Further water outages are expected to last overnight in Glenamaddy and Williamstown, and their surrounding areas, due to damage from Storm Debi.
Galway County Council has said that power outages from Storm Debi have affected the Public Water Supply Scheme for both towns.
The affected areas in Williamstown are: Kilmore, Dereens, Lettera, Fortyacres, Kildaree, Williamstown, Curragh East, Corralough South, Polshask, Corralough and surrounding townlands and areas.
In Glenamaddy the affected areas are: Knocknascahill Group Water Scheme and townlands Ardeevin, Cloonminda, Killsallagh, Mountkelly and areas of Glenamaddy town.
Galway County Council has said that both areas will experience low water pressure and water outages this evening and tomorrow.
It is anticipated that water supplies will not be fully restored to these areas until Tuesday afternoon.
Arija Sarskute and Emily Miroshichenko at the Cisco stand Photo:Andrew Downes, xposure,
The annual Galway Science and Technology Festival Exhibition Day drew huge crowds this month, with over 23,000 people of all ages coming to marvel at what was on display.
Last Sunday’s exhibition saw crowds thrilled by the range of activities, including the Medtronic Junior Hospital, the ever-popular Teddy Bear Hospital, exotic animals with The Bug Doctor plus primary and secondary school exhibition stands.
Festival Manager Anne Murray was thrilled with the number of people who engaged with the events which were held on the University of Galway campus.
“It is wonderful to see such an amazing turnout each year. For many families, our Exhibition Day is the absolute highlight of their year, encouraging young people to get more involved with STEM subjects in schools and to be more curious about exploring the world around us.”
The event celebrates the beginning of the annual national Science Week celebrations with Galway’s Exhibition Day being the largest event in the country.
The event is free to attend and includes a range of STEM demonstrations, maths buskers, interactive workshops and innovative displays, encouraging scientists of the future to follow their curiosity about the world around them and pursue careers in STEM.
Aurora Kieda, 8, Ballyglunin Tuam with shark jaws at the Marine Institute stand. Photo: Andrew Downes, xposure,
With the support of sponsors and partners, including main sponsor Medtronic, this popular family event brings a collaboration of local industry, educators, support agencies and Science Foundation Ireland.
Celebrating 26 years of STEM Education, the Exhibition was the opening event for the two week annual Galway Science and Technology Festival, which runs right through the 29th of November.
The Festival showcases Galway as the MedTech capital of Europe and a growing IT Hub, bringing science and technology to over 35,000 students in schools across Galway city and county.
This year there will be over 200 STEM demonstrations, shows and workshops in 140 primary schools and 40 post-primary schools across the city and county.
Dylan Shine, 11, Claregalway National School. Photo: Andrew Downes, xposure,
Awards and Prizes
More than 400 short science films were entered into the the ReelLIFE Science competition by more than 3,000 young science enthusiasts.
Winning videos were selected by a panel of guest judges including aeronautical engineer and author Dr Norah Patten; ‘Superhero Scientist’ and author Dr. Barry Fitzgerald; and the 2022 BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition winners, Aditya Kumar and Aditya Joshi from Synge Street CBS in Dublin.
The fantastic school exhibits are always a highlight of the Exhibition, where schools get to demonstrate their school projects to the public, learning to become science communicators from a young age. The winners of this year’s School Exhibits were in the secondary school category,
Galway Science and Technology Person of the Year 2023
The 2023 Galway Science & Technology Person of the Year Award was presented to Geraldine Whelan, Coolarne National School by Brendan Smith of Insight and University of Galway.
Geraldine Whelan, who is deputy principal of St. Vincent’s National School Coolarne has ensured that her school has been a permanent part of the Sunday Fair for over a decade.
The school has always had a fantastic range of hands-on science activities on show at their stand every year with a large number of pupils participating.
In fact the number of children participating on a rota basis at the Coolarne stand is probably the highest of any Galway school exhibiting at the annual Exhibition Day.
