The Department of Health has reported 1,845 further cases of COVID-19 this afternoon.
As of 8am today, 497 people with the disease are hospitalised nationally, of whom 99 are in intensive care units.
In Galway, the number of people with COVID-19 in hospitals has risen slightly to 47 in the latest HSE data.
There are now 37 patients with the disease at University Hospital Galway and a further ten confirmed cases at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, as of 8pm on Sunday.
Six of those diagnosed with COVID-19 at UHG are in the intensive care unit, while two of the ten COVID-19 patients at Portiuncula Hospital are in ICU
Galway West TD Mairéad Farrell has said that a special report into €1.4 million worth of spending by the Coast Guard has highlighted a number of weaknesses in the procurement process.
The Coast Guard, which operates as a unit within the Department of Transport, signed a contract for the delivery of 18 vehicles between 2016 and 2020.
Concerns were then raised that they were not fit for purpose and could not be operated legally due to limitations on the weight they could carry, said the Galway TD.
Deputy Farrell welcomed the report by the the Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) as it again underscores the need to tighten up how we do procurement in this state.
“The report highlighted a number of weaknesses: as part of the tendering process it wasn’t specified why the vehicles were needed operationally; the number, type and functionality required; or how procurement would be accommodated within budget and over what time frame,” said Deputy Farrell.
“It also noted that there was no evidence that the views of the members of the rescue teams were sought.”
Deputy Farrell said that the report goes on to say how the Department did not specify a required vehicle carrying capacity (payload), or indicate the weight, dimensions or nature of the equipment to be carried.
She said that surely if you are in the business of rescuing people, and you are going to need staff and equipment to do that, then the specifications for the type of vehicle you require should be a pretty big consideration?
“This isn’t to single the Department of Transport out, we’ve seen plenty of other public procurement failures in recent times, especially with the purchase of faulty ventilators, PPE and other products,” said the Sinn Féin TD.
“Minister McGrath quietly announced the establishment of an interim Procurement Reform Board, it important that it treats the reform of public procurement seriously.”
Galway girl Liadh Duane has won first prize in the 9-12 years age category of the Draw our Heroes art competition for her beautiful portrait of what she describes as an ‘anonymous hero’.
Over 1,600 entries were received for the competition which aimed to celebrate the many different professions and people who are bravely working to bring Ireland safely through the pandemic.
The competition was first announced in April last year during the onset of the first lockdown, and it centred on the theme ‘everyone is a hero in their own right’.
The entries included portraits of parents and family members working in the front lines or from home to keep everyone safe, grandparents, politicians and other public servants, and other important community members that included our frontline medical, emergency and security personnel as well as retail and other essential service providers.
Entries were also submitted with a written piece outlining why the artwork highlights this hero and what makes them so special.
Speaking about her work, winner of the 9-12 years age category Liadh Duane said that during these surreal times, we are all heroes.
“The stitches symbolise the fact that even though we may feel like we are falling apart, each one of us has the capability of being strong and when this is all over, our fictional stitches will heal and we will recover, little by little,” said Liadh.
“My portrait doesn’t represent a specific person or career. I feel that my character is an anonymous hero, much like us all. The rainbow represents joy and unity among us.”
RTÉ broadcaster Joe Duffy and ceramic artist Olga Fitzpatrick sat on the panel of judges for this exciting competition and presented the awards to the winning entries.
Celebrated artist Graham Knuttel also sat on the judging panel.
The number of people with COVID-19 receiving treatment at Galway’s public hospitals has risen slightly to 47 in the latest HSE data.
There are now 37 patients with the disease at University Hospital Galway and a further ten confirmed cases at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, as of 8pm on Sunday.
Six of those diagnosed with COVID-19 at UHG are in the intensive care unit, while two of the ten COVID-19 patients at Portiuncula Hospital are in ICU.
When the data was taken, there were 479 confirmed cases in hospitals nationally. A total of 97 were receiving treatment in intensive care units.
