Plans progress for new Athenry gaelscoil campus

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January 22, 2020

Galway Daily life style local gin wins international award

The family owned Micil Distillery has taken home a prestigious international award for their prestige local gin.

The first distillery to open in Galway in over a century, Micil Irish Gin is made by the Micil family from local flowers and botanicals at their Salthill base of operations.

Their hard work and dedication to their craft has already won over customers, and recently achieved international acclaim when they were awarded a Silver Medal at the World Gin Awards in the ‘Contemporary Style Gin’ category.

The World Gin Awards took place in London last week, featuring over 400 spirits from more than 20 countries which were blind taste tested by the judges.

Speaking about the win, Pádraic Ó Griallais, the founder and director at Micil Distillery, said that they are absolutely delighted to have received this award.

“My mantra is that Micil will always be associated with distilling beautifully handcrafted spirits in small batches, using local flowers and herbs.”

“For our dedication to this ethos to be recognised at such a prestigious award ceremony, so early on, is extremely rewarding.”

“It’s a terrific feeling to see our spirit, a reflection of our unique Connemara landscape, sitting comfortably alongside some of the best producers in the world.”

He finished by saying that they are extremely proud to be bringing home this medal for everyone in Galway.

Micil Distillery, who handcraft their award-winning spirit, are now invited to attend The Gin Magazine Awards 2020 celebrations in London on February 27, when the overall winner will be announced.

Pádraic, a former schoolteacher and sixth-generation poitín distiller from Inverin in Connemara, established Micil Distillery in 2016.

Feeling a unique Connemara gin was a natural progression from making botanical-infused poitín, he began distilling his now award-winning Micil Irish Gin in 2018.

Speaking about the spirit he said, “Micil Irish Gin is a true story of place in which Connemara flowers and herbs are to the forefront, as well as the same locally picked Connemara bogbean that my family have been adding to their poitín for over 170 years.”

“The gin also incorporates my great-great-great-grandfather Micil’s signature smoothness which is balanced by a gentle citrus effervescence. It is a creation that I am extremely proud of.”

Micil Mac Chearra began distilling in 1848 in Connemara. For six generations, his family made their high-quality spirits illegally after laws passed in 1661 and 1779 targeting small distillers drove poitín-making underground.

Despite this, Micil’s handcrafted spirits were always made entirely from quality grain meaning his smooth, spicy poitín was highly sought after in the west.

The modern Micil Irish Gin is a velvet smooth gin which combines citrus with rich floral flavours from the hand-picked Connemara heather, bog myrtle and bogbean.

It’s best enjoyed with a premium classic tonic water, generous ice and a wedge of lime. Other recommended Micil cocktails include the ‘Connemara Collins’ and the ‘Micil Gin Sour’.

GMIT investing over €6 million in new Creative Arts hub

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January 22, 2020

Galway Daily news GMIT creative arts hub

Over €6 million is being invested in the Creative Arts hub at GMIT’s Galway campus to accommodate growing student numbers.

GMIT’s Cluain Mhuire Creative Arts & Media Centre will receive a grant of €2.7 million from Enterprise Ireland to build a new Creative Enterprise Hub building and refurbish some of the existing buildings.

This multi-million funding grant announced by Enterprise Ireland for the Comhoibriú CLG ‘Creative Enterprise West’ (CREW) project comes from the Regional Enterprise Development Fund.

On top of the money from Enterprise Ireland, a further €1.1m and substantial in-kind contributions will come from a range of partners including GMIT, the Western Development Commission (WDC), Galway Film Centre (GFC), Údarás na Gaeltachta and TG4.

All of this is on top of the €3 million which was recently approved for investment in the project by the GMIT Governing Body.

The project also provides funding for the employment of a manager and development team who will help develop Creative Enterprise networks and international market opportunities, and support companies in the new CREW hub.

Helen Curtin, Head of the CCAM, proudly said that they have the largest community of creatives in the west of Ireland on their campus.

“With student and graduate numbers increasing it is the ideal environment for Creative Enterprise to start up and develop.”

“We are also developing new programmes aligned with industry that will provide exciting opportunities for people right across the region.”

This investment will involve the re-configuring of existing buildings and addition of new buildings to accommodate increasing student numbers at the campus.

Dr Paddy Tobin, GMIT Head of School of Design & Creative Arts said that they are delighted in this investment, which is a response to the increasing popularity of GMIT’s creative programmes.

We are very grateful to all our partners and stakeholders for working so closely with us,” Dr Tobin said.

