The Department of Health has reported 1,180 new cases of COVID-19 in the State this afternoon.
As of 8am today, 362 people with COVID-19 are in hospitals in the Republic, of whom 59 are in ICU.
The latest data for Galway’s hospitals shows that there are 31 people with the disease at UHG and three at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe.
Three of the confirmed cases at UHG are in the intensive care unit, but none of the people with COVID at Portiuncula are in ICU.
The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Galway’s public hospitals has fallen for a second day, according to the latest HSE data.
There are now 31 people with the disease at University Hospital Galway, down three on yesterday’s figures, while the number of cases at Portiuncula Hospital is down to three.
There are still three patients with COVID-19 in the intensive care unit at UHG, but none of the three confirmed cases at Portiuncula Hospital are in ICU, as of yesterday evening.
Nationally there were 357 people with the virus in hospitals at 8pm on Saturday evening, of whom 52 were in ICU.
When the data was taken, there were two ICU beds available at UHG and one at Portiuncula Hospital, and 20 general beds free at UHG.
People Before Profit in Galway have condemned the government’s Housing For All plan as a ‘continuation of the failed policy’ of relying on the private market.
The party’s Galway representative Adrian Curran said that the plan will not deliver enough social housing to drastically cut housing waiting lists.
He said that it promises about 10,000 new build social homes each year but even these homes will come mainly from private developers selling 20% of new developments to local authorities.
“Once again, the number of new homes we get will be left to the market and those seeking profit. It is a scandal that people will continue to languish on these housing lists for years,” said Adrian Curran.
“There is no commitment to impose a rent freeze or even set up mechanism by which landlords could be obliged to reduce rents.
“It only links rents in Rent Pressure Zones, such as Galway city, to the rate of inflation. This ignores the fact that rents are already too high – and most economists predict a rise in inflation.”
He said that the €4 billion annual spend on housing, €1 billion will flow directly into the hands of private landlords through schemes such as HAP.
“The affordable housing proposals mainly rely on a shared equity scheme. But the evidence from Britain is that such schemes only lead to price increases in the longer term.
“There was an alternative to reliance on the private market. The government could have used public land to build social and affordable housing.
“It could have defined affordable as a realistic percentage of a person’s income rather than as a small reduction from an overheated market. It could have set up a state-run construction company to build homes at cheap cost and ensure that they meet proper environmental standards.”
A celebratory mass will be held at Galway Cathedral next week for the centenary anniversary of the founding of the Legion of Mary.
The Legion of Mary is a lay Catholic organisation, created in Ireland a century ago and now present in almost every country.
The group was founded in Dublin back in 921, and first expanded its activities into Galway 88 years ago.
The unit of the Legion of Mary is called a praesidium, which holds a weekly meeting, where prayer is intermingled with reports and discussion.
For the duration of this centenary year there will be a photo display in the Cathedral on the local and wider legion.
The anniversary mass will take place at Galway Cathedral at 7:30pm this coming Tuesday, September 7, presided over by Rev. Brendan Kelly, the former Bishop of Galway.
For those who cannot attend in person, the mass will also be watchable online at www.galwaycathedral.ie.
Plans have been submitted to Galway City Council to demolish two derelict buildings on the outskirts of the city in Knocknacarra in order to make way for apartments.
Planning permission is being sought by Leadlane (Cappagh) Limited to demolish to derelict buildings on the Cappagh Road, and build three blocks of duplexes on the site in their place.
The three building would consist of Block A with six apartments, Block B with 12 units, and Block C which would have just two apartments.
The site of the proposed housing development is adjacent to Cappagh Park, near the junction with the Western Distributor Road, and currently contains two dilapidated homes with associated out buildings.
Roughly half of the 7,006sqm site is zoned for recreational use, and no building is planned to take place on that portion of the land.
A large portion of the land, facing away from the main road, will be landscaped into green areas to the rear of the apartments.
“The proposed housing presents a positive aspect to passersby, avoiding unnecessary physical and visual barriers,” the architectural statement claims, “Allowing pedestrians from the Cappagh to look through the scheme to the green landscape beyond.
The site will be served by a total of 35 car parking spaces, and 15 bicycle spaces, and the project will also involve creating a new access point to the Cappagh Road.
Galway City Council is due to make a decision on this planning application by October 10 of this year.
More than 3,000 homes in the countryside around Ballinasloe will be able to start getting high-speed fibre broadband from October.
Galway TD Denis Naughten said that 3,100 homes in Ballinasloe and surrounding rural areas are now able to pre-order connections being delivered under the National Broadband Plan.
