
There was no winner of the €77,782,771 jackpot on offer, which now rolls to an estimated €85 million next Tuesday 23rd of August.
Age Friendly Seating at The Prom. Photo: Cormac Mac Mahon/Galway City Council
New public seating installed by Ladies Beach in Salthill has been designed to provide comfort and support to older people.
Age Friendly Galway worked with the city council on subtle changes to upgrade works planned for public amenities in Salthill.
The depth and height of the seating was adjusted, while the provision of arm rests give more support, and the tilted back makes it more comfortable for older people.
Mayor of Galway City Cllr Clodagh Higgins recently met with members of Salthill Active Retired, Access For All, AMACH!, Silver Rainbows and Salthill Men’s Shed group to test out the new seats.
“I’m delighted to be in a position to launch this project, particularly as the project was the result of such close cooperation and design across Galway City Council.
The project adds hugely to the attractiveness and suitability of the public realm in the heart of our city,” Cllr Higgins said.
The seating is located close to public toilets and parking, and with a wonderful view out over Galway Bay.
Galway City Council is inviting suggestions of where else may require seating improvements, or new seating, to ensure Galway is a great City to grow old in.
The public are being advised to be wary of the latest email and text scam by people claiming to be from the Revenue Commissioners.
The Revenue has warned of email and text fraud going around, seeking people’s personal details by claiming to be from them.
The scammers are often looking for personal details such as a name, address, or date of birth.
The may also ask for financial information such as credit card, debit card or bank account details in connection with a tax or wage subsidy refund.
A statement from the Revenue said that these are never genuine, and that they do not ask for information in this manner.
“The Revenue Commissioners never send emails or text messages requiring customers to send personal information via email, text or pop-up windows.”
“Anyone who receives an email or text message purporting to be from Revenue and suspects it to be fraudulent or a scam should simply delete it.”
“Anyone who is actually awaiting a tax or wage subsidy refund should contact their Revenue Office to check its status.”
“Anyone who provided personal information in response to these fraudulent emails or text messages should contact their bank or credit card company immediately.”
Planning permission is being sought to convert the former Driving Range in Salthill to a leisure centre.
Clearwater Ventures Ltd has submitted plans to the city council convert the building of the driving range to a leisure and wellness centre.
This will include yoga and gym facilities, as well as a new café and retail area.
Other construction work will involve enclosing the driving range bays with windows and doors, and building an external sauna and decking.
There are no proposed changes to the existing parking provision of the site.
A planning report submitted with the application states that the development would be a “vast improvement” on the current state of the site, and bring a vacant building back into use.
“The site is ideally located close to residential areas and at the end of the Salthill Prom, making it highly accessible to alternative modes of transport to the car.”
The Galway Cycling Campaign submitted an observation in which the group said that it welcomes the development to reinvigorate the area.
However, it added that the plans should be amended to include bicycle parking, and that the city council should request a Road Safety Audit, with measures to address concerns.
A decision on this planning application is due from Galway City Council by September 4 of this year.
Galway County Council has extended a bulky goods waste collection initiative at multiple towns until the end of next week.
Goods can be dropped off at the Tuam, Ballinasloe, and Clifden Civic Amenity sites, as well as the Barna Waste recycling facility on the Headford Road.
The collection is for households only, and costs €5 per car/van and trailer.
Goods that will be accepted include sofas, three-piece suites, wardrobes, bedside lockers, mattresses, bed frames, dining tables and chairs.
Waste such as bags of household waste, construction or hazardous waste, toys, ceramic items, and textiles will not be accepted.
The collection, which was originally only meant to last to mid-August, will now run until August 27.
In order to use the wate collection, it must be booked via the Barna Recycling website before arriving at any of the above sites at: barnarecycling.com/booking.
(L to R ) Alan O'Toole, Michael Walsh, C'llr Thomas Welby, Shane Molloy, Marian Fannon ( Galway hospice ), Ronan Molloy, William McQuinn, Finbarr Larkin, Paul McQuinn, Tommy King, Peter Tierney, Mary Molloy, Seamus Nash and holding the cup is India Rose Heanue Nash. Missing from the photo was Patrick Mons.
The inaugural Oughterard Tug of War Competition and Family Fun Day raised over €20,000 in aid of Galway Hospice this summer.
Held on June 12 in the Corribdale grounds in Oughterard, the event took place in memory of the late Paddy Molloy from the village.
The aim of the event was to have fun with a traditional sport of Tug of War while generating much needed funds for Galway Hospice as they continue to deliver excellent palliative care both in the hospice and in the wider community.