“I have no doubt that our graduates and the creative industries throughout the west will benefit enormously from all these investments and developments as they build a creative legacy from now into the future.”

County Council receiving €34 million for regional and local roads

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January 21, 2020

Galway Daily news Some traffic disruption is expected at the Galway-Roscommon county line today near Mountbellew due to roadworks taking place

Galway County Council has been allocated €33.8 million for the maintenance and construction of regional and local roads in 2020.

Of that funding €26 million will be spent on overall maintenance of county roads, while an additional €1. million will go towards drainage works, and almost €1 million is for Community Involvement Schemes.

Aside from maintenance works the funding pot also includes millions for infrastructure development such as €1.2 million to go towards the Athenry Ring Road.

Galway East TD Seán Canney said that this is an extremely important investment in a major infrastructure project.

Other construction works being funded this year in the county include €500,000 for improvement works on the R332 Kilbannon, and €50,000 each for a footpath on the L3103 Athenry school road; safety works on the Galway Road, Tuam; and similar works on the junction of Georges St, Gort with the Loughrea Road.

This year’s roads funding marks a €5 million increase on what was allocated to the county council last year according to Deputy Canney.

Additional safety works taking place include €30,000 for the R348 in Kiltullagh village, €10,000 for the junction of the R380 Loughrea to Gort road with the L8529 Ballynabucky and €105,000 for driver feedback signs at various places including Headford, Belclare, Laurencetown and Castleblakeney.

Bridge Rehabiliation Works grants include €55,000 for the L61603 Derreen, Abbeyknockmoy, €50,000 for the L82652 Ballingarry, Kilchreest, €50,000 for the L74011 Lisgub East, Ballymacward, €60,000 for the L85144 Derreen Footbridge, Gort and €75,000 for the R328 Richmond, Clonbern.

Minister for Transport Shane Ross announced today that an investment of €525 million in regional and local roads for 2020, an increase of 8% on last year.

The Minister said that this will allow 2,700kms of roads to be maintained and 2,300kms to be strengthened.

“Well maintained roads are crucial to road safety, to saving lives and to minimizing road collisions. Road fatalities and injuries can be cut drastically by smart investment in better roads.”

The Minister said that he believes local authorities are the best suited to determine which roads in their area are most in need of maintenance and upgrade, and that they have considerable autonomy in directing this funding.

Galway awarded over €60,000 for six Social Enterprises

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January 21, 2020

Galway Daily news Galway winner claims €50,000 in prize bonds draw

Funding of over €60,000 has been allocated to Galway for six Social Enterprises by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

Minister Michael Ring has announced almost €1 million in funding for 106 projects under the mall Capital Grants Scheme for Social Enterprises.

The largest pot of funding in Galway is going to Galway City Partnership, which will receive a total of €27,769.

This will be divided between An Mheitheal Rothar (Galway’s Bike Workshop), which is receiving €15,000, and a further €12,769 for Bounce Back.

Forum Connemara has been allocated a total of €18,000, which includes €15k for the Connemara West Centre and €3,000 for Diamond Hill Housing Association.

Galway Rural Development was awarded €14,540 which will be divided Ballinasloe Town Hall and Athenry Arts & Heritage Centre.

This fresh round of funding follows up on funding for 124 enterprises announced in December, with Minister Ring saying that the scheme was heavily oversubscribed at that time.

The projects which have now been awarded grants from this fresh pot of funding come from those original applications which were not successful last year.

“Social Enterprises are providing valuable services and supports in communities across Ireland,” Michael Ring said.

“Like other businesses, social enterprises pursue their objectives by trading in goods and services on an ongoing basis.”

“However, any surpluses generated by social enterprises are re-invested into achieving the core social objectives,” the Minister concluded.

The Small Capital Grants Scheme is financed through the Dormant Accounts Fund, and provides support of between €2,000 and €15,000 to applicants.

Overnight water outages tonight in Oranmore and surrounding areas

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January 21, 2020

Galway city news Water outages in Salthill due to burst mains today

Overnight water outages will occur in Oranmore and the surrounding area’s group water schemes due to mains tie-in works taking place.

Water outages are expected in Oranmore village itself, as well as for the group water schemes for Maree; Creganna/Moneymore; Taramuid; Frenchfort; Mountain West; Lisheenkyle; Caherfinisher; Oranbeg; and Doughiska No. 2.

This is due to Irish Water carrying out test works on the new water mains between Oranmore and Loughrea.

The outages will take place between 10pm on Tuesday night until approximately 1am on Wednesday.

