Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe / Galway City Council

#GalwayCityYourCouncil #Podcast - In Episode 21, we meet Paul Fallon, the Integration Support Coordinator in the Integration Support Service team at Galway City Council. The Integration Support Service is a new service in Irish local authorities, with the Galway City team coming into place in March 2024. The integration team provide support to asylum seekers and refugees as they integrate into their local area, including setting up on-site clinics at direct provision centres. Paul coordinates the work of a team of four, who have a variety of backgrounds including social care and community development. Paul has over 20 years’ experience working with asylum-seekers and refugees and a background in international human rights. He has worked in South Africa and Palestine, among other countries, and is now bringing this extensive knowledge to Galway City Council’s new team. In this episode, Paul discusses the work of his team - which was primarily delivered through charities and NGOs previously – and the importance of the role of the local authority in supporting new communities in Ireland. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or stream from www.GalwayCity.ie/Podcast

#GalwayCityYourCouncil #Podcast In this episode, we meet a School Warden who is looking after the children of Galway City for almost five decades! Anne Quinn is a School Warden in east Galway City. Anne is the city’s longest serving warden with 48 years’ experience guiding our most vulnerable road users on their journey to school. Anne speaks about her role as a warden, what she enjoys most about the role, and how behaviour on the road has changed over her time watching over children on the school run. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or see www.GalwayCity.ie/Podcast

🎅Nollaig Shona agus Athbhlian Faoi Mhaise Ó Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe 🎅Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all in Galway City Council

Galway City Council is pleased to provide an early Christmas present to workers and residents in Parkmore with confirmation that works on the Parkmore Bus Priority Project have been completed ahead of schedule! It had been expected that construction works would continue into the first months of 2025, but works are now substantially complete in advance of the Christmas period. The project will deliver faster and more reliable journey times for workers in Parkmore. A significant enhancement of pedestrian facilities were also included as part of the completed works. See www.GalwayCity.ie for more information.

Meet Robert Steed, Craft Gardener with Galway City Council. Having studied Countryside Management in Aberystwyth in Wales, Robert amassed a wealth of experience in habitat management – in Inland Fisheries, in arboriculture/ tree management, as a Wildlife Ranger in the Burren, and now in Galway City Council with the Healthy Green Spaces project. Healthy Green Spaces works with residents’ associations across the city – collaborating with Robert to design, create and manage summer native wildflower meadows, supporting our native pollinators and biodiversity in Galway City. Robert talks about his journey from a childhood steeped in nature and wildlife, to his current role and work in Galway City Council Listen wherever you get your podcasts or see www.GalwayCity.ie/Podcast #GalwayCityYourCouncil #Podcast

Staff in the Litter Management Unit in Galway City Council banded together this Christmas to spread joy and cheer by donating over €1,000 worth of toys to the Children’s Department at University Hospital Galway. On Tuesday 10 December 2024, the Litter Management crew headed to Smyths Toystore on Headford Road with €1,040 in hand to buy toys for all the children spending time in hospital in Galway City this Christmas. Aoife Larkin, Clinical Nurse Manager in the Paediatric Unit of University Hospital Galway, joined the crew in Smyths to assist with selecting the toys the children would like the most. The crew picked out a large selection, from baby dolls to dinosaurs, trucks and Disney princesses. Smyths Toystore also donated €100 worth of toys, bringing the total donation up to €1,140. Tommy Molloy, Ganger with the Litter Management Unit, Galway City Council and the organiser of the money collection, said; “This started back during Lent this year, right before Easter. Two of the lads were not eating chocolate for Lent and as a joke I brought in two Easter Eggs to the canteen to tempt them. More of the crew started to do the same until we had 40 eggs in the canteen! We were wondering what to do with all the eggs when one of the lads suggested we donate them to the Paediatric Department so that’s what we did. They were just delighted to get them. A few months later after hearing about what we did with the Easter Eggs, my boss Jimmy O’Connor said we should do something special for the children in hospital at Christmas. The 35 staff in the Litter Management Unit contributed €30 each to buy toys – raising €1,040 in total. It was great to raise as much money as we did and we’re delighted to help the hospital in this way. No child or parent wants to be in hospital at Christmas – so hopefully this will raise their spirits a bit this year.” The toys will be distributed to children of different ages over Christmas and some will also be available in the playroom of the Paediatric Unit. Some of the toys will also be given out over the course of the year to help encourage the children to adjust to medication and treatment. Pictured in image 1 are staff from the Litter Management Unit in Galway City Council with their donation of over €1,000 worth of toys for children in hospital in University Hospital Galway this Christmas (Left to Right): Conor Harlowe, Timo Busch, John Paul Stiffe, Andrew Flaherty, Derek Griffin, Kevin Joyce, Jimmy Cooke, Kenneth Moloney, Joe Keane, Seamus Conroy, Tom Warde, Tom Molloy and Brian D'Arcy.

