South Galway

A local representative is warning that living under threat of flooding is having a negative impact on the mental health of people in South Galway. County councillor, Joe Byrne is calling on the Government to seek a derogation from Europe in relation to the Habitats Directive, in order to allow flood prevention works to take place. The Kinvara man wrote to the Office of Public Works last week, after it emerged that a representative of the OPW, who had been invited, would not be attending the September meeting of Galway County Council on Monday. “In fairness to the OPW, I think their hands are tied because they will come back to us and say the Habitats Directive prevents us from doing X, Y and Z. So, unless the Irish Government goes to Europe and gets a win-win situation, whereby they agree some sort of derogation on the Habitats Directive, we won’t be able to do this work, a lot of …

THE recent boycott of Israeli goods by Kinvara businesses has been a catalyst for change elsewhere and was a welcome show of solidarity with the people of Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, Ahmad Abdelrazek. His Excellency Mr Abdelrazek was in the South Galway village with his wife, Rania Abdullah, on Friday to acknowledge the collective action taken by the pharmacy, retailers, restaurants, cafés and salons there, in response to the bombardment of Gaza last month. The boycott was the brainchild of John Griffin, Frank Naughton and Vicky Donnelly, who guided the couple around the village during their short visit, introducing them to business people and members of the community. His Excellency Mr Abdelrazek was welcomed by those who met him and even gave an impromptu address to the busy Kinvara Farmers’ Market. In an interview with The Clare Champion, the ambassador stated that people in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank were aware of the move …

Earlier this year, Burrenbeo Trust put out a call looking for a ‘Young Burren Leader’ to represent the landscape charity at the world’s largest conservation conference in Australia. This week, the successful candidate for the role as a Global Youth Ambassador (GYA) has been announced as New Quay’s Cillian Fahy. This is not the first award for Cillian, who became the only Irish person to receive a Gates Cambridge Scholarship this year, allowing him to pursue an M. Phil in European Literature and Culture at the university starting in October. After getting As across the board in his Leaving Cert in 2010, Cillian sold his notes online for €3,000 and subsequently was a regular columnist in the Irish Times education section. He holds a degree in English Literature from Trinity College, Dublin. After being named a global youth ambassador, Cillian will now represent the Burrenbeo Trust at the world’s largest conservation conference, the IUCN World Congress in Syndey, this November. …

Galway County Councillor, Michael Fahy has fallen foul of organisations representing immigrants following his comments that “local Irish people” should be hired ahead of “people from other countries” on the €550m Gort to Tuam motorway. The Ardrahan councillor,  interviewed on Clare FM,  said he believes if the construction jobs the motorway project were to go to non-Irish workers, the money would leave the country. Clare Immigrant Support Centre is urging “caution” following Mr Fahy’s remarks. Director, Orla Ní Éili said the current financial difficulties many are faced with are not exclusive to Irish natives living her. A spokesperson for the Immigrant Council of Ireland Immigrants, Orla Ní Éili, Clare Immigrant Support Centre, described Mr Fahy’s comments as “offensive and unacceptable” and called on him to withdraw them. Councillor  Fahy has called on all the companies involved to ensure local Irish people are hired and not people from other countries. .

The group behind Kinvara’s business boycott of Israeli goods has described the response to the collective move as “overwhelming”. Just over a week ago, three local people, inspired by the images of Gaza on their television screens, decided to approach businesses in the area to see if they would take part in a boycott of Israeli goods. Since the boycott was announced in last Thursday’s Clare Champion, John Griffin, Frank Naughton and Vicky Donnelly have been inundated with support locally, nationally and even internationally. “The response has been overwhelming. We were really taken aback from the level of the response and the good feeling from the article and on social media. It seems to have really hit a chord with people,” Ms Donnelly said. “All three of us have been approached by people in the community who are delighted to see an action like this happening here. We have received messages of support across social media and even by phone. …

Businesses and consumers in Kinvara have taken a collective stand against Israel’s actions in Gaza by pledging to support the growing boycott of Israeli produce. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign said they were unaware of any other town or village that had taken this type of united action. The idea for the campaign emerged from numerous conversations at a local level, about what ordinary people could do to help end the bloodshed in Gaza. The subsequent appeal to local businesses was led by John Griffin, Frank Naughton and Vicky Donnelly, three members of the Kinvara community. “Like most people, we were sickened by the carnage we were seeing on our screens and felt helpless to do anything, until we decided to approach all the relevant businesses in our community to support the boycott of Israeli produce. The fact that we’ve had such a positive response sends out a strong message of solidarity,” John Griffin explained. According to Vicky, the campaign …

A South Galway village has become the first in the country to unite against Israel’s military action in Gaza. Kinvara’s business community agreed this week to operate a boycott of Israeli goods, in protest against the “ongoing bombardment” of Gaza. According to the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC), Kinvara is the first and only town in Ireland to take this collective action. “As far as I know, this is the first town to do this. Maybe there are other towns that have done it and haven’t told us but it is likely they would. We salute and congratulate the people of Kinvara for taking this stand for justice for Palestinians. We hope other towns and villages around the country will emulate them and take a similar stand,” said Kevin Squires, co-ordinator of the IPSC. Mr Squires also described boycotting Israeli products as “an effective and peaceful way to bring pressure to bear on the Israeli state to end its occupation …

A well-known local activist and primary school principal was presented with a Benemerenti papal award recently. As a teaching principal at Ballinakill National School, the promotion of the Catholic ethos was first and foremost in Martin Fahy’s vision for the school. However, the leadership role Mr Fahy played on several committees in the parish such as pastoral councils, school committees and hall committees resulted in official recognition in the form of this prestigious medal. His son, Ger, is musical director for Michael Flatley, while his daughter, Mairin, plays with the internationally renowned Chieftains. Both are involved in the staging of Trad on the Prom in Salthill each year. Although Mr Fahy is a native of the neighbouring parish of Kilnadema, he has made a major contribution to the social, educational and spiritual development of the people of the parish of Derrybrien/Ballinakill since he came to live there more than five decades ago. During his long stints of community work,  he …