The Festival is a very unique event for both families and the public and strives to make a real difference to young people as they continue their studies often making the STEM subjects an easy choice for their third level studies.
The Galway Science and Technology Committee would like to express great gratitude to all the volunteers from companies, colleges, schools and the public who give their time so generously and participate both during the Festival and at the Exhibition.
The TII has been criticised for not supporting the installation of pedestrian crossings at badly in need towns and villages like Kilcolgan.
Galway East TD Ciarán Cannon said that he has been working with the village of Kilcolgan, which is divided by the N67, and lacks a controlled pedestrian crossing.
In the village of approximately 1,000 people it is “not safe to cross over and back” across the road that divides, he said while speaking in the Dáíl.
The Galway East TD inquired with county council engineers about the possibility of having a pedestrian crossing put in, but received a negative response.
Deputy Cannon said that he was advised that TII guidance states that a controlled pedestrian crossing may lead to an increase in collisions, as pedestrians do not remain alert for oncoming vehicles when they have the green light.
“That is the culture we need to eliminate, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, and we need to do it very soon or this carnage will continue,” Ciarán Cannon said.
This was during a Dáil debate on road safety issues, where Deputy Cannon said that Ireland has been going backwards on road deaths this year.
A green light has been given for a new 18m high telecoms mast in the centre of Aughrim village.
Eircom Ltd has received planning permission from An Bord Pleanála to replace an existing 12m wooden pole at their Exchange Building in Aughrim with an 18m monopole structure.
The planning application states that the infrastructure in place is no longer capable of supporting their equipment, and that Aughrim has deficient 4G coverage for Eir.
This new equipment is meant to improve on that, and also to provide 5G coverage for the area.
Galway County Council had refused planning permission for the development in 2022, citing its location within an established residential area, with multiple homes, community facilities, and a school in close proximity.
The council rejected that technical justification with the application, and said that there were more suitable locations elsewhere.
In their appeal to An Bord Pleanála Eircom said that there is an established telecommunications use of the site, and that mast is meant to serve Aughrim, so it must be located in the town.
The appeal also stated that while there would be some visual impact, it would be intermittent, and that landscaping is planned to reduce that.
Several third party submissions were made to An Bord Pleanála, stating that the mast would be visually obtrusive, and devalue property in the area.
In the Inspector’s Report for An Bord Pleanála it was noted that the proposed mast would not block any view, and with the established use of the site, would not represent a discordant feature.
Planning permission for the new mobile mast was granted by An Bord Pleanála with nine conditions attached.
Before any work can take place, details of proposed tree planting along the front boundary of the site must be agreed on with the county council.
Multiple areas in Galway may experience water outages or supply interruptions due to damage caused to electrical infrastructure by Storm Debi.
Galway County Council has warned that power outages caused by Storm Debi are affecting the water supply to the Abbeyknockmoy and Kinvara areas.
Homes and businesses may experience low water pressure and complete water outages as a result of this damage.
The affected areas are Kinvara, from the Merriman out to Doorus and surrounding areas; and Abbeyknockmoy and surrounding areas served by the Mid-Galway Regional Water Supply Scheme.
It may take several hours for people’s full water supply to return once power outages have been repaired.
The ESB is dealing with dozens of power outages across Galway affecting thousands of homes and businesses today.
It is currently estimated that the majority of outages will be repaired by 6pm on Monday evening, though some repairs may continue into the night.
Almost 14,000 premises in Galway are still without electricity this afternoon as the county remains heavily damaged from Storm Debi.
The ESB is dealing with dozens of faults across Galway county which are causing many outages, including extremely large power outages in several towns.
Some of the worst affected areas include Gort, where just over 3,000 homes and businesses are without electricity, another 3,411 are suffering outages in Athenry, 2,392 properties around Ballygar, and 1,575 in Glenamaddy.
The ESB has estimated that most repairs should be completed by 6pm today at the latest, though some outages may last as late as 10pm on Monday night.
