Galway Bay fm newsroom – The European Commission has confirmed that daily fines being applied against the State in relation to the Derrybrien windfarm in South Galway will cease. The State has reached agreement with the European Commission to cease fines of 15 thousand euro a day relating to the ESB-owned wind farm The sanctions were imposed as a result of Ireland’s failure to ensure environmental standards were upheld at the facility on the Slieve Aughty mountains. The State has, over the years, paid more than €17 million to the commission, due to the breaches. The final sum due to be paid is ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – 19 year old Connemara artist CONNOLLY is the favourite heading into tonight’s Late Late show vote for Eurovision song. Six songs are taking part in the Eurosong vote on RTÉ One from 9:35PM, all vying to become Ireland’s entry for the 2023 competition being held in Liverpool this May. The latest betting odds are placing Lettermullen singer, Jennifer Connolly and her song Midnight Summer Night 11/8 favourite ahead of Wild Youth on 5/2. The winner will be chosen after the public vote is added to the scores from both a national jury and an international jury. Jennifer tol ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Transition Year students in Galway interested in real estate are invited to attend a virtual work experience course. DNG is hosting 3rd level colege presentations, online auctions and an auctioneering and property services apprenticeship programme. 500 students are expected to sign up the the programme, with over 1,000 students taking part over the past two years. The course will take place from Wednesday to Friday of next week, and registration is on ty.dng.ie ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – €4.4m in funding has been awarded for a ‘shape-shifting’ implanted medical device led by University of Galway. The funding from the European Union is for the SMARTSHAPE project – which aims to provide continuous blood pressure monitoring. Hypertension is the leading global contributor to premature death – but there is no clinical standard of monitoring beat-to-beat blood pressure outside hospital settings. The SMARTSHAPE consortium is led by Professor William Wijns, Research Professor in Interventional Cardiology at University of Galway’s College of Medicine, Nursing a ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A local councillor is slamming the lack of action over what he describes as pungent smells of sewage in Gort town. Councillor Joe Byrne says the odour has escalated in the past 12 months and he claims Irish Water will not address it. It comes as the town had a boil water notice lifted last month which had been in place since early December of last year. Speaking to Galway Talks, Councillor Byrne explains the impact it’s having on the community ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Clifden Station house Hotel had a bumper year in 2022, but in commenting on the accounts one director, Frank Forde, said Golfgate brought no joy to anyone. The hotel operator, Western Railway Operations Ltd recorded post tax profits of just under 800 thousand euro. The post tax profit for the 12 months to May 2022 followed a post tax loss of €1,500 in 2021. The hotel was the location of the ‘Golfgate’ controversy in August 2020 during the early stages of the pandemic. It resulted in two public figures, Phil Hogan and Dara Calleary resigning from their senior posts. Two ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – The inaugural Mary Robinson Climate Conference will be held this summer in collaboration with University of Galway. The event will include discussion sessions, presentations, and workshops in an effort to bring different academias together to share climate-related research. the conference, held in conjuction with the Mary Robinson Centre, will take place on the 6th and 7th of July in county Mayo. Dr Gordon Bromley explains what this conference will bring to the climate conversation ..read more

Galway Bay fm newsroom – Approval has been given for a water sports facility planned for Newcastle in the city The project is led by University of Galway and would be located close to the Quincentennial Bridge along the bank of the River Corrib. The proposed facility would include a gym, changing rooms, bathrooms, reception area, café, function room and a range of offices. There’d also be a rowing storage shed and two floating platoons on the bank of the River Corrib, as well as a pedestrian and cyclist greenway. City planners have now given the go-ahead for the project, with a number of condi ..read more

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – A well-known family in the Galway restaurant trade have swapped chef whites for hospital gowns after the matriarch donated a kidney to her son. Jenny and Andrew Ishmael, synonymous with Scotty’s Diner in Cúirt na Coiribe on the Headford Road in Terryland, are recovering in Beaumont Hospital after the marathon live donor operation. It took place last Monday and staff are so impressed by the quick recovery of mother and son that they could be discharged as early as this weekend. “It went really well. I’m still a bit sore. We’re still on the mend. It’s worki ..read more

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The wait for accessible, specialised toilet facilities at Ladies Beach in Salthill goes on – three years after they were ‘prioritised’ by city councillors. Galway City Council has confirmed to the Tribune this week that the ‘Changing Places’ facility at Ladies Beach is still not open. Construction of the facility began almost a year ago, at the end of February 2022. The local authority confirmed that some €135,600 has been spent on the unit, which is not yet open to the public. “The initial stages of construction went well, with the facility now largely i ..read more