The Mullen Family; Cian (12), Ronan (14) Liam (9) and Enda (6) and Dad James in their C-class 522, pictured with Clifden RNLI Shannon Class All Weather Lifeboat in Clifden Bay. Photo Credit: RNLI/Clifden
The son of a former Coxswain for the volunteer lifeboat crew for the Clifden RNLI was taken with his dad’s stories, that he tracked down and bought the first lifeboat that he served on.
Ronan Mullen, aged just 14, tracked the old C-class 522 inshore lifeboat from the time it left service in 1997, across the Irish Sea, and struck a deal to bring her home.
James Mullen, a Coxswain at Clifden RNLI with over 27 years voluntary service saving lives at sea on the west coast of Ireland is also a proud Dad to four boys who have inherited their father’s remarkable passion for the sea.
While James doesn’t have a favourite from among his five sons, he does very much have a favourite boat, the old C-class which was stationed in Clifden from 1989 to 1997.
The boat holds so many memories for him as a teenage RNLI recruit and when his sons would ask him for the history of the station and his favourite lifeboat, the stories he told them always came back to it.
Remembering his early crew years James said “I loved the sea, I had lived beside it my whole life and now finally, at 17 years old and with my parent’s consent, I was lifeboat crew.”
“We had many call outs on the C-class and she was an amazing boat, she was hard on the back but she never failed to bring us home. This craft was the finest money could buy and I was so impressed with her.”
“I remember a call one winter’s night in 1995, we were going to rescue a boat that had gotten into difficulty at sea. The weather was terrible with force 7-8 westerly winds. It was up to us and our trusty C-class inshore lifeboat to get everyone home safe.”
“As the seas got rougher, the C-class dug in deeper and when we were all safely back at shore I remember thinking what an incredible boat she was to stand up against those huge waves.”
Clifden lifeboat crew at the old D-class station in 1995, when James was 18 years old. Photo Credit: RNLI/Clifden
Stories like these were what inspired young Ronan to see if he could discover what became of the boat after it left service.
His search over the internet first led him to the Ballyglass RNLI station in Mayo, after which it ended up in the RNLI Museum in Poole.
Finally, the faithful old boat ended up with a private owner in the UK, who also fortunately happened to be a member of the RNLI based in Weston-Super-Mare.
Ronan reached out to the owner, and after striking up a friendship, made a deal to buy the boat and bring it back to Clifden to the delight of the whole Mullen clan, Clifden RNLI crew and the many locals who remember her dutiful service.
“I was so shocked, I had been looking online for ages and when I finally came across a photo of the C-class I said to Dad, is that her? And he said, it definitely is,” Ronan said of his discovery.
“After that I knew we had to have that boat. I love the boat, I love being out on the water and the minute I am old enough I will be joining the RNLI.”
These days the lifeboat station in Clifden utilises an Atlantic 85 Inshore Lifeboat and the Shannon-class All Weather Lifeboat.
Next spring the station will receive delivery of a new Shannon Class vessel. a very special boat, for it will the names of 10,000 loved ones from the RNLI’s Launch a Memory campaign.
James concluded by saying it is wonderful to see another generation of lifeboat enthusiasts growing up.
“When I look at my four boys now I think, was I like they are now 27 years ago? Their whole life ahead of them and a future filled with love for the sea and the RNLI.”
Water should be returning to areas in the west side of Galway City and suburbs this afternoon which were affected by outages overnight.
Irish Water has been making repairs to a burst water mains affecting the supply to Knocknacarra, Barna and other areas today.
The burst pipe left homes with supply issues overnight after being reported shortly before 8pm on Saturday.
The repairs were reported completed at 3pm this afternoon, though it can take 2-3 hours after that before full affected homes see their water supply fully return.
Plans for the construction of a new fire station in Loughrea have progressed with the recent appointment of a design team.
Galway TD Seán Canney says that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage has approved the appointment of the design team for the project.
“Galway County Council have been working on this project and this approval allows for the project to progress to Part 8 Planning, full design, procurement and construction.”
“It is also important to note that the new fire station for Loughrea has been included on the National Capital Schedule for fire stations,” Seán Canney said.