The homes being connected by National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the consortium rolling out the plan, will be able to get connections of up to 1000mb/s speeds.
“The vast majority of connections to homes will be from the nearest eir telephone pole,” explained Denis Naughten, adding that “It is important that homeowners make sure they can connect to the fibre when it comes to their door, by ensuring there are no trees etc blocking the route.”
Approximately 700 of these properties already have the network built up to their doors, and it is expected that at home installation of fibre broadband will start from October.
In East Galway, the next phase of the build out from the NBP will target the Newbridge area.
Researchers at NUIG’s CÚRAM Centre have developed an implantable medical device that can accelerate the healing of injured tendons.
The implantable device created by the CÚRAM team stimulates injured tendons with electrical therapy to control its repair function, working in tandem with exercise.
Dr Marc Fernandez, who carried out the principal research of the study at CÚRAM, said “Our discovery shows that an electrical charge is produced in the treatment target area, the damaged or injured tendon, when the implanted device is stretched during walking.”
“The potential gamechanger here is like a power switch in a cell, the electrical stimulus turns on tendon-specific regenerative processes in the damaged tendon.”
The electrical device is actually powered by the patient themselves, generating electricity through the act of walking.
That’s due it being made of a fabric like mesh – known as a piezoelectric material, which generates electricity when it is stretched or put under pressure.
It is made using a scaffold of nano-fibres which are one-thousandth of the thickness of a human hair.
Dr Fernandez added “We presented an implantable, electrically active device capable of controlling tendon regeneration and healing.”
“Importantly, our research improved the therapeutic performance of the device by enhancing its structure, piezoelectric characteristics, and biological compatibility.”
Lead researcher on the study Dr Manus Biggs said that the most exciting thing they found is that these devices can be tailored for individual patients or conditions.
He added that they “May show promise in accelerating the repair of sport-related tendon injuries, particularly in athletes.”
“This unique strategy of combining a device which is powered through body-movement and which can induce accelerated tendon healing is expected to significantly impact the field of regenerative devices, specifically in the area of sports or trauma associated injuries.”
He said that they are cost effective and relatively easy devices to implant, and could pave the way for a new range of regenerative medicine.
A further 1,703 confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been reported by the Department of Health today.
As of this morning there were 363 people in the state hospitalised with COVID.
Of these patients 52 have been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
A parade through Galway City took place this afternoon to mark National Services Day.
This annual event celebrates the work done by all front line security and emergency services in society.
More than three in five people who applied to the city council for housing adaptation grants in the first six months of the year are still waiting for an inspection.
In the first half of this year, there were 146 applicants for housing adaptation grants from the city council, and of these 90 are still waiting for an inspection of their home.
Former Sinn Féin councillor Mark Lohan said that the number of applications received by the council increased by almost 50% this year compared with the same period in 2020.
There was no corresponding increase in funding for the programme from the central government, something that Lohan says is essential to clear the backlog in the system.
The Housing Adaptation Grants are meant for specific home improvements that can help older people and those with a disability to live independently at home.
Galway City was allocated a total of €1,153,836 for the scheme in March this year, which includes €923,069 Exchequer funding and €230,767 Council funding.
For much of this year the city council continued to accept applications for this scheme, but was unable to carry out the required home inspections due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Mr Lohan praised the council executive for making the decision to use photographic inspections where possible to keep the process moving along.
“This practical move is testament to the effort by the local authority to work as efficiently as possible for these residents in need, however it was not enough to deal with the surge in applications and the resulting backlog of work on site.”
“My concern here is that if the completion of this work is not dealt with immediately, the ever-increasing applications could create a more severe backlog.”
Of the Galway City applicants for the scheme in the first half, 38 people have had grants approved to renovate their homes, but the works have yet to be completed.
Colm’s joy turns to sorrow with Mo gone, while Tadgh stews on the truth of what she has done, and David is on the lookout for dangers signs with Brian as Ros na Rún returns to our screens.
Colm is over the moon to find himself a father, but his joy takes a bitter turn when he finds Mo is gone.
The hits keep coming as Tadhg brutally lets Colm know that he’s well aware Mo was the one who killed Frances.
Where is the distraught Mo in all of this, and will she come back to Colm?
Meanwhile, David is convinced that Brian tried to take his own life, despite his denials.
A mysterious blue substance in the remnants of Brian’s coffee cup only deepens his concerns.
Fiach is angry that Greg used the card game to seek revenge on Rory, but will he go along with Greg’s plan, or walk away?
