Galway Bay fm - News

Europe’s oldest sailing race expected to attract big crowds to Galway

The oldest inland sailing competition in Europe is set to bring big crowds to Galway tomorrow (sat aug 31)
The Cong to Galway Race was first held in 1882 and follows the historical steamer route 30 miles from Lisloughrey pier near Cong to Galway city. 
The event is jointly organised by five local sailing clubs and it's estimated 40 competitors will take part when it kicks off at 10 tomorrow morning
Collette Furey from the Galway Hooker Sailing Club outlines some of the best places for spectators to catch a glimpse of the action:

Motorists urged to respect wardens authority as school returns

Motorists are being urged to respect school wardens' authority on the roads as school returns. 
Wardens have the same legislative power as Gardaí to stop traffic and those who fail to comply could face fines and penalty points. 
Drivers are asked to never stop on the crossing and be prepared to come to a standstill if requested to do so. 
Yemisi Olayiwola (Yem-ee-see Ol-eye-ee-wolla), School Warden for Scoil Rois on Taylors Hill, says some drivers are putting children in danger.

City councillor slams IPAS as 'disgrace' after families in city and Salthill centres told to move out

City councillor Níall McNelis has slammed IPAS after eleven families in its city centres have been told they have to move out.
The Labour Councillor says residents of centres in Dominick Street and Salthill are being transferred to Clifden.
He says families had been issued with notices to quit in July, but no timeline had been given since then.
Some of the families had been residents in the centre for two years, and Councillor McNelis says it's come as a major blow this morning.
Councillor McNelis told Sarah Slevin that the families effected are distraught:

University of Galway Professor named among world's top Thought Leaders at business awards

University of Galway Professor Martin Glavin has been named one of the world's top Thought Leaders at the 2024 International Business Awards. 
The Turloughmore native claimed bronze in the Government and Non-Profit category for his work on road safety. 
Professor Glavin, with the help of software research centre Lero, focuses his research on how autonomous vehicles and AI can reduce road injuries. 
Speaking to Galway Talks, Professor Glavin says his research is worth it - even if only one life is saved.

Galway public share school memories as students return to classrooms

This week, schools have been welcoming back students for the new term, after the summer break.
While thousands of students are returning to familiar surroundings, some are experiencing it for the very first time.
It can bring mixed emotions for both pupils and parents, and marks a major milestone in our lives.
Sarah Slevin and Chris Benn have been out in Galway city, to ask people what they remember of their first day of school.

Relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes to visit Galway city and Loughrea next month

The Relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes who had visions of the Virgin Mary, will visit Galway city and Loughrea next week.
Born in 1844, she claimed to see the Mother of God 18 times as a teenager - she died from TB in 1879 and was cannonised almost 60 years later. 
The relics are parts of her body that were removed after she was exhumed - including bones, muscle tissue, and hair samples. 
They'll be on display at Galway Cathedral next week on Thursday and Friday and at Loughrea Cathedral on Saturday and Sunday. 
Volunteer with the diocese, Helena O' Shea, says people unfamiliar with St. Bernadette may have seen her more than they realise. 

Concern as "large amount" of public lighting out of order in Knocknacarra

Concerns are being raised due to the large number of street lights out of order in the Knocknacarra area. 
Councillor Niall McNelis says the areas affected are Kingston Road and a section of Upper Clybaun Road. 
The Labour councillor says the outages are due to a transformer being damaged during recent works, with initial reports saying it may take weeks to fix.
In the interim, Councillor McNelis is calling for temporary lighting measures to be introduced.

Galway Bay fm gets 6 nominations for IMRO All-Ireland Radio Awards

Galway Bay fm has secured 6 nominations for the IMRO All-Ireland Radio Awards across the News, Sport, Talk and Musiccategories.
The annual competition recognises excellence in Ireland’s broadcasting sector and there was an unprecedented level of entries this year.
In News, FYI Galway has been shortlisted in the category of best local or regional news programme while David Nevin is nominated for News Reporter of the Year.
In Sport, The Men of '23 documentary has been short-listed in best local or regional sports programme.
The station's TY Takeover involving students from Portumna Community School, Coláiste Baile Chláir Claregalway, Merlin College, St Raphael’s Loughrea, Coláiste Iognáid the Bish, St Paul’s Oughterard, Salerno Salthill and Seamount KInvara, led by Kayte O'Malley has been shortlisted in the Magazine Programme.
Kayte has also been short-listed for her afternoon On the Move programme in the General Music category and for her Lyra Special in the IMRO Irish Music Initiative.
The winners will be announced at a special ceremony at the Lyrath Estate Hotel in Kilkenny on Friday, October 4th.
Galway Bay fm has secured the third highest number of nominations among the country's 30 plus local radio stations and CEO Cormac O Halloran says this achievement reflects the hard work of staff.

124 pubs have closed their doors in Galway since 2005

124 pubs in Galway have closed their doors since 2005. 
That represents more than 20 percent of the total number of pubs in the county. 
New figures from the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland show that nationwide, 2-thousand-and-54 bars have closed since 2005. 
Limerick, Roscommon and Cork recorded the biggest drop in pub numbers - with all three losing more than 30 percent of their pubs.  Economist Anthony Foley says certain years since 2005 have been particularly bad: 

Galway in top 5 counties with availability of homes to rent per population

Galway is in fourth place when it comes to the availability of homes to rent per population.
The report from Savills Ireland shows there are 227 homes available to rent or share across the city and county.
Meanwhile, with 697 homes available to buy, Galway came in at eleventh-best for availability per 10,000 population.
Monaghan has the least amount of homes available to rent or buy per population, while Dublin is best for renting and Leitrim is best for buying.
John Ring, Director of Research at Savills, says people want to stay close to the capital for work.