He praised the county council and fire service for their commitment to ensuring that the service is “well equipped and have modern facilities”, and for upgrading fire service infrastructure across the county.
Loughrea is not the only town in Galway to receive a new fire station in recent years, with a station in Tuam opening in 2019, and the planning process has been completed for a new station in Tuam.
A long standing goal of finding a new home for the fire service in Galway City is still ongoing after two decades however, with the city council repeatedly granting retention permission for “temporary” offices on the premise.
Brothers Ronan and Niall Burke with their dad Frank.
For half a century now Burke’s Fruit and Veg has been delivered crisp fruit and vegetables to restaurants around Galway, but far from wilting this family business has enjoyed fresh growth in recent years.
Where once Burke’s focused exclusively to shops and restaurants, recent times have seen the business expand to bringing fresh produce right to people’s doors.
Galway local Frank Burke started the business in 1971, investing in a truck and a vision of providing local businesses with high quality, affordable, fresh produce.
He thought that building long lasting relationships with his customers was the way forward, and 50 years later, it’s hard to argue with longevity.
Current owners Niall and Ronan Burke have kept the family tradition of timely, and fresh produce deliveries going strong, but further expanded the business to bring their green offerings to the wider community.
The Fruit Brothers.ie was launched in 2018 to fill a niche in the market, bringing fresh produce to people’s front doors at a time when making healthy food at home was becoming more popular in Ireland.
Since then they have delivered over 4,000 boxes of produce around Galway, and have been investing even further in expanding the home delivery service.
In 2020, when the business needed to adapt, the Burkes focused on strengthening the Galway market with their new 6 day a week city delivery service and twice weekly county service.
Ambitious plans call for equally ambitious investment, and to further this Burke’s has moved to a new warehouse, where Niall and Ronan invested €75k in improving the building, and a further €30k on their fleet.
Since its origin over 50 years ago, Burke’s Fruit and Veg has expanded to include a team of over 6 employees and has diversified into many new areas of the fruit and vegetable arena.
Most important to the Burke family, however, is that this has been achieved without compromising on the company’s original principles of continuously striving to source high quality, fresh local produce, maintaining long lasting customer relationships and creating employment in the local community.
Niall & Ronan identified a new market for the growing office wellbeing movement and the home cook looking for more variety of produce not found in the average shop.
Shoppers can find in-season, sustainably sourced produce from farms and growers throughout Ireland, and the freshest in season fruit from around the world; with everything you’d expect to find in a fruit and veg shop along with weird and wonderful produce that will whet and excite any appetite.
They have also partnered with Galway Bakery La Petit Delice so customers can add freshly baked baguettes and sourdough loaves as well as Galway Eggs to their boxes.
The specialty fruit and veg boxes will be biodegradable and fully recyclable as well having the best of fruit loaded with nutrients and goodness. Each box will explain the seasonality of fruits and which months it is when fruits are ripe and best to eat.
This Christmas they are launching a subscription service on www.thefruitbrothers.ie, so you can gift a box of goodness to yourself or another home or office as a healthy treat each week or month.
Keeping things fresh is crucial in business (pun very much intended), and the second generation of Burkes have no intention of slowing down, with plans to extend their organic selection in the new year, as well adding Cold Press Juices to order.
One lucky lotto player in the west of Ireland came agonisingly close to the €19m Lotto jackpot this weekend, but is still walking away with a cool €595,521.
A player in Mayo matched five numbers and the bonus number on Saturday night, as did another in Dublin, with the splitting the boosted prize fund of €1,191,042.
The Mayo player purchased their Quick Pick ticket at Turlough Stores in Turlough, Castlebar on Friday, October 22, while the Dublin winner was playing online.
Attracta Barrett, who owns the winning Mayo store with her husband Michael, was delighted to hear that one of their customers became one of the biggest winners in Saturday night’s draw.
“This is the biggest prize that we have ever sold so we’re all absolutely thrilled. It’s lovely to think that someone in the town might have come into good luck overnight and on a bank holiday weekend as well.”