And Mack, feeling threatened by Katy’s new boyfriend Diarmaid, has a word in his ear. Will Mack feel better for it or saddened that another man is raising his child?
Life, death, and parenting. All this and more on Ros na Rún next Tuesday, September 7 on TG4.
A parade to honour front line workers who have given so much in the past year and a half will make its way through Galway City today.
Today marks National Services Day, a day created to honour all the security, emergency, and other front line services who work to keep people safe.
The event had to be cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, but is returning this year when it is more important than ever to recognise the incredible efforts front line workers have put in during the pandemic.
Celebrations are taking place in Galway, Dublin, Cork, Monaghan, and Wexford today, with the Galway parade starting at 12:30pm in the Latin Quarter.
Before that a private wreath laying ceremony will be held at NUI Galway to commemorate those who have been lost
The parade will start at the Spanish Arch, crossing over to the west end of the city via the Wolfe Tone Bridge, and heading down Fr Griffin Road and Whitestrand Rd to Salthill.
It will then follow the Promenade out to the Cappagh Road on the western edge of the city, before looping up and back in along the Western Distributor Rd.
The route then heads into the city along the Bishop O’Donnell and Seamus Quirke roads, heads north along the Thomas Hynes road, and back down along Upper Newcastle.
The parade will then cross the Quincentenary Bridge, and head east out to Bohermore, and along the Old Dublin Road until Doughiska.
Towards the end, the parade will complete a loop up the Doughiska Road, turning onto the Monivea Road, and then down the Ballybane road to finish at GMIT.
The Middle Arch area of Galway City down by the Claddagh and Spanish Arch has been closed by the city council this weekend.
At the request of An Garda Síochána, the Middle Arch has been closed from Friday until Tuesday, September 7.
This area has been shut multiple times over the course of the pandemic due to concerns about large numbers of young people meeting there.
Large crowds have raised issues about social distancing and potentially spreading the virus.
Friday saw the release of the Leaving Certificate results, with an unprecedented number of students having top grades to celebrate this year.
Next Tuesday will also see the issuing of Round 1 CAO offers, with prospective college students finding out if they got the place they wanted.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the ICU at University Hospital Galway has fallen again, down to just three people.
The number of confirmed cases at UHG remained steady in the latest figures from the HSE, down just one as of Friday night to 34 patients.
But despite the high number of cases at UHG, the amount of COVID-19 patients admitted to the ICU has continued to fall.
The three cases in the ICU as of Friday night is half the number receiving critical care last Sunday.
At Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe there are five confirmed cases, two more than yesterday, one of whom is in intensive care.
Nationwide there were 343 people hospitalised with COVID-19 as of yesterday evening, 55 of whom are being treated in the ICU.
Met Eireann has issued a warning that weather conditions later this weekend will be conducive to the spread of potato blight.
The environmental warning states the blight friendly weather is expected to develop on Sunday through to Monday afternoon.
There will be some opportunities for spraying on Saturday, the alert also states.
The covers all of Connacht, along with counties Donegal, Kilkenny, Wexford, and Waterford.
Potato blight is caused by a fungus called Phytophthora infestans that spreads through the air and thrives in humid weather.
Its symptoms include patches of brown freckles on leaves with a yellowish border, dark patches on tubers, and potatoes rotting into soggy masses.
This weekend’s weather is forecast to be mostly overcast, with some spells of sunshine today, and rain developing in Sunday evening.
Next week is expected to be much more enjoyable, with strong sun coming by Tuesday.
A man who assaulted his mother and damaged her home while there was a barring order against him has been sentenced to ten months in prison.
The man pleaded guilty to assault causing harm and criminal damage, as well as breaches of a court order, at Galway District Court.
Judge Mary Fahy said that this was a “horrific assault”, and that the man was fortunate not to be in court on more serious charges.
Though the case was lister for hearing, none of the charges were contested solicitor Sean Acton said.
The court heard that on January 1 of this year, Gardaí received a report of an older woman who had been assaulted at her home.
When Gardaí met her she had injuries to her face, arms, and legs. She told the officers that her son had arrived at her house and attacked her.
During the assault he punched her repeatedly in the head and face, as well as kicking her, and tried to hit her with a chair.
Judge Fahy remarked that had he managed to do so, “she might not even be here today”, and her son would be in far more trouble.
Fortunately the woman was able to get away to a neighbour and call the Gardaí. They found the son still at the property, and very drunk.
The woman was taken to hospital after the assault, and while it wasn’t clear how long she had to spend in hospital, a medical report before the court said that she had an appointment for a dislocated jaw assessment five days after the incident.