In Oranmore itself a traffic management plan will be in place tonight where the works are taking place near the junction of the Moneymore and Bog roads.

It may take 2-3 hours after these tie-in works have been completed for full water supply to be restored.

Updates will be available through Irish Water’s Supply and Service page or through their Twitter account @IWCare.

Main given jail sentence for stealing handbags from city bars

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January 21, 2020

Galway Daily court Man gets jail sentence for stealing handbags

A man who stole two women’s handbags and their contents from different bars in Galway City has been given a four month prison sentence.

Michael French (25), of the COPE Day Centre, pleaded guilty at Galway District Court this week to stealing two handbags during a night last November.

The court that on November 12 of last year Garda Jonathan Durkin received a report from a woman that her handbag had been stolen while she was at the Dew Drop Inn on Mainguard Street.

The bag’s contents were worth approximately €145 according to gardaí, and included her phone and home keys.

Later than same night Garda Durkin got another report of another handbag stolen, along with €20 worth of contents, from the Blue Note bar in the West End.

CCTV footage viewed by gardaí at both bars identified Mr Fench as the person responsible, and he was arrested shortly afterwards.

Neither of the handbags or any of their contents other than the keys were recovered the District Court heard.

Mr French also pleaded guilty to a Section 9 firearms charge over a chisel which he had on him when arrested.

Representing Mr French solicitor John Martin said that his client is homeless and had the chisel to open doors so he could squat in vacant premises.

Mr Martin said that Michael French has a history of psychiatric issues, and that when he stopped taking his medication it led to a “spiral of homelessness and crime.”

He was already serving a four month sentence on older charges at the time of this hearing, and Mr Martin said that his conditions has improved while linking with psychiatric services at Castlerea.

For the theft from the Dew Drop Inn, Judge Mary Fahy imposed a four month prison sentence, with a four month consecutive sentence for the Blue Note offence.

The consecutive sentence was suspended for two years on the condition that Mr French be of good behaviour and stay away from the Blue Note.

A three month concurrent sentence was imposed for the Section 9 possession of articles charge.

Judge Fahy agrees to fix recognisance in event of an appeal with a surety of €1,400.

Portumna heritage groups urged to apply for grant

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January 21, 2020

Individuals and groups involved in heritage and Portumna have been urged to apply to Waterways Ireland’s ‘Heritage in the Community’ grants scheme.

Minister Ciaran Cannon said that the €20,000 fund supports projects related to inland waterways’ heritage and which also support the local tourism sector.

“Many people will be fascinated by the short film narrated by historian David Broderick about Johnny Butler who was born in Portumna Workhouse and later had a career with the Board of Works,” he said.

“These kind of true stories flesh out the history of localities of like Portumna for visitors and so I`m pleased to see that Waterways Ireland is running its ‘Heritage in the Community’ grants scheme which provides a fund of €20,000 to assist community-based heritage projects along the river Shannon.”

Applications will be considered from communities, individuals and organisations seeking assistance for projects related to inland waterways’ heritage.

This can include data collection and research, good heritage practice in managing sites, collections, objects, and support what has been termed ‘fresh approaches and initiatives that promote active engagement with heritage’.

Minister Cannon added: “In promoting local heritage, this fund is also supporting the local tourism sector and I urge both individuals and groups involved in heritage and Portumna to apply by the deadline of 31^st January.”

Galway filmmaker nominated for prestigious national award

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January 21, 2020

tristan galway daily filmmaker cinema film

A Galway filmmaker has been nominated for the Discover Award at the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival.

Tristan Heanue was nominated for his short film Ciúnas which was shot around the Conamara area.

The winner of the prestigious award will be announced at the closing ceremony of the festival on 8 March.

Previous recipients of the award include Barry Keoghan, Niamh Algar & John Connors.

Speaking about the nomination Tristan said: “I’m hugely honoured to be nominated for this award among such an incredible list of Irish talent.

“I am so happy with how people seem to have connected with the film since we screened at the Galway Film Fleadh last July.

“I received great support from everyone at the Físín Script competition in Dingle after I won the competition and we are all very proud of what we created.”

This is the latest accolade for the film which won the Grand Prix at the 64th Cork Film Festival in November, placing it on the Academy Awards longlist for 2021.

Heanue also became the first short filmmaker to be nominated for the Bingham Ray New Talent Award at the Galway Film Fleadh last year and was the recipient of the Irish Screen America Rising Star Award shortly after.