“There will be great excitement around the place today and I’m sure lots of customers will be keen to check their tickets. We wish the winner all the very best with their win!”
The winning numbers for last night’s Lotto draw were: 05, 10, 12, 23, 28, 47 and the bonus was 16.
With no winner of the jackpot, the record breaking roll will continue, with the prize capped at €19,060,800 for Wednesday’s draw.
The Mayo winner is advised to sign the back of their ticket and to keep it in a safe place until their make contact with the National Lottery claims team on 1800 666 222, or by emailing claims@lottery.ie, so that arrangements can be made.
Nearly 30 cent in every €1 spent on all National Lottery games goes back to Good Causes in the areas of sport, youth, health, welfare, education, arts, heritage and the Irish Language.
In total more than €6 Billion has been raised for Good Causes since the National Lottery was established 34 years ago. In 2020 alone, €254 million was raised for local Good Causes in communities across Ireland.
There have been a further 1,725 confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported by the Department of Health today.
As of this morning there 473 people in the country hospitalised with COVID.
Of these patients, 97 have been admitted to intensive care units for treatment.
In the latest figures for Galway’s hospitals from Saturday night, there were 34 cases at UHG and 12 at Portiuncula.
Six patients at University Hospital Galway and two at Portiuncula Hospital were in the ICU.
A total of 7,297,243 doses of COVID-19 vaccine had been administered in Ireland up to Thursday evening, with 3,735,655 people fully vaccinated.
This Bank Holiday weekend has seen many of the remaining public health restrictions lifted, with pubs and restaurants back to normal trading hours, and nightclubs allowed to reopen.
Briain and Sorcha talk to the Gardaí, Tadhg schemes to get his mattress back, and Caitríona keeps sniffing around Colm’s secrets on Ros na Rún.
Briain and Sorcha are very much looking out for themselves, as Briain goes to give a statement to the Gardaí about Jude’s accident.
Sorcha follows not far behind him to tell O’Shea her own version of events. But just which of them, if either, is telling the truth.
Tadhg discovers that Coílí Jackie has his mattress and concocts a plan to get it back. Noreen may come to regret her part in the scheme.
Mack and Sonia go on a date to a fancy restaurant, but Dee is still holding out hope that they may have a chance together.
Colm’s visit to the grave has heightened his emotions, and he obsesses over any little symptom his son might have afterwards.
Caitríona is like a dog with a bone, desperate to uncover what Colm is concealing from her. Will her budding friendship with Charlie lead to some answers?
Catch up on all the latest from Ros na Rún this week on TG4 in a double feature omnibus at 7:30pm on Sunday.
Homes and businesses in parts of the west side of Galway city and suburbs are experiencing water outages today due to a burst mains.
Irish Water is repairing a burst mains in Knocknacarra that occurred shortly before 8pm on Saturday.
The broken pipe and repair works are causing water outages and disruptions to Knocknacarra, Barna and surrounding areas.
Repairs are currently expected to be completed by 2pm on Sunday afternoon.
A traffic management plan will be in place for the duration of the works.
Peopel affected by this are advised that it may take 2-3 hours after repairs are completed before their full supply is restored as the network refills.
Galway City Council is updating speed limit signs at multiple locations in the city to ensure that people are actually going the correct speed.
The council said that it recently carried out an audit of speed signage across the city to bring them in line with bylaws more than a decade old.
Based on this audit, signage in multiple areas is being modified so that they match the Special Speed Limit Bye-Laws 2009.
While this might seem a trivial issue, confusion over how fast cars can go in the city could very easily lead a driver into trouble with the law, or result in a serious crash.
There are reportedly multiple signs around the city which make it seem as though drivers can do 80km/hr, when the actual limit is 50km/hr.
“Please pay increased attention to speed limit signs in the city, as they may be altered under this audit,” the city council said.
Effective communication skills can make a notable difference in a student’s life. However, when it comes to communication, it should not only be confined to just verbal skills. The ability to write effortlessly for your examinations, academic applications and emails can definitely give you an edge over others. So, if you have been emphasizing only your oratory skills till now, you are doing it completely wrong.
