News Headlines Galway

A number of Galway hotels will close for the winter as a result of unsustainable costs and a drop in footfall. The Galway Independent has learned that many hotels in Galway have put in place a ‘Plan B’ of closing for four months from 1 November if Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin does not intervene to provide a “level playing field”.

Galway Atlantaquaria has joined the baby boom, with the birth of 17 thornback rays in the past six weeks. With increasing pressure on ray stocks, Galway Atlantaquaria is participating in a working group set up by the aquarium industry in Ireland and the UK, under the auspices of the British.

Today is D-day for Aer Arann as it heads to the High Court for the full hearing into its examinership application. It is expected that the company will be awarded a minimum of 70 days under the examiner to try to save the company, its 320 staff and most likely Galway Airport.

A GAA referee was hailed as a hero on Monday after preventing a tragedy as a fire gutted an agricultural business in Co Galway. Former inter-county referee Michael Bodkin raised the alarm and got neighbours to evacuate their houses as fire destroyed a co-op in Abbeyknockmoy where he is manager.

The Galway Archaeological and Historical Society presents a lecture by Dr Bernadette Cunningham on the ‘Rule of St Clare and the Early History of the Irish Poor Clares’ on Monday, 13 September at 8pm in the Harbour Hotel.

A group of low profile Galwegians/Dubs are undertake a fundraising cycle from Galway to Westport/Clifden/Galway at the weekend. ‘The Brudders’, who have raised in excess of €1 million for local charities over the past 5 years, are to make the 150 mile trek in a bid to raise money for Simon Community Galway, The Nepal Foundation and Friends of Kitui - Kenya- Civil War and Aids Sufferers.

Gardai in Galway are urging witnesses to a vicious assault on Shop Street on Friday morning to come forward. A man in his early 20s was set upon by one man at 3.25am on Friday and, after being repeatedly punched, he was ferociously kicked in the head resulting in him falling to the ground.

A table quiz in aid of the Alan Kerins Projects will take place in Kelly’s Bar on Bridge Street this evening (Wednesday 8 September). The event will raise money for the ‘Jump for Africa 2010’ skydive next month, which aims to fund the construction of a facility to accommodate orphans in Kaoma in western Zambia.

Gort will host a gathering of one of Galway’s oldest clans between Sunday 12 and Wednesday 15 September. The history of the O’Shaughnessy clan in Galway stretches back a thousand years before the arrival of the famous Tribes of Galway and the O’Shaughnessy Rally will feature genealogy sessions, guided tours and talks.

Consultants at Merlin Park Hospital are to hold a protest march on Saturday to highlight the threat posed to services at the hospital. The march, which will begin at 10am on Saturday morning, has been welcomed by SIPTU and the ‘Galway Says No to Health Cuts’ campaign.

Athenry FC is hosting a Texas Hold’em Poker Night in the Raheen Woods Hotel on Friday 17 September at 8pm. Entry fee is €30 and there will be loads of spot prizes and finger food served on the night.

NUI Galway Alumni Association will hold its inaugural golf outing in Mullingar Golf Club on Friday 17 September. The singles Stableford competition for men and women is open to all NUI Galway and UCG graduates and guests, with or without a handicap.

The Labour Court will tomorrow attempt to resolve an ongoing dispute between HSE West and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) over the replacement of student nurses. The dispute erupted last week when the INMO withdrew from negotiations on cost-cutting measures in the HSE West region.

County residents are to meet tomorrow night to demand an explanation for constant water shortages in the area. Following years of water shortages, locals were forced to again depend on tankers to wash and prepare food at the weekend when running water supplies stopped in a number of areas on Thursday.

Over 85,000 people are expected to flock to Ballinasloe this October for the annual Fair and Festival, which was launched this week. Mayor of Ballinasloe Pat O’Sullivan hosted a special reception at the Carlton Shearwater Hotel on Monday night to mark the beginning of the countdown to the long-standing traditional fair, which will run from Saturday 2 to Sunday 10 October.

Galway gardai are investigating the possibility that a trio of men committed two separate burglaries in the city on Friday last. While, gardai failed to catch the men red handed, two flame haired men were seen fleeing the scene along with their brunette accomplice. The first burglary took place at 10am on Friday 3 September from a house in Pearse Avenue in Mervue.

Around 20 Galway demonstrators joined hundreds of others outside Eason on O’Connell Street in Dublin on Saturday to protest against a book signing by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Members of the Galway Alliance Against War (GAAW) travelled to Dublin after staging a series of ‘Stop Blair’ protests outside Eason on Shop Street.

Gardaí on the Aran Islands are investigating a single-vehicle car accident that occurred in the early hours of Monday morning, which resulted in all three occupants of the car having to be airlifted to hospital. The two men and a woman, all of whom are in their early 20s, were travelling in a car, which crashed into a wall at around 6.30am on Inis Mór, the largest of the three Aran Islands.

Galway City Mayor Michael Crowe has finally rowed in behind plans for a Christmas Market in Eyre Square after working out a better deal for local businesses. Despite regularly voicing his doubts about the plans since they were announced, Mayor Crowe performed a swift u-turn last week and is now fully backing the festive event.

Galway-based fast food chain Supermac’s has stepped into the breach to sponsor another much-loved sport in Galway. Supermac's will be the main sponsor for the Connacht youths and Connacht junior and senior schools rugby tournaments for the next two years. Its Connacht deal is added to its 21-year deal with Galway hurling, its support for Galway camogie teams and its sponsorship of Galway United through Pappa Johns pizza.