It marks the start of a busy few months as he prepares to shoot his new film ‘Harmless’ which was the winner of the Kerry County Council Short Film Bursary in March.

Heanue can also be seen next on the screen playing the lead role in Paddy Slattery’s debut feature film Broken Law which is released in the summer.

Award winning Galway café Tartare headed to Dublin for pop-up experience

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January 21, 2020

Galway Daily life & style Award winning Galway café Dublin pop up

The much loved Galway café and wine bar Tartare will be taking its award winning cuisine to Dublin to show them how it’s done in a pop-up experience next month.

Galway’s own culinary legend JP McMahon, owner of Tartare café and the Michelin Star Aniar restaurant will be cooking up some tasty treats at the Twilight market in Glasnevin in February.

View this post on Instagram

🍽️Not your average pop up🍽️ We are delighted to announce the award winning 'Tartare' will be bringing their culinary excellence to Twilight on the 6th of February. Owner of Tartare (and Aniar Michelin Star Restaurant) JP McMahon will cook a selection of small plates of signature dishes from the Tartare repertoire, which concentrates on making the best local and seasonal ingredients sing. The dishes will be matched with some of the best organic and low intervention wines from the H2G portfolio. 4 small plates will cost 35.00 and places can be booked here; https://ti.to/honest2goodness-events/tartare-pop-up-at-twilight From 5:50pm – 9pm 06.02.20 #seeyouattwilight @tartaregalway @honest2goodness @h2gwines @mistereatgalway @popupdublin #supportlocal #eatseasonal #shopdeliciously

A post shared by Twilight Evening Market (@twilighteveningmarket) on Jan 17, 2020 at 4:21am PST

McMahon will be cooking up some of Tartare’s signature dishes, which emphasise local and seasonal ingredients, paired with a selection of organic and low intervention wines from H2G.

An extremely popular spot for brunch, or just some wine and nibbles, Tartare holds the Michelin Bib Gourmand award, meaning it’s a place where people can get world class food at affordable prices.

JP McMahon is a culinary legend in Galway, not just known for his multi-award restaurants, but also for organising the internationally renowned Food on the Edge Symposium, which draws chefs and foodies from around the world every year.

The pop-up at Twilight will take place on February 6 from 5:50pm until 9pm that night.

Tickets cost €35 for four small plates of food, and it has proven popular enough that there’s already a waiting list for places.

image credit: Tartare/via Instagram

Man in court today over seizure of €50,000 worth of cocaine

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January 21, 2020

One man is due in court this morning in connection with €50,000 worth of cocaine seized by gardaí on Sunday at a suspected drug lab.

On Sunday night, in the course of three searches, gardaí seized over €178,000 in cash and €50,000 worth of what is believed to be cocaine.

Two men were arrested in the course of this intelligence led operation, one of whom, a 27 year old man, is due before Derrynea District Court this morning.

Gardaí raided a suspected drug manufacturing and processing facility in Galway City on Sunday, where they found the cocaine, as well as a substantial amount of paraphernalia.

This equipment, which includes a cocaine press, vacuum packer, industrial gas masks, and a cash counting machine, are believed to have been used in the manufacture of cocaine for sale or supply.

This search was a follow up operation after Gardaí stopped and searched a car on the M6 near Loughrea earlier that evening, where they found and seized €17,580 in cash.

In another follow up search at a separate premises in the city gardaí seized a further €161,000 in cash.

A second man in his 30s, who was also arrested in connection with the matter, has been released without charge.

A file is being prepared on the matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

Sinn Féin selects candidate to run in Galway East

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January 21, 2020

sinn fein galway daily galway east louis o'hara

Louis O’Hara will contest the upcoming general election for Sinn Féin in Galway East.

Mr O’Hara, from Cashla, Athenry, secured the nomination at the recent General Election Selection Convention held in Athenry Community Hall.

The Convention was contested by O’Hara and Linda Waters of Caheroyan, Athenry.

Speaking at the Convention, O’Hara spoke at length about the housing crisis, the HSE and the future of the island of Ireland with Brexit looming.

“The housing and homelessness crisis is undoubtedly the single biggest issue facing us in this country at the moment. It is nothing short of disgraceful that we have over 10,000 people homeless in this State, many of them children, said O’Hara.

“I have spent the last few days canvassing with Mairead Farrell in Galway West, and there was huge anger on the doors over the housing crisis. I met a single mother with two autistic children who will soon be made homeless because her landlord wants to sell the house.”

The election candidate said that this is not the kind of Ireland we should be living in.

