The Cathaoirleach's Awards, previously the County Mayors Awards, will take place this November 
There are 12 categories in total covering a wide range of community and voluntary activity such as sport, promoting the heritage of our county, social inclusion activities and the environment. Two new categories relating to the Irish language introduced last year will return. One recognises the work that groups are doing in the Gaeltacht to promote the language and the other relates to the non Gaeltacht area of the County. Also making a return is the Community Economic Initiative Award. Recognising Galway's effort to become an 'Age Friendly' County, the Age Friendly Award returns this year. The popular Arts & Culture Award is expected to be hotly contested this year. The winners will be presented at a ceremony with a commissioned Cathaoirleach's Community Award and a prize to the value of €500.
Nomination forms are on www.galway.ie/cathaoirleachawards. For information contact the Community & Enterprise office on 091-509521 or [email protected]. Closing date is 4pm on Friday 30 October.
- See more at: http://www.galwayindependent.com/news/topics/articles/2015/10/21/4107792-final-call-for-nominations/#sthash.sR0ep7X1.dpuf

Galway Cross Country Championships Day 2 Uneven Ages took place in Craughwell on Sunday Oct 11.  Athletes from Ballinasloe & District Athletic Club all performed fantastically on this beautiful sunny day.
The u9 girls all ran superbly in their 800m race with Ciara Power and Ruth Kilkenny both winning individual medals (1st 10 home in u9 win medals).  Lucy Martin and Sarah Dolan also made their cross country debut. These four girls performed so well that they won the team bronze in this event.
Ava McKeon had a fantastic run in the u11 girls 1500m where she had a convincing win after leading from start to finish.  Aoibheann Fitzpatrick (who was running up an age) also had a super run finishing in 10th place followed closely by Clodagh Killeen (running out of age), Emily Martin, Kayla McKeon (running out of age) & Aiveen Curley.  These girl’s fabulous collective performance won them the team silver.
In the u11 boys 1500m, the boys from Ballinasloe unfortunately did not have a full team due to illness. Three boys ran up an age with Niall Jennings competing well, even though he was not feeling 100% on the day. He was followed closely by Michael Coyne and then Jamie Coyne who all had strong runs.
Our u13 boys all ran up an age to compete in the 2500m race. They all had a brilliant run with Shane Fitzpatrick finishing in 5th position, Conor Harley in 6th, followed by Adam McGreal and then Godfrey Gibbons.  Even though they were all out of age their excellant performances won them the team silver finishing just 1 point behind the gold medal winning team.
Brian Burke as usual had a fabulous run in the u17 boys 5k finishing in 3rd place.
Well done to all those who competed on the day!

​Survive & Thrive Free 5 week workshop for men who have survived cancer is taking place every Thursday 7.30-10pm from the 5th of November to the 3rd of December in the Shearwater Hotel.

This Survive & Thrive Course from the Marie Keating Foundation includes advice from experts on coping with emotions, managing stress & fatigue, changing nutritional needs, physical activity and mindfulness.

Speakers include Dr. Paul Donnellan, Tony Keavey, Vicki Costello, Marie Murphy, Dr Mary Rogan and Paul Gillen.

The course is free and open to men who have survived any type of cancer.

Registration is essential and can be done online here: www.mariekeating.ie

Contacts
Phone: 01 6283728
Email: [email protected]

 This highlight is just one of many varied items that will go under the hammer at This large auction.   Other milliners have also come on board to Support the event: Karen Edel and Paula Gannon have donated pieces which will bring a very fashionable theme to this event.  ​
 
The style does not stop here with renowned designer Niall Tyrell Of tv3 and Xposé fame also enhancing the glamour.   These items of extremely high value have been kept under secure lock and key. The Connacht Tribune was delighted when both famous designers arranged an exclusive photoshoot of the items.
 
Prospective buyers who cannot attend the auction on the day can, by special arrangement, make a pre-auction bid to any of the Committee members or on their dedicated facebook page. This massive event is being run in conjunction with the ''Mark’s  Wish to walk” campaign to help three year old Mark Dola from Ahascragh walk unaided for the first time.
 
For those following the story, little mark has just returned From St Louis, Missouri where he has undergone successful  surgery resulting in him taking his first four steps unaided only last week. Next up for Mark is two years of intensive therapy in a Clinic in Limerick, followed by a second surgery which will enable him to live a normal life like any other child of his age.
 
This, believe it or not only 18 months after his distraught parents were told he would never walk and faced a life in a wheelchair. The massive auction is the last major event in a campaign that has reached out to the whole country and beyond and has secured little Mark’s treatment for the foreseeable future.
 