Certainly, we should have solid reasons for stating such a thing. But know that writing skills will give a boost to your academic life and your career as well. We have talked to the experts and curated this article for students. Delve deeper to learn more!
Why Is It Important for Students to Have Top-Notch Writing Skills?
From writing a long answer to writing an essay, everything calls for the ability to write well. Some students often deem themselves incapable of articulating good write-ups. They tend to use an online paper writing service for their college assignments and essays. But learning this skill can help you significantly.
Helps You Learn and Retain Information Better
You may be writing an exam or taking notes during a lecture. When you have apt writing skills, you won’t mix up concepts. You can instead understand them and write in your own words. Your writing skills thus can save you from the burden of memorizing things. Know that cramming won’t take you anywhere. But understanding the concepts thoroughly and writing down the value points can help you learn your lessons effectively.
Helps You Write Quality Application Essays
We all know how important it is to write an impressive admission essay to get enrolled in your dream school. The essay should reflect your capabilities as well as convey your ideas and beliefs. A strong personal statement can help you pursue your dream course. Poor writing skills in such situations often serve as an obstruction.
Students can also opt to write essays for me by DoMyEssay. Professional writers from the service can help you write the best admission essay or any other academic paper for that matter so you can get the desired outcome.
Enables You to Express Your Ideas Better
Not everyone is vocal enough about what they feel or think. However, their pen does the magic for them. When you can write better, you can use that talent to express your ideas. The more you write, the better you explain yourself.
From college newspapers and debates to election campaigns, your written words can give you the much-needed pathway.
Helps You Generate Income
Hustling alongside studying is the new normal for all students. This brings in the highly-coveted-for financial freedom to the students, and they need not depend on their parents for pocket money.
You can use your writing skills to earn some money by writing articles for student-oriented magazines and newspapers or even essays for your fellow classmates. Also, try starting your own blog and create content that you relate to. Content writing is yet another lucrative career option that is also getting immensely popular among students.
Helps You to Focus
Journaling is a long-known habit that improves focus and offers clarity of thoughts. We often tend to overthink and struggle to organize the clutter inside the head. When you start to write and become able to pour your thoughts onto a paper, you can see the improvement in every aspect of your life.
On the other hand, you will hardly feel like journaling if your writing skills are not apt. Thus, improving your written communication is important for your personal life too.
Improves Your Problem-Solving Skills
The clarity of thoughts that comes with effective writing enhances your problem-solving skills. Writing involves several complex cognitive activities, such as listening to a lecture or reading a chapter, and then processing the concept in your mind, and finally pouring it out on paper using your own words.
So, if you are a gifted writer, know that you can think slightly better than other students of your age. But if not, you can expand your capabilities by constantly writing and improving.
Brings You Better Grades
Last but not least, students who write better score better. Refined writing abilities help you compose your answers with utmost convenience. Your written compositions will stand out and create greater impacts as compared to others.
Want to Improve Your Writing Skills? Start With These Tips!
Make it a habit to read your favorite blog or magazine on a daily basis to grow your vocabulary.
Invest your time in creating a detailed outline before you jump onto writing an essay or even a full-fledged answer.
Take time out every day and practice writing on topics of your choice.
Use proofreading tools that can help you polish your texts.
Conclusion
Some students have inherent writing capabilities, while others need extensive practice to master this art. Investing your time in nurturing and enhancing your writing skills is indeed worth a try. Augmented writing skills will prove to be highly beneficial at different points in your academic and professional life. So, start practicing today, and within the next few months, you will be astonished by your own growth. Know that the better your writing skills are, the greater the impact of your words.
Approval for the construction of an Aldi supermarket on the Monivea Road in Ballybrit has been appealed to An Bord Pleanála.
Tesco Ireland and the Retail Grocery Dairy & Allied Trades Association have both lodged appeals against the city council’s decision to approve the development last month.
Both appellants had made objections to the plans when they were first before the city council.
