Galway Advertiser 2009/GA_2009_10_08/GA_0810_E1_030.pdf 

Extracted text

30 N E W S

www.advertiser.ie

October 8 2009

MARATHON

DES KENNY

MAN

Council must save Henry Street thatched cottage say residents
BY KERNAN ANDREWS The thatched cottage at No 9 Henry Street is falling into ruin and local residents are demanding that the Galway City Council take action to preserve it. No 9 is a protected structure dating from the late 18th/early 19th century. It is thought to represent the kind of house which many working-class residents of the area lived in at that time. Many Galwegians will also fondly remember the house as Lydon's shop, where Mrs Lydon sold milk and penny sweets. The West Residents' Association and An Taisce have contacted the Galway City Council about the house. The heritage officer Jim Higgins, has written to Tom Connell, the council's director of services for economic planning, community and culture, and to John Kennedy, city enforcement officer, asking that a warning letter be sent to the owners that legal proceedings will be initiated if the house is not properly restored. Under existing legislation the owner of the house could be compelled by the council to carry out necessary repairs. Alternatively the council could carry out the works and charge the owner for them. However nothing has yet been done. "People in the area are watching as the thatch deteriorates; first one and now another window have been broken," a spokesperson for the West Residents' Association told the Galway Advertiser. "However, there is no sign of anyone so much as replacing the broken glass. For many who live in the West, Lydon's shop is not so much a relic of scholarly or tourist interest, it is a link with a living past."

The Why of a Marathon
As part of the preparation for the marathon, a favourite training stint is the one I call the Run of the Roundabouts. Until the recent annihilation of the Ffrench clan at the Battle of Moneenageisha Cross, a deed the English had been attempting to effect for four hundred years but which our City Fathers managed in one dastardly stroke with ne'er a whimper from the OPW or our Heritage Officer, it was a most effective way of learning the names of the Fourteen Tribes of Galway, a most useful asset when giving first time visitors to Galway comprehensible directions. On one of these stints I turned at the Martin Roundabout beginning the long stretch through the Lynch, Morris, Font and onto the Kirwan Roundabout and met a sheet of torrential rain being driven by a forceful west wind. With approximately 10 miles left to go, I wondered why in the name of all that was sacred, holy and sane was I putting myself through all this physical and mental agony? Three hours later, after a long hot shower, multitudinous pints of water and a cup of tea or three, every muscle a quiver and a beautiful almost languorous sensation of well being coursing up and down my body, the answer was plain for me to see: That's the why! Sadly, nothing is quite as simple as that. Similar to every other human endeavour, there are as many reasons for doing a marathon as there are people who run, walk, stagger over, or hobble the 26.2 miles. Some may seem irreverent, as with the sophisticated lady from Milan bedecked in furs and cameras at the start of last year's marathon who stated that this was by far the best way to see the sights of Dublin and that she was going to enjoy it no matter how long it took. Somewhat more philistine was the young entrepreneur who accompanied herself and myself for a few miles on our first marathon in 1998 and who handed out leaflets to every spectator he could, advertising a disco being held in his club that night which publicity campaign, he duly informed us, had never failed to pack them in up to then. On the same marathon at the 22-mile mark, an elderly American came to a halt just beside us. "I can't do this no' mo." Thinking of my own motivation at that particular moment, I said: "Just think about four miles from here waiting for you is a lovely black pint of stout with a beautiful creamy top". He looked me straight between the eyes: "I don't drink. I'm doing this for my soul." There being no answer to this, the sentence hung in the air until he added: "But it ain't easy." "Shure, if it was easy, the dogs in the street would be doing it." "Shit man, I never thought of that." And he was gone. Undoubtedly his soul was duly elevated by the time he crossed the finishing line. Ostensibly most plodders, like yours truly, camouflage their real motives by raising funds for a favourite charity, a noble calling, thus allowing me this year to pay tribute to that wonderful Galway institution, Our Lady's Boys' Club. For nearly 70 years the club have been inculcating in Galway's youth a sense of civic responsibility by developing their innate individual strengths and their own self-esteem. To meet the serious challenges it now faces, the Club directors are building a state of the art clubhouse on Sea Road. It is my privilege to seek sponsorship for this cause, and, my dear readers, all donations are most welcome. In all, however, the abiding motivation only becomes apparent when you cross that finishing line, punch the sky with joy and shout: "I did it". That sense of personal achievement makes every step up to and during the marathon worth their weight and pain in gold.

Laura Collins, Claire Noone, Valerie Noone, and Cathy Noone pictured at the g Hotel Wedding Fair on Sunday afternoon. Photo: Reg Gordon

NUIG to increase access for students with disabilities
BY RICHIE MCCARTHY Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy Eames congratulated the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) on its participation in the college admission scheme which aims to make it easier for those with disabilities to access third level education. The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) initiative, which is being launched by seven universities and four colleges including NUIG, will encourage the transition from second to third level for people with disabilities by making an average of five per cent of first year places available on a reduced points basis. Healy Eames said: "It is commendable that NUIG is partaking in this scheme, which recognises the difficulties faced by people with disabilities in making the leap from secondary school to college and university". Across the country, DARE is aiming to open up more than 1,000 college places for students with disabilities, doubling the number of students in third level with sensory, physical and multiple disabilities by 2013. "A student's disability can, and very often does, impact greatly on his/her ability to obtain sufficient points allowing access to a preferred course, hindering progression to third level and stifling future career possibilities. It is essential that students living with disabilities are encouraged to meet their education potential by whatever means and to overcome the obstacles they meet. "Every child has a right to a full and fulfilled education. By opening up these places, all of our children will be given the opportunity to participate fully in education, while focusing on their strengths and meeting challenges head on. I commend NUIG for participating in the scheme", said Healy Eames.