The voluntary group which included Peter Tierney, Mary Molloy and Johnny Smith along with volunteers from across Oughterard Parish transformed Corribdale and the Oughterard Show Grounds into a fun themed park for the entire day.
“The Galway Hospice plays a huge role in our community as unfortunately cancer affects every family at some stage and we as a group of volunteers have been affected especially with the death of the late Paddy Molloy,” Mary Molloy said.
“The care and service provided by the Galway Hospice was of the utmost support, while critical, it was delivered in a professional, kind and dignified way which was such a help to the family.”
“We wanted to give something back to Galway Hospice and rejuvenating traditional sports like the Oughterard Tug of War is our way of showing our appreciation personally, and as a community.”
Teams of all age groups from young children to teenagers, adult men and women from across Connemara, Galway, the west of Ireland, and even the UK, competed in the novel Tug of War Competitions.
Needless to say there was plenty laughter and fun but also the serious side of the sport was shown.
In addition to the Tug of War, there was plenty of entertainment for all of the family, with face painting, and visiting sports stars including the legends of the Oughterard All Ireland Winning Intermediate Team, Galway County Team and many more besides, and of course live music.
A Penalty Shoot out Competition, and other fun activities were held and all of which gave the Tug of War Competition a carnival and festival like atmosphere.
The organisers also brought the poignancy of the event in aid of Galway Hospice into focus as they dedicated the day to local man Paddy Molloy.
A memory tree in his honour and for all those from the community who died from cancer was erected and hundreds of messages to loved ones lost to cancer adorned its branches.
The substantial fund of €20,408 from the days events came from team registrations for the much coveted Tug of War Competitions and from the generous donations on the gate.
The organisers thanked everyone who made the day such a success. The response was so great that the Tug of War and Family Fun Day is now set to become an annual event.
One lucky Lotto player in Galway has become Ireland’s newest minted millionaire after Friday night’s EuroMillions ‘Ireland Only Raffle’ draw.
The special raffle event guarantees to make four brand new millionaires in Ireland over the month of August.
The ‘Ireland Only Raffle’ winning raffle code in last night’s EuroMillions draw, which is worth €1,005,000 million to one Galway player is: I – NCR – 41927.
The winning ticket worth €1 million was sold on the day of the draw in Costcutter, Bealadangan.
Store owner Noel Daniels said he was over the moon to get the call, as this isn’t his stores first win, “I’m shocked and delighted that we’d had such a big second win in such a short period of time.
“Last November we sold a winning ticket worth over a million to another customer. I’m just delighted, I’ve a feeling its someone local as we’ve such loyal regular customers”, he said.
“I took over the business twelve months ago, so I must be bringing some element of luck myself!”
“We’re all looking forward to the buzz this will create over the next couple of days and we wish the winner every best with their prize”, Noel added.
pically, in every single EuroMillions draw, ten players in Ireland win €5,000 on the ‘Ireland Only Raffle’.
In last night’s draw, an additional €1 million was added to the special raffle draw and among 9 winners of €5,000, one of those winners won an additional €1 million.
The National Lottery is encouraging all of its players to check their tickets carefully.
There was no winner of the €77,782,771 jackpot on offer, which now rolls to an estimated €85 million next Tuesday 23rd of August.
A National Lottery spokesperson said: “Imagine how it would feel to wake up more than €1 million better off? Well one Galway player won’t have to imagine that this morning as they are living this dream.”
“We are asking everyone in Galway to check those tickets and see if their raffle code is I – NCR – 41927.”
“If that code matches the one on your EuroMillions ticket then we would ask you to sign the back of the ticket and contact our prize claims team on 1800 666 222 or email claims@lottery.ie and we will make arrangements for you to collect your prize.”
An appeal has been lodged against Galway County Council for blocking plans for a larger mobile mast in the centre of Aughrim village.
Eircom sought approval from the council to replace an existing 12m wooden pole at their Exchange Building in Aughrim with an 18m monopole structure.
The mast would have been fitted with antennae, dishes, and associated telecommunications equipment.
The county council refused planning permission in late July due to its location, with multiple homes nearby, and the “overbearing nature” of the development.
The council said that it would seriously damage amenities, and affect the value of property in the area.
An appeal has been lodged against this decision with An Bord Pleanála, arguing that there has been a telecommunication structure in the area for many years, and that it is a “familiar part of skyline” that doesn’t have a major impact.
While this new mast will be taller, Eircom said that landscaping along the western boundary will help reduce the visual impact.
