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Galway City Council

We received a presentation in council chamber

from Press Officer, Gary McMahon. Then we

had a guided tour of Housing, Planning, and

Community and Cultural Departments.

Afterwards we returned to the council chamber

and we were briefed by the mayor, who woreher chain of office. She then answered many of

our questions. We had a photo with the mayor.

We learned:

Everybody should vote in elections.

City Hall helps to improve Galway City.

You cannot build a house without permission.

City Hall supports Festivals in Galway.

City Hall manages waste in the city.

City Hall manages traffic in the city andwantto make walking and cycling safer.The mayor wears a gold-platedchain.

This work is done as part of an eTwinning pro-

ject entitled, Parliamentary Landmarks and

Citizenship.

Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Ger-

many and Sweden are working together to learn

more about democracy and citizenship in this,

The Year of European Citizens.

Our Visit to City Hall

City Hall is located on College Road in the

heart of Galway City. It is the home of Gal-

way City Council. It is open to the public

from 09.00 to 16.00 from Monday to Friday.

Meetings of the City Council are held in thecouncil chamber in City Hall. The City Coun-

cil administers local government in the city

with responsibility for waste management,

transport, culture and arts, and planning and

housing.

The council functions at two levels:

Representational Level - Fifteen members are

elected from three electoral areas. The elected

councillors then elect a mayor who holds of-

fice for one year.

Executive Level - The day to day functions of

City Hall are carried out by the city manager

and council staff.

Mayor of Galway

Councillor Terry O' Flaherty is Mayor of Gal-

way for the second time.She is from Mervue.

She is a member of the Corporate Policy Group

which determines City Hall decisions. Her

mother, Bridie, was also mayor for two terms.

Mayor O Flaherty hates smoking and littering.She chairs the meetings of the City Council. She

is the first citizen of Galway City.

Elected City Council Members

There are fifteen elected members of the coun-

cil (councillors) who are elected from three lo-

cal electoral areas:

Galway City East

Galway City Central

Galway City West

The Councillors are elected for a period of five

years. The City council meets in City Hall the

second Monday of every month. Members of

the public are entitled to attend these meetings.

City Hall

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Symbols of Galway City

Coat of Arms

The arms of the city date

back to about 1580.

There is a galley with a

single furled sail, floating

on waves, and placed on

a silver shield. There isalso a smaller shield with

a golden lion. The arms

represent the maritime

tradition of Galway.

The Great Mace

The earliest mention of a mace dates

from the visit of the Lord Deputy to

the city in 1558.

The present mace was made in Dublin

in 1710 and presented to the town in

1712 by Mayor Edward Eyre. It is

used on ceremonial occasions. It

weighs about 6kg. It is now on display

in Galway Museum.

Galway City Sword

The sword dates to 1610 when

James 1st gave the city county status.To mark this status the mayor had

the right to have a sword carried

before him on ceremonial occasions.

The sword has two Galway silver-

smith marks. The covering of the

blade displays the arms of Galway

City. It is on display in the Museum.

History of Galway City CouncilThere has been local government in Galway since

Norman times. The position of mayor was intro-

duced by charter of 1484. City charters were abol-

ished in 1840 and Town Commissioners adminis-

tered Galway until 1899. Galway City then became

an urban district.

In 1937 Galway City became a Borough with mayor.

In 1985 Galway City received the status of county

borough.

The City Manager

The City Manager, Joe O'Neill, oversees the day to

day running of City Hall. There are five policy com-

mittees involved in decision-making:

Housing

Transport and Infrastructure

Economic Development and Planning

Environment

Recreation, Amenity and Culture.

Galway City TwinningWithin Galway City Council there is the Corporate

Service Department. This department oversees

twinning arrangements between Galway and eight

other cities. Twinning involves cultural, educational

and other exchanges of common interest between

both communities. These twinnings have led to

closer contact between citizens of Galway and the

twin cities.

The benefits of twinning to Galway city includes:

Opportunities for the exchange of ideas.

The breaking down of barriers.

Fostering a better appreciation of other cul-

tures

Pupil Involvement

These pupils have been involved in this work:

Kyle Guest, Ethan Goodfellow, Ryan Lally, Eryk Pro-kop, Avelino Kokou, Taofeek Adekola, Ciarn White,Szymon Stankiewicz, Kamil Podkanski, Francis Sweeney,Michael Sweeney, Calvin Toye, Jamie Kavanagh, LeeShaughnessy, Zino Johnny, Brendan Horwath, CollinsWilliams, Cosmin Andvian, Dallas Kwaitkowski, DylanLenehan, David Sarfo, Emmanuel Egbadon, HenokDems, Jake Larkin, John Ross Cleary, Kaelum Larkin,Leon Gyoh, Mateusz Pietrzyk, Mikey McDonagh, MuizAgiboye, Ryan Meja, Sammy Pride, Samson Ogundeko,Scott Rigney