There are over 125 items going under the hammer in total and There is definitely ''something for everyone in the audience”.  For the sports enthusiasts, there are signed jerseys including one from this years’ Galway hurling team, a rugby ball signed by none other than Robbie Henshaw, a  football signed by the Manchester City team, two tickets to a Manchester United game. There are Connemara ponies, Angus heifer calves, Charlois ewe lambs among other animals. You can even feed them as there are bales of hay, straw and silage to be auctioned! You can keep yourself warm and cosy for the winter with loads of turf, loads of blocks and a stove to the value of € 600 to put them in.

There are vouchers for hardware, clothes, weekends away,  Cases of wine, bikes to help you on the  way and a man who is going to labour for a day for any person who needs a bit of DIY done or any other services..

The auction commences at two o’clock sharp.  There will be refreshments available in the hall.  Kids entertainment will be on site for family members wishing to attend what could be a long day. So if you’re looking for a bargain and a wide variety of goods Ahascragh is the place to be on Sunday 1st November 2015!
 
Remember, all proceeds are going to help a little boy realise his Wish to walk. Not to be missed.

Taken from - Celtic Cousins Website


SLATER'S  DIRECTORY OF IRELAND - 1846: BALLINASLOE
​
 "A respectable market and post town, partly in the parish of Creagh, barony of Moycarnon, county of Roscommon, but chiefly in the parish of Kilcloony, barony of Clonmacnowen, county of Galway, 91 miles w. from Dublin, 45 e. from Galway, 25 n.w. from Parsonstown, and 15 s.w. from Athlone; eligibly and pleasantly situated on the river Suck which divides the town into two unequal parts, of which the larger is in the county of Galway. The passage over the river is accomplished by a succession of bridges and causeways resting on sixteen arches, and extending five hundred yards. The streets are well paved and gas lighted, and the principal shops and hotels are, in like manner, illuminated.

The houses have a neat and comfortable aspect, most of them being whitewashed annually. Among the prominent business branches are the corn mills on the river, an extensive coach factory, one for farming implements, some breweries, and tan yards. There are two banking establishments, and the same number of hotels, for families and commercial gentlemen, viz.-Craig's in Main-street and Gill's in Dunlo-street. In 1828 was opened a branch from the Grand Canal, which has proved a great benefit to the town. Petty sessions are held every Wednesday and Saturday, in a court-house attached to the bridewell. There are several valuable public institutions which belong to Ballinasloe, and are well supported by the inhabitants and other means-a list of them is appended to the directory of the town. The lunatic asylum for the province of Connaught and the union workhouse are well regulated establishments-the former was built in 1843, of an expense of more than £27,000; the latter in 1811, at a cost of £9,600.

A farming society for bestowing premiums, a loan fund, a dispensary, and two free schools are established and well sustained. A new agricultural hall is now being erected, which promises to be commodious and ornamental. The annual meetings of the agricultural society are held here at the large October fair, and the Ballinasloe Horticultural Society for the province of Connaught, holds its meetings in March. It was founded in 1833, under the patronage of the Earl of Clancarty. The seat of the nobleman, Garbally Park, is in the immediate vicinity of the town. The mansion, which is situated in a well-wooded demesne, was re-built in 1819, and contains a fine collection of paintings. The public are indulged with free access both to the house and the grounds.

The church is a beautiful stone edifice, erected in 1843, by the ecclesiastical commissioners, and situated on an eminence on the west on the west side of the town, upon the site of a former structure. It constitutes a rectory and vicarage, including the united parishes of Creagh, Kilcloony, and Taughmaconnell. There are places of worship for Roman Catholics, Presbyterians and Wesleyan and Primitive Methodists. The market days are Wednesday and Saturday, the latter being  the principal. Fairs May 7th, July 4th and October 4th to the 10th; this last is considered the largest in Ireland, for farming stock, all kinds of manufactured goods and wool. The average number of black cattle brought to this mart for sale is 12,000, and of sheep 90,000. The town contained, in 1841, 4,934 inhabitants."

To see more - please visit this webpage

Thanks to all those who attended Ballinasloe Swimming Club’s AGM on Friday evening, there were just under 30 people present which is more than triple the usual attendance. We are delighted that so many additional people are taking an interest & we hope that this will continue. Results for election to BSC’s committee – Declan McKeon voted back in as Chairperson, Monica McKeon returns as Secretary, we welcome Ivan Kelly onboard as Treasurer, Fintan Kennedy returns as Assistant Treasurer, Marcella McCormack has changed position & will now be PRP, we welcome Teresa Dolan as Gala Secretary & Geraldine Hogan as Club Development Officer, Sinead McKeon returns as CCO (Club Children’s Officer) & Maria Miguel will be our 2nd CCO. Thanks to all those who volunteered & we look forward to working with you all to make BSC even stronger over the coming year. We currently have a waiting list to get into the club as we are operating at full capacity.