During this investigation it emerged that the son had been at the house on another occasion the month before, while a barring order was in place.
The court heard of multiple other incidents in the months following the assault where the son was either reported at the house, or found there by Gardaí in breach of court orders.
In one incident on August 15 just gone at 5am, Gardaí received a report of an alarm going off at the woman’s home.
When they arrived they found the son outside, banging hard on a window of the house. He fled when he saw the officers arrive. Approximately €500 worth of damage was done to the window.
Mr Acton said that his client has struggled with alcohol addiction for a long time, and there had been multiple bereavements in the family.
He has tried and failed to go through addiction treatment in the past, Mr Acton said, adding that since the start of the pandemic the man has only been able to access online AA support.
The injured party, who was present in court with a social worker accompanying her, declined to give a victim impact statement,
But the court heard that she while she knows her son had done wrong, and she wants to feel safe in her home, she also wanted him to receive help more than punishment.
Judge Mary Fahy said that while the court has to take her views into account, it also had a public duty to send a message about behaviour like this. “It’s absolutely horrific, what I’ve just heard,” she said.
Judge Fahy added that “at all times” he knew what he was doing was wrong, as evidenced by the fact that he ran on multiple occasions he ran when Gardaí found him at the house.
She imposed a nine month prison sentence for the assault causing harm, with one month consecutive to that for the criminal damage offence.
Another five months in prison was added for breaching the court orders in place. But the sentence was suspended for two years, with the condition that the man get addiction treatment.
There have been a further 1,414 cases of COVID-19 reported by the Department of Health today.
As of this morning there are 353 people in Ireland being treated for COVID in hospital.
Of those patients, there are 55 admitted to the ICU for critical care.
The European Centre for Disease Control (ECDC) has said that Ireland currently has the highest incidence levels of COVID-19 in the EU.
The two week incidence rate in Ireland currently stands at 504 cases per 100,000 population, the highest of any country in the Union.
A Galway County Councillor who is a nurse at University Hospital Galway has said that he has never seen things as bad at the hospital in the thirteen years that he has worked there.
Cllr Dáithí Ó Cualáin told Cóilín Ó Neachtain on Adhmhaidin on RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta that the biggest concern for staff at the hospital was what the winter would bring, when things were already at crisis point at the end of the summer.
“Things are really bad at UCHG at the moment. I’ve been working there for almost thirteen years, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it as bad,” said Cllr Ó Cualáin.
He said that there were substantial staffing issues, but that the problems went deeper than that.
“There are significant staffing issues in the hospital. A lot of days now there are not sufficient staff for wards, and people are taken from other wards to fill the gaps.
“We’re hearing every day that more staff and nurses are coming … but there’s much, much more than that involved.
“The biggest fear for doctors, nurses and all healthcare staff at the moment is what will happen when winter comes? We’re only at the end of summer and things are already a mess, there’s a huge amount of people on trollies, and the nurses and staff are all under terrible pressure.”
Cllr Ó Cualáin said that he intends to raise this matter with hospital management and with the Regional Health Forum West, to call for an emergency meeting as soon as possible to clarify what plans they have to deal with this situation as we head into the winter.
He clarified that he was calling for an emergency meeting, rather than the regularly scheduled ones.
“This is an emergency, so we need an emergency meeting to tackle it. It’s too important a matter not to have a meeting and not to make the public aware.”
In the interview, he said there were numerous problems with the ambulance service too, and that he understood an ambulance from An Cheathrú Rua had been sent to answer an emergency call in Roscommon recently.
He said that although he understood that the ambulance service was a national service, that arrangements like that are not satisfactory for anybody.
“They’re pulling [ambulances] out of these areas and leaving those communities then in Conamara without a satisfactory emergency service.
“We have to look at it again, and see if there’s a better way, so ambulances based in County Galway for example wouldn’t be sent out of the county.”
Students of Kilglass National School in Ahascragh undertook an epic sea voyage without ever having to leave home, courtesy of the unmanned mini sailboat called ‘Seoltóir Na Gaillimhe – the Galway Sailor’.
After being set loose on the waves back in June, the Galway Sailor was recently found by a family in Norway, washed up on beach over 3,000km from where it set sail.
The Bjørnsen family and their friends were holidaying on the Lofoten Islands, above the Artic Circle, when they found the boat at Bunes Beach, bearing with it the miracle of Taytos.
Mr Lars Bjørnsen said his daughters were thrilled to discover the mini boat washed up on the remote Bunes Beach.