“We have committed to building the largest public housing programme in the history of the State, and in the last Dáil we successfully brought forward a bill to freeze rents for three years as well as bringing forward legislation cracking down on vulture funds. ”

He also said that Sinn Féin would fundamentally reform the HSE, and move towards a single-tier public health service, where every person is guaranteed a decent standard of healthcare.

“We believe a person’s income should not determine the quality of healthcare they receive. We must also remember the healthcare workers, who work under enormous pressure, and we will support them in their campaign for fair wages,” O’Hara added.

New opinion poll shows 3 parties extremely close as FG continues to struggle

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January 21, 2020

opinion poll galway daily general election

It’s all to play for 19 days before the election, as three parties are separated by just 4 percentage point in the latest opinion poll.

The Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll, which was published yesterday evening, puts Fianna Fáil at 25% – ahead of Fine Gael at 23% and Sinn Féin at 21%.

Fine Gael has dropped 6 percentage points since the last opinion poll in the same series published on 13 October.

Meanwhile, Sinn Féin has surged by 7 points.

The Green Party also performed well in the poll at 8%, unchanged from 13 October.

Solidarity- PBP gained one point as did the Social Democrats, but the Labour Party is finding it difficult to gain ground at 5%, down one point.

How the parties fared in the Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll

Fianna Fáil – 25% (-)
Fine Gael – 23% (-6)
Sinn Féin – 21% (+7)
Green Party – 8% (-)
Independents/others – 18% (-)
Labour – 5% (-1)
Solidarity-PBP – 2% (+1)
Social Democrats 2% (+1)

The accuracy level for the opinion poll is estimated at plus or minus 2.8 per cent.

While this is another poor showing for a struggling Fine Gael, it is significantly more positive than The Behaviour and Attitudes/The Sunday Times poll over the weekend – which showed a 12-point lead for Fianna Fáil.

In that poll, Fine Gael was at 20%, just one point ahead of Sinn Féin at 19%.

Fieldwork for that poll was carried out prior to the general election being called.

Almost 3km of old, damaged city water mains being replaced

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January 20, 2020

Galway daily news Water outages in multiple areas of Galway due to burst mains

Irish Water will be replacing almost 3km of old and damaged water mains in Galway City over the next three months.

These works will involve involve decommissioning approximately 1.2km of water mains in Mervue, and a further 1.6km of pipes along the Tuam Road, and replacing them with high density polyethelene.

Work is expected to begin on this project in late January under Farrans Construction Limited, and take roughly three months to complete.

The works are part of Irish Water’s National Leaks Reduction Programme, which aims to cut down on massive water wastage by replacing and upgrading old infrastructure.

As well as saving money for the agency with less maintenance work, it’s also intended that this will ensure a more reliable water supply for city residents in the future.

Irish Water’s Leakage Reduction Programme Regional Lead Dave Murphy said that they are committed to safeguarding Galway City’s water supply.

“These works will involve the decommissioning and replacement of water mains along St James Road from Bayview Heights on to Quinn Terrace and along the N83 in the vicinity of the Ballybrit Industrial Estate to Bothar na Mine.

“The works will also involve laying new water service connections from the public water main in the road to customers’ property boundaries and connecting it to the customer’s water supply.

“Where the existing service connections on the public side are lead these will be replaced as part of this improvement work,” Dave Murphy added.

These works may involve shutting off the local water supply on several occasions, and Irish Water has said that it will endeavour to inform affected residents 48 hours before any shut off takes place.

Traffic management may be in place during this time which may involve local diversions. Local and emergency traffic will be maintained at all times.

Irish Water intends to invest €5.5 billion in drinking and waste water infrastructure nationwide as part of its business plan up to 2021, which includes €512 million under the National Leaks Reduction Programme.

Ros na Rún: How far will Andy go to get out of jail?

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January 20, 2020

Galway Daily arts culture how far will Andy go to get out of jail

Caitríona’s online advertising gig doesn’t go the way she wants, Annette hopes for David fall flat and Andy is getting desperate in jail on Ros na Rún.

Andy, desperate to see Jude in hospital, begs the prison guards to let him out of jail. When his demands are not met he takes matters into his own hands.

Caitríona has agreed to advertise products for ‘Saol Glas’, a company that sells environmentally friendly products.

Although not happy at not receiving payment up front, she looks forward to advertising their make up products on her Vlog.

But Caitríona’s delight soon turns to despair when she opens the box of products they sent her.

Annette keen to have a relationship with David is delighted when he agrees to meet her for a coffee later. Her hopes are soon scuppered when David sees what she is wearing.