For more information on Ballinasloe Swimming Club please see their website: 

Hi Guys… Please take a second to read…

You never know what twists and turns your life will take and on Sunday the 22nd of March having just completed the Miles for Emma https://www.facebook.com/milesforemma  Special journey for Special Needs walk from Ballinasloe to Dublin in Aid of Temple Street Children’s Hospital that was to become very apparent to me...
That evening I headed to Gibbons Pillar House to celebrate our successful journey with fellow walkers when I was introduced to a Gentleman called Tom Hatcher from Oklahoma City, USA, Tom and his Wife Hillary who is originally from Ballinasloe where there with family members enjoying an evening out, Kathryn Gibbons who introduced me to Tom had been telling them about Miles for Emma and my campaign to promote Equality and awareness for all Children with Special Needs and basically what we were doing and why we were doing it… Tom Informed Kathryn that he was involved with a Group in the USA called AMBUCS http://www.ambucs.org Creating Mobility & Independence for People with Disabilities and Special needs through AmTrykes http://www.amtrykestore.org/about.html 

Amtryke, LLC is fully owned and operated by National AMBUCS, Inc.  a nationwide 501c3 non-profit charity dedicated to creating mobility and independence for people with disabilities and believe the fun and freedom of riding your own bike is something everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy. People who are unable to operate a traditional bike can now share this experience, thanks to the Amtryke therapeutic tricycle.These unique trykes are designed to accommodate riders of all ages and a myriad of physical and/or developmental challenges.

After the introductions were made and having spoken to Tom for a short period of time he informed me that through AMBUCS they would like to send Emma a specially adapted Trike Free of Charge… As you can appreciate I was definitely taken aback by this very generous offer one that I knew would both enhance and benefit Emma’s life in so many ways… to be honest I was in shock, the fact that I didn’t know this person from Adam and more so the fact he wanted to send us a state of the art Trike from AmTryke in the USA left me dumbfounded. I’d safely say I asked Tom the Same Question about 5 times… “You want to send my little Girl Emma a specially adapted Trike for Free..?? From the USA..?? to which Tom replied every time “YES”

Emma’s condition, Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency SSADHD is a disorder that can cause a variety of neurological problems. Emma has developmental delay, especially involving speech development; (Emma is non-verbal) intellectual disability; and decreased muscle tone (hypotonia) poor fine and gross motor skills. Emma can experience seizures, difficulty coordinating movements (ataxia), decreased reflexes (hyporeflexia),

Anyway all he needed was my e-mail and he would start the ball rolling as soon as he got home to the United States… within a few weeks I’d received an E-mail and we started the process of selecting the Trike best suited to Emma, filling out physiotherapist reports and basically dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s Once this was sorted and all the paper work was sent off we received notification from the USA that everything was now in place and that Emma’s new Specially adapted trike would be shipped in the coming weeks…

Well the Good news is those weeks have now elapsed and on Friday we took delivery of what can only be described as a life changing gift… Emma’s very own Trike… We had a few reservations that Emma may be a little reluctant and that we would struggle to get her to sit on it or use it in anyway… Well it turns out we’ll have more trouble keeping her off it… Once it was assembled and adjusted to her size she was all over it… She loves the fact it’s her trike, she loves her pink AmTryke Helmet and most of all she loves putting all her dolly’s and teddy’s in the basket which is attached to the back of her lovely new Trike and been pushed around… as the trike moves her legs move so she gets the sense of pedalling… Her steering still needs a lot of work but crashing into things seems to add to the fun.

At this Point on behalf of my wife Michelle and family and especially Emma I’d like to thank Tom & Hillary and all at AMBUCS & AmTrykes members who made this possible… You have changed a little Irish girl’s life in so many ways..!!!

​Forever grateful guys..!! 
Ken Campbell

Kilconnell village was delighted to host three separate but complementary events.

The Community Hall was the venue for the free Archaeology Seminar hosted by Kilconnell Tidy Towns in conjunction with the Galway Community Archaeological Advisory Project. This community led event was organised as a means of placing archaeology at the heart of the community. County Galway has a very rich archaeological heritage, encompassing archaeological sites spanning from the Mesolithic Period, (some 9,000 years ago), to monuments of the more recent past. Apart from its intrinsic cultural value, archaeology has the potential when used as a tourism product to contribute significantly to the local economy.

In the centre of Kilconnell Village stands the ruins of an important Franciscan Friary founded in the late medieval period by the native O'Kelly overlords. With its imposing bell-tower, it survives as an iconic building in the East Galway landscape. The seminar explored aspects of its rich history and archaeology.
Kilconnell Tidy Towns wishes to express sincere thanks to Christy Cunniffee, the expert list of speakers and the attendees on the day.