Galway was severely damaged by heavy winds from Storm Debi during Status Red and Status Orange weather warnings in the early hours of the morning.
Galway County Council has reported multiple roads affected by downed trees and power lines, and walls knocked over by the winds.
There were also incidents of cars and properties caught in flooding, and road traffic collisions overnight.
In the city council crews are clearing trees, branches and other debris, which particularly affected coastal areas.
Community wardens have also been called out to businesses and premises affected by flooding.
A Status Yellow weather warning for wind and rain remains in place across all of Ireland until 3pm this afternoon.
People in Galway directly affected by flooding caused by Storm Debi will be offered financial assistance, Minister Heather Humphreys has said
People whose homes are damaged from flooding will be offered support under the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme, which provides income-tested financial support to those who are unable to meet costs.
Speaking following Storm Debi this morning, Minister Humphreys said she is very conscious of the serious disruption impacting families in Galway, especially in Oranmore and parts of Galway City.
“The Humanitarian Assistance Scheme is open and support is available,” she said.
“I recently secured a further €3 million in funding for the Humanitarian Assistance Scheme administered by my department.”
“In addition, in recognition of the supports needed I have recently increased the income limits for the scheme from €30,000 to €50,000 for a single person, €50,000 to €90,000 for a couple, and €10,000 to €15,000 per dependent child.”
Minister Humphreys said that if any homeowner affected by severe weather needs to access these supports, they can contact the Community Welfare Service by phoning 0818 60 70 80.
The Wolfe Tones have been added to next year’s Galway Airport Summer Sessions, joining Fatboy Slim and the Waterboys in the new festival’s exciting line-up
The Summer Sessions will see Irish and international artists take to the stage at Galway Airport in August 2024, which will have a capacity of just under 5,000 for each gig.
The Irish ballad band will play at Galway Airport on Friday, 23 August 2024, with tickets on sale this Friday, 17 November at 10am from ticketmaster.ie.
The Wolfe Tones announced this week that they hang up their banjos after a series of gigs next autumn after an illustrious career spanning 60 years.
After decades of success, the band remains as popular as ever, playing to a crowd of 30,000 people at Electric Picnic this year.
The Galway gig will therefore be one of the last times to see The Wolfe Tones before they retire.
The band recorded 16 studio albums and ten live albums over the past six decades, with hits such as Celtic Symphony and a rendition of A Nation Once Again, which was voted the best song of all time in a BBC World Service poll.
Left to Right: Faye Ní Dhomhnaill, Raimey O’Boyle, Izzy Tiernan and Dean Kenny (University of Galway Students’ Union)
University of Galway Students’ Union has launched its programme of events to mark Sexual Health Awareness and Guidance (SHAG) Week which begins on 20 November.
Events across the week will look at key issues impacting on the sexual health and wellbeing of students including Digital Intimacy, Sexual Positivity, and STI Awareness.
The Active* Consent Digital Intimacy workshop empowers students with the knowledge and skills to navigate digital intimacy in a consensual way, while also highlighting the challenges that digital intimacy can pose.
The ever popular Sex Toy Bingo will return to Sult as a fundraiser for the SU charities.
There will be free STI Clinics at the Student Health Unit and Sexual Health West will also be holding a rapid HIVand Syphilis testing clinic with no appointment necessary.
Students’ Union President Dean Kenny said that they hope that their SHAG week events will encourage students to take a responsible attitude to sexual health and healthy relationships.
“We still have a long way to go in Irish society in terms of breaking down the taboo of talking about sex. We want our students to be educated about their sexual safety,” he said.
Students’ Union Vice President/Welfare and Equality Officer Izzy Tiernan said that they have some great workshops and events coming up for SHAG Week.
“Our Sex Toy Bingo event is a sell out every year and this year will be no different! We would encourage all our students to get involved and to remember that we distribute free condoms and lube all year round– not just during SHAG Week,” said Izzy.
A number of train and bus services in Galway are being impacted by damage following Storm Debi overnight.
Bus Éireann services in Galway city have started operating with full service expected to resume at 9am.