Deputy Mayor Níall McNelis welcomed members and family of the 1984 Quincentenary Committee to a 40th anniversary commemoration ceremony in their honour in City Hall on Monday 9 December 2024. In 1984, a committee comprising of local authority staff and members of Galway’s civic, cultural, and business community, organised a year-long commemoration of Galway’s Quincentenary of Local Government – with a new civic pride permeating the city as a result. Welcoming the committee and their family members, Deputy Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr Níall McNelis commented, “Galway received its Charter of Incorporation from Richard III in 1484, which granted the merchants of Galway a large level of control in the management of the town. In the same year, the Vicarage of St Nicholas were granted a wardenship, which allowed the local English Church and merchants independence from the both the Diocese of Annaghdown and the Archbishop of Tuam. This granted the Church of St Nicholas the right to elect its own wardens and manage the town’s religious affairs independently. The 1984 committee was formed against a backdrop of emigration and a decade-long recession, and the year-long event both foregrounded Galway’s unique history and gave the city a much needed economic and cultural boost amid a challenging economic backdrop.” Leonard Cleary, Chief Executive of Galway City Council acknowledged the work of the committee, commenting, “Galway was a very different place forty years ago, and the City faced the chronic problems of emigration, long-term unemployment, and city centre dereliction. The Quincentenary committee saw the coming together of Galway’s wider political, civic, business and cultural community with a common shared purpose. In working together, the committee organised a year long event that celebrated the founding of Galway’s corporation in 1484. Such an event fostered a large amount of civic pride and gave a much needed boost to the local economy… it is wonderful to be here today to view the fruits of that work”. Former City Manager Seamus Keating also spoke, and recognised the contribution put in by the committee, speaking to the committee, and the family of deceased members. Deputy Mayor Niall McNelis presented scrolls to all attending and thanked everyone for their contribution. 

The Elected Members of Galway City Council today (Friday 13 December 2024) approved an ambitious proposal by the Local Authority to invest an additional €19.5m in the city over the next five years. The €143m budget invests in targeted areas including the delivery of social and affordable housing; new climate action projects; the development of a city campervan facility; bringing derelict sites back into use; street cleaning; the introduction of a shop front enhancement scheme; grants towards local community improvements and projects; and maintenance of housing, parks, footpaths and public amenities. At the Council’s annual Budget Meeting, Chief Executive Leonard Cleary outlined a series of target measures for 2025. They include progressing the Kingston, Millers Lane, Southpark and Renmore Sports and Recreation masterplans to design stage; the delivery of a ‘Galway City Tourism Destination and Experience Development Plan’ and ‘Night-Time Economy Action Plan’; mobilising the newly formed Derelict Sites Team; continuing Climate Action and Sustainability projects; and the development of an implementation plan for the delivery of Galway City’s EV charging infrastructure. See www.GalwayCity.ie for more information.

#GalwayCityYourCouncil #Podcast The arts are an integral part of the identity of the City of Galway, with the Arts Office playing a key role in supporting and facilitating artists and the creative community in the city. Ruth Mulhern, Arts Officer, has extensive experience in the arts and business – having studied history of art and archaeology, working in outreach in the National Gallery of Ireland, running a successful restaurant, and as artist liaison and curator in the Clonmel Junction Festival, among other roles. Ruth discusses the role of the Arts Officer, and initiatives including Culture Night, Creative Ireland, Percent for Art, grants and bursaries. Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or stream from www.GalwayCity.ie/Podcast

Galway City Council launched a new climate festival from 12-15 September 2024, the first of its kind organised by a local authority in Ireland. ‘Climate Inspirations-Communities in Action’ is an innovative, creative and collaborative festival which aims to change the narrative around climate action to one of positivity. It harnesses Galway's creative energy and embraces our theatrical, musical, art, active travel, sport, Gaeilge and food cultures. The festival also delivers on objectives in the recently adopted Galway City Climate Action Plan 2024-2029 https://lnkd.in/dDCWF_eG Thanks for everyone who made the festival a success and we hope to see you all in 2025!