Tag Archives: Galway

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Screen Shot 2015-01-08 at 10.28.42Participants in the ‘world’s longest debate’ organised by the Literary and Debating Society in the former University College Galway which ran for the entire month of February in 1995, including John Sweeney, Dave Finn and Aonghus O Domhnaill (pic 2)

They talked for 627 hours.

In stonewashed denim.

Mary Cosgrove writes:

“I was wondering if you could help us find people who lost 28 days of their lives to the world’s longest continuous debate in UCG (as it then was) almost 20 years ago. If any of the Broadsheeters have only a vague memory of February 1995, and that involves discussing ornamental fish, Joe Dolan and the phrase “keep talking”, we want them to get in touch at the Facebook page below.”

Lit N’Deb record breaker 1995 20th anniversary reunion (Facebook)

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Alan Doheny writes:

Devised in Tokyo by Klein Dytham Architecture, PechaKucha (the Japanese phrase for “the sound of chitchat”) started as a night for creative people to meet, network, and discuss their projects. The catch: each person gave a presentation containing only 20 images, each shown for 20 seconds, for a total presentation length of six minutes 40 seconds. These constraints challenged presenters to clarify their ideas and match each thought with the perfect image. Since then, PechaKucha Nights are held by a global community of over 700 cities and the presentations have become just as diverse.

PechaKucha Night Galway will return tonight for our 8th and largest instalment to date. this FREE event will feature 10 presentations exploring subjects matters that will include, travel, photography, health, architecture, art, personal journeys and much more.

Kicking off at 9 tonight upstairs at Kelly’s, Bridge Street, Galway.

@PKNGalway

Hala

Praveen Halappanavar and his late wife, Savita

Galway Independent writes:

A vigil for Savita Halappanavar will take place in Eyre Square today, on the second anniversary of the 31-year-old dentist’s death at University Hospital Galway. The memorial will take place in front of the Browne Doorway, where photographs of Savita will be on display. From noon, members of the public are invited to leave their thoughts on Savita in the form of written messages. Galway Pro-Choice will collect these messages and present them to Savita’s family and friends. The public are also free to leave flowers at the site. At 6pm, there will be a candlelit vigil, to which everybody who wishes to commemorate Savita is welcome.

Meanwhile…

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Activists, including Nell McCafferty, centre, arriving in Dublin from Belfast in 1971

A number of pro choice activists will travel from Connolly Station in Dublin today to Belfast, in order to bring abortion pills back to Dublin with them. Abortion pills are banned in Ireland.

They will arrive back at Connolly Station at 2.30pm.

The action recalls how members of the Irish Women’s Liberation Movement took the Contraception Train, from Dublin to Belfast, in 1971 to bring back condoms and the Pill, which were illegal in the Republic of Ireland at the time.

Galway Independent (Facebook)

Greet the abortion pill train (Rosa)

Contraception Train (RTÉ, 1971 footage)

Previously: Illegal Abortion In Ireland

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On this day in 1979, Eamonn Casey and Michael Cleary were the warmup act for Pope John Paul II in Ballybrit, Galway.

They wanted to bind us together.

He told us he loved us.

Good times.

Watch in full here.

Previously: Where Were You When We Were Getting High?

Alternatively

He Wore Protection

00090942Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan

The Bishop of Galway appears to have rowed back on his strong stance on the St Vincent de Paul (SVP) donation towards a gay resource centre, telling a member of the public that he “got it badly wrong”.

There have been calls for Dr Martin Drennan to resign in the wake of his comments on Galway Bay FM last week about the €45,000 allocation to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community support group Amach.

He described gay culture as “morally wrong” and said he had a problem with the “moral judgment” involved with making the decision by the SVP.

Salthill resident Cormac Ryan wrote an email to the Bishop after hearing the interview, describing his remarks as “deeply offensive, uncharitable and unchristian”.

A reply the following day from the Diocesan email address, which was also sent to the Bishop’s Diocesan secretary, thanked him for the letter.

“My humble apologies for the hurt caused. I got it badly wrong,” it said.

Vice chairperson of Amach, Nuala Ward, invited the Bishop to sit down and talk with the organisation to discuss their work, which involved collaborating with bodies such as the Health Service Executive, the Gardaí and suicide prevention groups.

Meanwhile..

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Tackling poverty is what the SVP does best. But Galway LGBT Amach! is a campaigning organisation. It even helped promote a pro-abortion march in Galway last year. That’s the opposite of reaching out to the poor and marginalised.

And it’s not as though left-wing, liberal causes are stuck for money these days. When it comes to friends in the media and funds from millionaires, gay rights projects are top dogs, not underdogs.

Did SVP Galway ask Amach! whether it would be campaigning for the redefinition of marriage next year? Might its resource centre and facilities be used in that referendum?

It’s a strange thing, but heaven help you if you dare to regret using the poor box to fund a campaigning gay rights organisation.

Update:

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Enda Cunningham [of the Connacht Tribune] writes:

Purely in the interest of balance, there is actually a third piece [above] in the Tribune today – it’s from Nuala Ward, Vice Chair of Amach LGBT.

Bishop of Galway says he got it ‘badly wrong’ (Denise McNamara, Galway City Tribune)

Previously: How Dare They?

Graham Hughes/Photocall Ireland

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…and win the All-Ireland Hurling Final.

Galway County Cllr Michael Fahy, an Independent, calls for a ban on foreign workers in relation to the construction of the Gort to Tuam motorway.

From this week’s Connacht Tribune:

The five hundred jobs that are to be created during the construction of the Gort to Tuam motorway should be given to Galway workers . . . and not foreigners.

It has been argued that hurling teams in South Galway are decimated through emigration and there was a need to attract these hurlers back.

But Cllr. Michael Fahy emphasised that he had nothing against people from Poland, Latvia or Lithuania.

“The point I am making is that they should go home and try and get jobs in their own countries.

“We are currently in a crisis situation in County Galway. We haven’t enough jobs for our own people.

“It is 26 years since we won an All-Ireland hurling title and the main reason is that some of our best hurlers and workers are living abroad”, Cllr. Michael Fahy added.

Jay.

Sus.

Controversial Galway Councillor wants motorway jobs kept for local workers (Connacht Tribune)

Thanks Enda Cunningham

Update:

https://soundcloud.com/bloodboylan/classic-hits-4fm-interview-with-michael-fahy

Classic Hits 4FM’s Niall Boylan grills Cllr Fahy this afternoon.

Thanks Mike Hogan