401 services are being diverted with Spanish Arch, Fr Griffin Rd and Salthill not being served until further notice.
Cancelled services this morning include the 9am bus from Cliden to Oughterard. The 6am Galway to Sligo bus and 6.30am Lettermullen to Galway were both cancelled.
The 6.40am Mountbellew to Galway and 7.05am Galway to Cork services were also cancelled and the 7.45am Oughterard to Galway bus was expected to be 45 mins behind schedule.
The 05:25 Galway to Heuston train stopped near Oranmore due to a damaged level crossing and was delayed by an hour as a result.
A speed restriction of 80km/h is in place across the entire network this morning due to weather alerts.
Almost all train services are currently operating but delays are expected.
Galway City Council has issued an update this morning on the roads which remain flooded or closed.
Storm Debi caused widespread damage, with reports of debris on Dominick Street, large rocks being thrown up across the car park at Silverstrand, and trees down at Riverside and Roscam.
The following roads remained closed at 8.10am when Galway City Council issued the update:
Salthill – from the mini-roundabout at Threadneedle Road (R336)/ Upper Salthill Road, along Seapoint Promenade (R336) to Galway Business School.
Silverstrand Road
Rosshill Road – a section of the Rosshill Road along the forest area will be closed off to the public.
Ballyloughane Road (beach) remains open, but road users are advised to avoid the area until clean up operations are complete.
From Mutton Island entrance to the Fire Station is also closed.
A list of roads that were flooded or impassible is below.
Flood Street
Long Walk
Spanish arch
Dominick Street (around Pump Lane)
Seapoint to Business School
Toft Park
Salthill car park
Rockbarton Road West beside Salthill Hotel
Rockbarton Road North beside Leisureland
Promenade – at CoCo Café
Bothar na dTreabh (midway between Tuam Road/ Menlo Park junction) is down to one lane
Mutton Island entrance (Grattan Road) to fire station
Galway Technical Institute (GTI) on Fr Griffin Road, to Wolfe Tone Bridge and outside the fire station
Car parks at Salthill, Tofts, Sliverstrand, and Ballyloughane Road remain closed.
Storm Debi passed through Galway overnight causing widespread destruction across the county.
A status red warning has now been lifted in Galway but an orange warning remains in place until 10am.
Thousands of homes across Galway are without power this morning due to the storm, and flooding has affected many homes and businesses.
More than 6,500 homes in Claregalway are currently without power, while thousands of homes in Salthill, Gort, Loughrea, Ballinrobe, Glenamaddy and Ballygar are still affected by power outages.
A number of other outages in towns and villages have been reported to the ESB across Galway following the storm.
ESB crews worked through the night to restore power in Galway City, with some faults restored in Galway city, which also affected thousands of homes.
Homes and businesses in Oranmore were affected by flooding were waves flattened the sea wall.
The Coast Road between Oranmore and Galway is currently closed.
The following roads in Galway city are also closed as of 8.15am.
Salthill – from the mini-roundabout at Threadneedle Road (R336)/ Upper Salthill Road, along Seapoint Promenade (R336) to Galway Business School.
Silverstrand Road
Rosshill Road – a section of the Rosshill Road along the forest area will be closed off to the public.
Ballyloughane Road (beach) remains open, but road users are advised to avoid the area until clean up operations are complete.
From Mutton Island entrance to the Fire Station is also closed.
Check the current power status in your area on ESB Networks’ power check page here.
Galway City Council is closing roads and car parks, and making sandbags available, ahead of a Status Red weather warning for Storm Debi.
Galway will be under a Status Red wind warning from 3am until 5am on Monday morning, with an Orange warning thereafter.
Met Eireann has warned of severely damaging winds, with the potential for a threat to life.
There may be impacts in Galway City including flooding, overtopping, damage to exposed and vulnerable structures, disruption to services and transport, power outages, and fallen trees/ branches.
The City Council and An Garda Síochána have agreed to close a number of exposed coastal roads for the duration of the Red weather warning.