Aldi plans to build a two-storey supermarket building, with 1,254sqm of retail space, on the Old Monivea Road, which set an opening date of August 2023.
The supermarket will be served by 80 car parking spaces and 12 bicycle spaces, and will also feature four charging stations for electric vehicles. The plans also include provision for a bus stop and pedestrian crossing.
Tesco objected on the grounds that the site is of mixed-zoning, with approximately 60% zoned commercial, and the remainder zoned for industrial usage.
The city council however decided to grant a material contravention of the development plan in order to allow the supermarket plans to go ahead, after Aldi submitted plans saying that the Industrial land would mainly be car parking.
RGDATA said that it was “concerned with the proliferation of planned and permitted convenience stores in suburban locations throughout Galway City in recent years.”
“If not carefully managed, the cumulative effect of these retail developments poses a real threat to the future vitality and viability of the City Centre and existing centres in the city”.
The city council also received submissions in relation to the material contravention, saying that it was not justified due to traffic safety concerns, the overall zoning objective for the site, and that there are other more suitable locations for a supermarket.
Aldi have said that the €9 million supermarket development will create 30 permanent jobs when it opens, and support 50 jobs in the construction industry while being built.
An Bord Pleanála is due to rule on whether to uphold planning permission for the supermarket February 22 of next year.
Bishop Brendan Kelly (pictured) placed Fr Michael King on indefinite leave after a series of TikTok posts
Gort parish priest Father Michael King has been placed on indefinite leave by the bishop over multiple bizarre and sometimes crude TikTok videos.
The Irish Mirror reports that Bishop of Galway Brendan Kelly has written a statement which will be read to parishioners this weekend.
It states that Fr King will be absent for the foreseeable future due to the “upsetting information” of recent days.
Bishop Kelly goes on to say that, “I fully understand that you feel hurt and let down at this time”.
In one of the videos the 44 year old Renmore native posted on TikTok he played clips of songs such as Another One Bites the Dust by Queen, Staying Alive by the BeeGees, And Highway to Hell, among others, with the caption “Me in charge of the funeral playlist”.
Another video featuring the curate and a woman veered into sexual territory.
Michael King was ordained as a priest in 2016, and has been the curate for Gort since then.
The diocese has been contacted to ask if it has any further comment in relation to this.
Night-time water restrictions have been lifted on Inis Oírr after being in place for almost six months.
Irish Water imposed water restrictions on the Aran Island from 11pm to 7am back at the start of May.
The restrictions were imposed due to low reservoir levels on the island, and keeping the island supplied over the summer involved tankering in water from the mainland.
Irish Water says today that, with water reserves improved, these now have been lifted with immediate effect.
Tim O’Connor of Irish Water said “The restrictions were necessary over the summer months to ensure a continuous daily water supply was available for residents and businesses for hygiene and other essential purposes.”
“Supplies were increased by a significant amount of tankering of water by sea from Rossaveel over the past three months.”
“Thankfully water reserves on the island have recovered and are currently sufficient to ensure a continuous water supply into the autumn.”
“Irish Water and Galway County Council will continue to monitor and maintain the supply for our customers on Inis Oírr.”
“We would like to thank residents, businesses and visitors to the Island for their conservation efforts during the restrictions and we would also like to remind customers that it is important to continue to follow the HSE guidance on hand washing.”
There have been a further 2,427 cases of COVID-19 reported by the Department of Health today, as numbers remain as high as in late January.
There were 449 people in Ireland hospitalised with COVID as of 8am this morning.
Of these patients, 93 have been admitted to intensive care units for treatment.
Urging people to get vaccinated, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ronan Glynn said on twitter that vaccines have had “fantastic impact” in Ireland over the past two centuries.
Vaccines have together “saved more lives than any other public health intervention,” Dr Glynn said.
Chief of the HSE Paul Reid said that doctors in ICUs are treating a “disproportionately high number” of younger unvaccinated people.
TG4 has commissioned a new current affairs panel series, Mo Thír Mo Thuairim, produced by Dundara Television & Media and presented by broadcaster Cormac...