The council had also said that there were more suitable locations elsewhere, to which the appeal argues that the site has a history of telecommunications use, with associated infrastructure in place, and that it is not uncommon for mast to be located in a residential area.
A decision on this appeal is due from An Bord Pleanála by December 12 of this year.
Cemetery Sunday Mass will take place at Bohermore Cemetery at 11am tomorrow morning, as well being livestreamed online.
Due to space restrictions, only vehicles carrying persons with special needs or displaying a Disabled Persons Disc will be permitted access to the graveyard grounds.
Galway City Council has said that, for traffic management purposes, the gates will close at 10am sharp on Cemetery Sunday.
For safety reasons, vehicles will not be permitted to leave the cemetery for 30 minutes following the Mass. This is to allow for pedestrian exit first.
The restoration of the old Maam Cross railway station acquired a stunning piece of history today, with the arrival of a vintage railway carriage more than a century old.
The Connemara Railway Project is restoring the former Maam Cross Railway Station, as well as a stretch of tracks along the old Galway-Clifden railway route.
While work to date has focused on the station itself, a brilliant addition to the project arrived today in the form of a railway carriage dating back to the very early 20th century, and still in wonderful condition.
Jim Deegan, a director of the Connemara Railway Project, told Galway Daily that the carriage had been sitting in storage for decades.
“It was built in 1903 for the Great Southern & Western Railway, and miraculously it got preserved when most of these got taken out of service in the 1960’s.”
“It’s been in the shed in Mullingar for the past 50 years so it hasn’t been exposed to the elements, or at least the external elements, and we have acquired it from the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland.”
“It’s a huge restoration job, so it will take quite a lot of money and time. But it’s structurally sound, and it has the potential to be fully restored.”
Though they hope to put it back on the tracks this year, as the carriage was arriving today it was brought by truck, passing through Oughterard around lunchtime before arriving at Maam Cross.
Railway carriage coming through Oughterard
This is the first piece of rolling passenger stock to come to the Connemara Railway Project, which has thus far focused on restoring the old station’s buildings, and the section of railway track that comes with the land.
While there are other similar carriages which have been restored to their old glory, this will be first of its kind to restored on a stretch of railway line in the Republic, Jim said.
The plan is for the restoration of the old carriage to go hand in hand with laying down tracks on the old Clifden-Galway route in the area around the station, and creating a visitor attraction from it.
“What we are doing here is restoring a section of the old Galway-Clifden railway line here at Maam Cross,” Jim Deegan said.
“We’ve acquired the former Maam Cross station, and we’re restoring it and laying tracks, and we will have a stretch of the Connemara railway which we will run trains on as an all weather family attraction.”
This, he said, will give people the opportunity to experience a piece of Irish railway heritage from another era.
Laying tracks at the former Maam Cross Station. Photo: Connemara Railway Project
The line, which closed down in 1985, passed through “some of the most spectacular scenery,” Jim said, adding, “We are lucky the stretch we have here at Maam Cross is in some of that spectacular scenery.
This is a massive undertaking by a non-profit organisation, with volunteers arriving to help out from far beyond just Galway Jim states.
“We have a very enthusiastic band of volunteers who come most weekends to work on the line. We’ve got people coming from Cork, from Tipperary, from Mayo and Sligo, and from Dublin.”
While the laying down of tracks along the old Galway-Clifden line is still underway, visitors to the Maam Crioss station may not have to wait until its done to ride the rails.
The hope is that by late Autumn, visitors to Maam Cross will get to enjoy the railway experience on a pop-up tack that’s been put down temporarily.
Donations to this historic restoration project can be made at its GoFundMe page.
NUI Galway’s long running partnership with Galway International Arts Festival has expanded with funding for a new creative arts programme.
The government has approved a three year funding package for a postgraduate course focused on creative arts management through the Springboard + initiative.
The course comes as the result of eleven years of partnership between the university and festival, and will provide skills in design, production, curation, business and management, while also offering an accredited work placement with a creative arts business.
Professor Patrick Lonergan, NUI Galway Vice-Dean said that the programme will give students the skills they need to play a leading role the development of the creative industries.
“With the support and advice of our partners in Galway International Arts Festival, we’ll provide exciting modules that cover creativity, design thinking, producing and curation, and other essential skills.”
“With a work placement and the option to study online or in person, this innovative new course is sure to prove popular.”
“Huge credit for this support from Government is due to our University partnership with Galway International Arts Festival and the way in which it has grown and developed over the years.”
The Certificate in Creative Arts Management will be a mix of hands on modules on campus, and blended learning options for those living away from Galway.
As part of the course students will undertake supervised work experience projects, and an internship with an arts organisation.