Salthill – from the mini-roundabout at Threadneedle Road (R336)/ Upper Salthill Road, along Seapoint Promenade (R336) to Galway Business School.
Silverstrand Road
Rosshill Road – a section of the Rosshill Road along the forest area will be closed off to the public.
Ballyloughane Road (beach) will not be closed, but the council is still advising motorists to avoid the area.
Roads will reopen when the Red Warning has been lifted by Met Eireann, and following attendance and clean up by council crews on Monday.
The council will issue further updates on Monday as roads are reopened.
Motorists are also being advised to remove their cars from ar parks at Salthill, Tofts, Silverstrand and Ballyloughane Beach.
Toft car park and Salthill car park have both also been closed to the public.
For those worried about flooding in their homes or businesses, sandbags have been made available to the public and can be found at:
Tourist Kiosk, Salthill
Claddagh Hall
Fire Station, Fr Burke Road
Spanish Arch
Docks, beside the Pedestrian Crossing (St Nicholas Street)
All schools and preschools in Galway have been told to remain closed until 10am on Monday morning due to the risk from Storm Debi.
The instruction for all counties under a Red or Orange weather warning came following a meeting of the National Emergency Co-ordination Group on Sunday.
East Galway will be under a Status Red wind warning from 3am to 5am on Monday morning, with Met Eireann warning of a “potential danger to life” from the extreme winds.
Significant power outages are expected, along with downed trees and branches, hazardous driving conditions, and the potential for damage to “exposed and vulnerable” structures.
The RSA is advising road users in areas affected by a Red warning not to travel during the storm window.
Road users are also advised to check local traffic and weather reports before setting out on a journey once the red warning has passed as storm damage could impact routes.
Galway will additionally be under a Status Orange weather warning issued by Met Eireann from 2am to 10am on Monday morning.
Road users in areas affected by the Orange Warning are advised to check local traffic and weather conditions before setting out on a journey.
In extreme Weather conditions please heed the warnings of your local authority and Met Eireann. Don’t make unnecessary journeys.
Yellow wind and rain warnings associated with Storm Debi will come into effect at midnight tonight, and remain in place until 3pm tomorrow.
Met Eireann has issued a Status Red weather warning for East Galway tomorrow as Storm Debi is to create extremely dangerous conditions.
The Status Red wind warning has been issued for Clare, east Galway, and south Roscommon on Monday morning.
It will be in effect from 3am to 5am on Monday, and during that time extremely dangerous winds from Storm Debi will result in a potential danger to life.
Possible impacts will include major power outages, fallen trees and branches, Damage to exposed and vulnerable structures, and disruption of services and transport.
Galway will additionally be under a Status Orange weather warning issued by Met Eireann from 2am to 10am on Monday morning.
A Status Red storm warning for Galway coastal water will also be in effect during Storm Debi tomorrow morning.
Met Eireann has issued a Status Red Storm Warning for Galway’s coastal waters as Storm Debi will bring battering winds to the west coast tomorrow.
From Valentia to Loop Head to Slyne Head, westerly winds will reach violent storm force 11 for a time in the early hours of Monday morning.
This Status Red warning will be in effect from 2am to 5am on Monday morning.
Conditions will be nearly as bad outside of those hours, as a Status Orange marine storm warning will be in place from midnight tonight until 7am on Monday.
During that time from Mizen Head to Valentia to Slyne Head southwesterly winds, veering westerly, will reach storm force 10.
A Status Yellow Gale Warning for all Irish coastal waters and the Irish Sea will remain in place until 5pm on Monday evening.
Throughout the day cyclonic variable winds will reach gale force 8 or strong gale force 9, potentially storm force 10.
Galway will be under a Status Orange wind warning for Storm Debi on Monday morning with Met Eireann warning of severe gusts which could damage structure, down power lines, and create hazardous driving conditions.
Galway has continued its history of success in the IPB Pride of Place competition with Creggs Rural Development Group taking home a big prize.