“Our neighbour had found the boat and my three girls were so excited to join him to open the hatch of the boat to see the Irish messages and ‘treasures’ inside.”
He said that they were able to read most of the letters that the students at Kilglass NS had written, though some had gotten a little wet.
His daughters were especially pleased by the Irish crisps and sweets, which had survived the voyage intact and delicious.
Bunes Beach is quite isolated on the western side of Reinefjorden on the Moskenesøya island, Norway. You can only get there by ferry and then have to walk 3km to the beach,” Mr Bjørnsen further explained.
“It is a beautiful beach in a bay surrounded by mountains and steep ridges. However, not many people get to go there on a regular basis.”
“Therefore, the fact that we found the Galway Sailor mini boat, that had made its way into the bay and then washed up on the shore with little structural damage is amazing for such a small boat.”
The Seoltóir Na Gaillimhe – the Galway Sailor boat was given to the children of Kilglass NS by the Marine Institute as part of Explorers Education Programme.
The boat was equipped with a sail and satellite tracker, and decorated by the children who painted artwork and good luck messages on its hull.
It was launched by the Marine Institute’s RV Celtic Explorer near the M6 Data Buoy, in the Atlantic Ocean during a scientific survey in June.
Mick Gillooly, Interim CEO of the Marine Institute praised the Explorers Programme as an excellent way of getting the community engaged with understanding the ocean, and how it influences our lives.
Mr Peter Kane, who was the school teacher leading the project at Kilglass, said that the last they heard from the boat came when it reported its position as being near the Faroe Islands.
“We didn’t know whether the boat had been damaged or was still drifting with the currents and winds.”
He said that it was a “mini-summer miracle” that the boat was found, and thanked the Bjørnsen family for the messages they sent back to the kids in Galway.
“Everyone at Kilglass National School are so delighted with the news that our mini-boat ‘Seoltóir na Gaillimhe‘ has been found in Norway.”
He added that their little boat being found so far from home highlights “how the ocean connects us all”.
Four of Galway’s ten local electoral areas now have 14-day COVID rates higher than the national average, which was 523 cases per 100,000 people when the data was taken earlier this week.
Gort-Kinvara LEA’s coronavirus rate is the highest in Co. Galway, with 664 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in two weeks. A total of 156 new cases were reported in the area between 17 and 30 August.
Galway City Central and Galway City East LEAs also have incidence rates higher than the national average, at 640 and 628 cases per 100,000 people respectively.
Athenry-Oranmore’s rate now stands at 627, while the other six LEAs in Galway have rates lower than the average in the State.
In Conamara North LEA, the rate is 320 cases per 100,000 people, and Conamara South now has a rate of 328.
Galway City West had 119 new cases in the last two weeks of August, giving it a two-week COVID rate of 469.
Tuam LEA’s rate is now 464 cases per 100,000 people, while Ballinasloe and Loughrea both have rates of 370.
The Connacht Rugby women’s squad has been announced today ahead of their interpro fixture against Munster tomorrow.
Connacht and Munster will play at Musgrave Park in their second game of the Vodafone Women’s Interprovincial Championship.
Kick off is at 7:30pm on Saturday, and coverage of the game will be broadcast live on TG4.
Last week’s first round fixture against Leinster ended in defeat for the Connacht side, with a final score of 17-12 to Leinster.
The full Connacht side for tomorrow’s game is:
1 Julia Bauer Suttonians RFC
2 Moya Griffin Tullamore RFC
3 Shannon Heapes Cooke RFC
4 Eva McCormack Westport RFC
5 Fiona Scally Galwegians RFC
6 Ciara Farrell Tullamore RFC
7 Meadbh Scally Blackrock College RFC
8 Kate Feehan Westport RFC
9 Mary Healy Galwegians RFC (C)
10 Nicole Fowley Galwegians RFC
11 Orla Dixon Galwegians RFC
12 Shannon Touhey Suttonians RFC
13 Catherine Martin Suttonians RFC
14 Ursula Sammon Westport RFC
15 Nicole Carroll Suttonians RFC
16 Emily Gavin Ballinasloe RFC
17 Hannah Coen Sligo RFC
18 Elizabeth McNicholas Galwegians RFC
19 Faith Oviawe Buccaneers RFC
20 Emma Fabby Westport RFC
21 Noreen Cassidy CYM RFC
22 Megan Walsh Galwegians RFC
23 Órfhlaith Murray MU Barnhall RFC
© 2026 GalwayDaily. All rights reserved. | Designed by Web Design Ireland