The official opening of the village Community Garden also took place. Mrs Mary Farrell, in her 91st year cut the ribbon alongside 5 year old Keela Donnelly Meehan.
The Community Garden was established with the aim for everyone to use and enjoy.
"The glory of gardening, hand in the dirt, head in the sun, heart with nature. To nurture a garden is to feed not just the body 
The small orchard was planted in honour of the junior and senior infants of Kilconnell NS 2014-2015. The orchard, named, "Fruits of the Future" represents the growth of the trees and fruit bushes alongside the growth, development and experiences of the children as they embark on their wonderful school experience.
The Garden is always open and available to anyone who wants to use it - simply sitting down, weeding, picking fruit and herbs, planting seeds etc.

It must be acknowledged that without the help, donation of time and items and the support by the following  the Garden would still be waiting to be established; the late Seán O' Brien, Ness Kelly GIY network, McKeons Sand and Gravel, Paudraic Larkin of Hedges.ie, David Hyde of Hydes Saw Mill, Green Living Concepts, Ballinasloe N6 Nursery, Ecostore, Raincatchers,Kevin Whyte and Brian Whyte of Radharc landscaping, Kilconnell RSS and to the wonderful volunteers that made the Garden a reality.

The Witches Garden were also busy hosting a Spiritual and Holistic day. The garden was created on a damp day in March 2014 and is a constant and ongoing project. The garden hosts many native plants but the majority of the collection is out of the ordinary with many associated with witchcraft.
The Witches Garden are open to the public as a small gift shop selling their own hand made soaps, art and their many plants. There is also a large selection of cactus and succulent plants to view. The garden is a constant ongoing project.

The main person at front of picture attached (Kilconnell Day) is Dr. Paul Naessens who did a practical demonstration of an UAV( unarmed aerial vehicle).
Pictures courtesy of Christy Cunniffe.

The other picture is at the opening of the Community Garden. 
Picture courtesy of Gerry Stronge.

Ballinasloe & District Athletic Club had a very successful day in Tuam last Sunday, October 4th in Day 1 of the Galway Cross Country Championships.  Our club won 30 medals including 12 individual medals – 3 gold, 2 silver & 7 bronze along with 4 team events comprised of 1 team gold, 2 team silver & 1 team bronze.

The u10 girls got off to a flying start in the 1000m with Aoibheann Fitzpatrick leading strongly from start to finish, she ended up well in front of the pack to win gold. Kayla McKeon had a great run finishing in 3rd place to earn a bronze medal followed closely by Clodagh Killeen who had a super run finishing in 4th position and Ciara Power (who was running out of age) had a splendid run finishing in 8th place. Both Clodagh and Ciara also earned bronze as anyone finishing in the top 10 in the u10 earns a medal.  Ruth Kilkenny (who was also running out of age) put in a very strong performance finishing in 12th position & just missing out on earning an individual medal. These 5 girls collectively put in a tremendous team effort & won the team gold.

The u10 boys had a great run also with Niall Jennings putting in a brilliant performance leading for much of the race and ended up in 3rd position to win an individual bronze medal. Michael Coyne also won a bronze finishing in 8th place. Two of their team-mates also finished strongly with Fionn Ryan in 14th place and Jamie Coyne in 16th. Due to their strong performances, they received silver in the team event.

The club had three girls running in the u12 girls 2000m. They were all running up an age, with Ava McKeon finishing in 3rd place with a splendid run.  Mya Kelly and Roisin Grealy both had a good run also.

The club also had four boys running in the u12, 2000m race.  Shane Fitzpatrick had an excellent run finishing in 3rd place to win bronze. Conor Harley also had a super run finishing 4th.  Adam McGreal ran well finishing in the top 10 and Mark Kilkenny (who was running out of age) followed closely behind to finish in 14th place. The boys won silver in the team event.

James Burke and Rowan Harley both ran well in the u16 boys 4000m.  James finished 6th and Rowan in 10th place.

Brian Burke ran out of age in the u18 boys 6000m and had a spectacular run finishing in 2nd place to win silver.

Two of our coaches Anne Burke and Paula Harley ran in the Senior Women’s 4000m along with Ali and Kate Burke and Suzanne Naughton. Ali and Kate Burke both ran in the novice category and had a fantastic run finishing in 1st and 2nd place earning individual gold & silver. Anne Burke was the next woman from Ballinasloe to cross the finishing line, who had a splendid run winning gold in the F50 category. Suzanne Naughton, Paula Harley and Suzanne Killeen all performed superbly and these six women won the team bronze for Ballinasloe. Well done to all of them.

Ballinasloe & District Athletic Club would like to congratulate everyone who participated, it was great to see so many teams representing our club.