John Crumlish, Chief Executive of Galway International Arts Festival, said: “We are delighted that the postgraduate Certificate in Creative Arts Management will be a beneficiary of the Springboard investment announcement by Minister Harris.
“This is a very exciting development, as it opens up a new avenue for people who wish to develop a career in the creative industries while also adding significantly to the existing human capital in this area.”
“With the support and advice of our partners in Galway International Arts Festival, we’ll provide exciting modules that cover creativity, design thinking, producing and curation, and other essential skills. With a work placement and the option to study online or in person, this innovative new course is sure to prove popular.
“Huge credit for this support from Government is due to our University partnership with Galway International Arts Festival and the way in which it has grown and developed over the years.”
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses after a young boy was killed after being struck by a jeep on Friday morning.
A postmortem examination will take place at University Hospital Galway after a male infant was killed in the collision in Co. Roscommon.
Gardaí and Emergency Services attended the scene of a fatal road traffic collision near Ballinagare in Co. Roscommon this morning.
The collision occurred shortly after 9am this morning, when a jeep collided with a male infant.
The infant received treatment at the scene but was later pronounced deceased. His body was then taken to the mortuary at University Hospital Galway.
An Garda Síochána say that no other injuries were reported as a result of this collision.
A technical examination of the scene by Forensic Collision Investigators has since been completed and a family liaison officer has been appointed to support the family at this time.
Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to come forward and any road users with video footage (including dash cam) is asked to make this available to them.
Anyone with information can contact Boyle Garda Station 071 966 4620 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.
More than 3,200 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in Galway out of almost 48,000 Ireland has taken in since the Russian invasion.
The latest figures from the CSO show that as of August 7, there have been 3,206 PPSNs issued to refugees in Galway arriving from Ukraine.
Of those, 1,546 are in Galway City, and the rest are spread across the county.
Outside of the city, the areas which have taken in the most are in Connemara North (488) and Athenry/Oranmore (407).
The nationwide figure of 47,962 represents an increase of approximately 3,300 new arrivals in the past three weeks.
Women aged 20 and over account for 47% of refugees in Ireland, while boys and girls aged up to 19 years old account for another 36% of the total.
As of August 7, 1,095 people from Ukraine are living in 579 private accommodations, where the host is receiving the ‘Accommodation Recognition Payment’ for hosting someone from Ukraine.
Some 38% of arrivals are classified as ‘One parent with children’ under the broad relationship classification headings used.
Connacht Rugby’s U18 and U19 squads will face off against their Ulster counterparts in Belfast this weekend.
Connacht have named bother of their squads for the Interprovincial Series games taking place in Newforge, Belfast this Saturday.
The U18s will be up first, kicking off at 1:30pm tomorrow, followed by the U19s later that afternoon, as they face their Ulster counterparts at 3:30pm.
Planning permission is being sought for a residential development of 170 houses and apartments in Galway City.
Plans have been lodged with An Bord Pleanála for a Strategic Housing Development led by Lock House Developments on Bóthar na Chóiste, Castlegar.
The project would first involve the demolition of a house, ruined outbuilding, and a ruined house on the 4.626ha site.
The proposed N6 Galway City Ring Road would be located immediately to the north of the application site, with a designated greenway to the west.
The housing to be built on the site would include 84 two-storey houses, a mix of 34 no. two-bed, 42 no. three-bed, 8 no. four-bed units.
Also in the mix would be two apartment blocks with 17 and 21 units each, totalling 22 one-bed apartments and 16 two-bed apartments, along with 48 duplex units.
A two storey creche able to accommodate 46 children would be built, which would feature an outdoor play area and parking.
Part of the pedestrian and cycling links the developer proposes would include access onto the greenway to the west of the site.
The bulk of the communal green space in the estate will also be located on the western edge of the site, bordering the greenway.
Road widening and other improvements will also be made to a 0.5km section of Bothar na Chóiste.
The estate would be served by a total of 280 car parking spaces, of which 17 would be disabled access, along with 52 electric vehicle charging points, and 417 bicycle parking spaces.
To comply with their Part V planning law obligations, Lock House Developments proposes to transfer 17 homes to the city council for social or affordable housing, 16 apartments and 1 semi-detached house.
An Bord Pleanála is due to make a decision on this planning application by November 28 of this year.
This was one of the last residential developments to be submitted under the now defunct Strategic Housing Development process, which was first created in 2016.
Abandoned this year due to the large number of judicial reviews holding up the supposed fast track planning process, the initial consultation for this application was made to An Bord Pleanála in December of 2021.