Bobbi Lee is not happy Tadhg has asked Annette to attend the ‘First Aid’ course Niall has organized. Niall feeling sorry for her, tells her he will have a word with Tadhg.

Bobbi Lee is delighted and hoping to impress on the day asks Niall for a crash course in ‘First Aid’. Will Niall manage to teach Bobbi Lee a thing or two?

Catch all of this on Ros na Rún on TG4 at 8:30pm this Tuesday.

Cash and cocaine seized after drugs lab raided in the city

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January 20, 2020

Two men have been arrested and large amounts of cash and drugs seized after a raid on a cocaine lab in Galway city by gardai last night.

Almost €180,000 in cash and €50,000 worth of cocaine were seized by gardai during an intelligence led operation on the sale of drugs in Galway on Sunday.

At approximately 7:40pm on Sunday evening gardai in the Divisional Drugs Unit stopped and searched a car on the M6 outside Loughrea, where they uncovered and seized €17,580 in cash.

In a follow up search gardai uncovered what they believe to be a cocaine processing lab at an address in Galway City.

There they found what is believed to be cocaine with an estimated street value of €50,000 as well as paraphernalia for manufacturing and selling drugs.

This includes a quantity of mixing agent, a cocaine press, a vacuum packer, industrial gas masks, and a cash counting machine.

In a further follow up search gardai seized €161,000 in cash from a premises in Galway city.

Two men have been arrested as a result of this operation. One man in hisn20s was arrested at the car stop on the M6, while another man in his 30s was arrested at a premises in the city.

Both men are currently detained at Galway Garda Station under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drugs Trafficking) Act 1996.

Gardai have said this was an intelligence led operation carried out by the Divisional Drugs Unit with the backing of the Regional Armed Support Unit.

One man in court today over spate of burglaries

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January 20, 2020

Galway Daily news Missing 17 year old teenager found safe and well

A man who was arrested in Galway in connection with a spate of burglaries in Limerick and Tipperary last week is due before court today.

Gardai from multiple counties were investigating eight burglaries at businesses in Limerick and Tipperary which took place early last Wednesday.

Three homes in Galway were searched and two men in their 20s arrested by gardai over the weekend in relation to this.

One of the men arrested has been charged and is up before Limerick District Court this morning.

The second man was released without charge last night and a file will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

The arrests came as a result of a joint operation led by gardai from Henry Street Station in Limerick supported by the Armed Support Unit in the Western Region and Gardaí from Tipperary, Limerick and Galway.

Two vehicles were also seized by gardai for technical examination during the searches.

UHG has 50 people on trolleys today

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January 20, 2020

UHG is the second most overcrowded hospital in Ireland this morning with 50 patients without a bed according to the INMO.

Figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show that UHG is tied with University Hospital Limerick for trolleys today.

The INMO’S daily Trolley/Ward Watch shows that there are a total of 521 patients waiting for a bed at public hospitals today.

The worst affected hospital is Cork UH with 56 on trolleys, followed by UHG/UHL (50), and South Tipperary General Hospital (34).

Back in Galway there are a further four people without a bed at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe.

The new year has seen Ireland’s overcrowding crisis reach record new levels.

This is the sixth day in a row in which University Hospital Galway has been in the top three most overcrowded hospitals nationwide.

City traffic lights now maintained 7 days a week

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January 20, 2020

Galway daily news Traffic lights at UHG out of action until next week

Galway’s traffic lights at major junctions will now be monitored and maintained week round thanks to a new maintenance contract.

The Department of Transport has entered into a four year contract with the Elmore Group to maintain all aspects of the city’s Traffic Control and Signalling equipment such as traffic lights.

The contract, which covers hardware, databases, software, firmware and licences, includes responding to signal outages at major junctions at any time of the day or night, seven days a week.

Previously the city had only been covered by a 5-day a week, Monday to Friday contract.

Councillor Ollie Crowe said that the contract upgrade has been confirmed to him by City Manager Brendan McGrath, calling it a very welcome announcement.

Councillor Crowe is standing for for Fianna Fáil in the general election as the running mate of sitting TD Eamon Ó Cúiv in Galway West.

In addition to the traffic lights maintenance, Councillor Crowe said that contracts have also been signed for N6 Bothar na dTreabh and N84 Headford Road resurfacing works.

These roadworks are due to commence in the first quarter of 2020.

Galway punter makes €15,500 off €10.50 horse racing stake

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January 19, 2020