Creggs RDG was named the winner in the Climate Action & Biodiversity category in recognition of its commitment to promote, educate, raise awareness, and enhance biodiversity within the north Galway village.
The community joins Lawrencetown (2022), Inis Méain (2018), Clonbur Community Council (2016) and Clifden (2012) as an overall winner of the prestigious annual competition.
County Galway’s other participant in this year’s competition Gort River Walk Group was nominated in the Community Wellbeing category.
This was in recognition of their continued development of a 3km looped walk that encompasses biodiversity, rest areas, and a new footbridge in the town.
Cllr Dr. Evelyn Parsons, Leas Chathaoirleach of Galway County Council commented, “This award win is a wonderful example of what can be achieved when people come together for the benefit of their local community.”
“It is an enormous achievement for the community of Creggs Rural Development Group to receive official recognition for their work in front of the 800 people from communities across the island of Ireland that gathered for the award ceremony.”
“I also wish to congratulate the County Galway’s other entrant in this year’s competition, Gort River Walk Group.”
Organised by peacebuilding charity Co-operation Ireland and sponsored by IPB Insurance, the Pride of Place awards showcase and celebrate exceptional community development efforts.
This year marked the 21st anniversary of the awards, and the event was hosted by the UTV’s Pamela Ballen in the Armagh City Hotel on Friday night.
The communities of Creggs and Gort were visited by judges during August, when representatives of both groups made a formal presentation to adjudicators.
After this they hosted tours that highlighted the elements of the community and volunteer efforts of which they are most proud.
Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council stated, “County Galway has always performed well in this competition which is an acknowledgement of the valuable and often unseen work carried out by our communities.”
“Galway County Council is proud to be able to support communities like Creggs and Gort and to recognise the unique value and contributions made at community level by voluntary and community groups across the County.”
A Status Orange weather warning has been issued for Galway ahead of Storm Debi hammering the country tomorrow.
A Status Orange wind warning for severe and damaging gusts associated with Storm Debi in the first half of Monday has been issued by Met Eireann.
This may cause damage to exposed and vulnerable structures, as well as power lines, along with creating dangerous driving conditions and disrupting services.
The warning has been issued Galway, Carlow, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Louth, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wicklow, Clare, Kerry, Limerick, and Tipperary.
It will be in effect from 2am on Monday morning until midday the same day. A Status Yellow warning for all of Ireland will be in place before and after this.
The yellow wind and rain warning will come into effect at midnight tonight and remain in place until 3pm on Monday.
Stormy conditions on Sunday night and Monday morning will be accompanied by heavy rain with a chance of embedded thunderstorms and hail.
People are advised to watch out for fallen trees and branches, and localised flooding, including from wave overtopping.
Malachaí is up to his old tricks, Mack has a colossal decision to make, and Micheál struggles to conceal his cancer diagnosis in Ros na Rún.
Malachaí manipulates Sadie as she emerges from her sleeping pill induced haze. She can’t remember anything from the night before.
Sorcha wants to try make amends with Sadie but Malachaí is not so keen on this. Sorcha needs to watch out.
A big shot lawyer takes on Mack’s case out of the blue, but he grows suspicious upon learning that there would be no fees involved.
Diana lays out his options and Mack has a huge decision to make. But is the lawyer too good to be true?
Laoise and Réailtín struggle to conceal Micheál’s cancer diagnosis from everyone upon his return from hospital, and Laoise’s refusal to talk about sends Micheál elsewhere for support.
An insistent Caitríona is desperate to speak to Micheál about the radio. But is there more than just paperwork on her mind?
Catch up on all the latest developments in Ros na Rún on TG4 this Sunday evening at 7:30pm.
Thousands of homes in Connemara are without power this morning after Storm Bert brought heavy wind and rain overnight.
Power outages are continuing to affect...
Uisce Eireann has issued a Boil Water Notice for more than 2,000 properties in Connemara resulting from issues cause Storm Bert.
The notice has been...
