Galway City Council Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Mike Cubbard, Ind | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 18 |
 | |
Political groups |
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| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 7 June 2024 |
| Motto | |
| Laudatio Ejus Manet In Secula Seculorum "His Praise Remains unto Ages of Ages" | |
| Meeting place | |
| City Hall, Galway | |
| Website | |
Official website | |
Galway City Council (Irish:Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe) is thelocal authority of the city ofGalway, Ireland. As acity council, it is governed by theLocal Government Act 2001. The council is responsible forhousing and community, roads and transportation,urban planning and development, amenity and culture, andenvironment. The council has 18 elected members. Elections are held every five years and are bysingle transferable vote. The head of the council has the title of mayor. The city administration is headed by achief executive, Leonard Cleary. The council meets at City Hall, College Road, Galway.
The earliest known charter dates from a grant ofRichard II of England in 1395.[1] The firstMayor of Galway wasPeirce Lynch. A board oftown commissioners was established bylocal act in 1836.[2] The corporation was dissolved under theMunicipal Corporations (Ireland) Act 1840, with the town commissioners as its successor.
| Galway Town Improvement Act 1853 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
 | |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 15 August 1853 |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
In 1853, 24 town commissioners were appointed under theGalway Town Improvement Act 1853 (16 & 17 Vict. c. cc).[3] In 1899, under theLocal Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37), thecounty of the town became anurban district ofCounty Galway, with an urban district council succeeding the town commissioners.[4] In 1937, the Urban District of Galway became theBorough of Galway, remaining part ofCounty Galway.[5] The borough council had 12 members.[6] It increased to 15 members at the1985 election, in anticipation of its conversion to a city council.[7]
In 1986, the Borough of Galway became theCounty Borough of Galway and ceased to part of County Galway.[8][9] The council was known as "The Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the (County) Borough of Galway" from 1937 until the enactment of theLocal Government Act 2001, under which it was renamed Galway City Council.[10][11] In 2013, a Local Electoral Area Boundary Committee reviewed the allocation of seats and the local electoral areas across local authorities. In the case of Galway Council, it recommended an increase from 15 to 18 seats.[12] This was implemented by theLocal Government Reform Act 2014.[13]
On 6 June 2018, the government announced that Galway City Council andGalway County Council were to be merged into a single local authority by 2021.[14] As of late 2021, this proposal was reportedly "off the agenda".[15]
Galway City Council has two representatives on theNorthern and Western Regional Assembly where they are part of theWest Strategic Planning Area Committee.[16]
Members of Galway City Council are elected for a five-year term of office on theelectoral system ofproportional representation by means of thesingle transferable vote (PR-STV) from multi-memberlocal electoral areas (LEAs).
| Year | FF | FG | Lab | GP | SD | SF | PDs | WP | Ind | Total | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 0 | 4 | 18 | |||||||||
| 2019 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 6 | 18 | |||||||||
| 2014 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 3 | — | 0 | 6 | 18 | |||||||||
| 2009 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | 15 | |||||||||
| 2004 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 15 | |||||||||
| 1999 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 15 | |||||||||
| 1991 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 15 | |||||||||
| 1985 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | — | 2 | 1 | 15 | |||||||||
Galway is divided into three LEAs, defined byelectoral divisions.[17] The electoral divisions were formerly known as wards and were defined in 1986.[18]
| LEA | Definition | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| Galway City Central | Claddagh, Dangan, Eyre Square, Mionlach, Newcastle,Nuns Island, Rahoon, Shantalla, and Toghroinn San Niocláis. | 6 |
| Galway City East | An Caisleán Gearr, Baile an Bhriotaigh, Ballybaan, Lough Atalia, Mervue, Murroogh, Renmore and Wellpark. | 6 |
| Galway City West | Bearna, Cnoc na Cathrach, Rockbarton, Salthill and Taylors Hill. | 6 |
The following were elected at the2024 Galway City Council election.
| Party | Seats | |
|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | 4 | |
| Fine Gael | 4 | |
| Labour | 3 | |
| Social Democrats | 2 | |
| Sinn Féin | 1 | |
| Independent | 4 | |
This list reflects the order in which councillors were elected on 7 June 2024.[19]
| Council members from2024 election | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Local electoral area | Name | Party | |
| Galway City Central | Mike Cubbard | Independent | |
| Eddie Hoare | Fine Gael | ||
| Frank Fahy | Fine Gael | ||
| Josie Forde | Fianna Fáil | ||
| John McDonagh | Labour | ||
| Eibhlín Seoighthe[a] | Social Democrats | ||
| Galway City East | Alan Cheevers | Fianna Fáil | |
| Declan McDonnell | Independent | ||
| Terry O'Flaherty | Independent | ||
| Shane Forde | Fine Gael | ||
| Aisling Burke | Sinn Féin | ||
| Helen Ogbu | Labour | ||
| Galway City West | Donal Lyons | Independent | |
| Clodagh Higgins | Fine Gael | ||
| Alan Curran | Social Democrats | ||
| John Connolly[b] | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Peter Keane | Fianna Fáil | ||
| Níall McNelis | Labour | ||
| Party | Outgoing | LEA | Reason | Date | Co-optee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fianna Fáil | John Connolly | Galway City West | Elected to34th Dáil at the2024 general election | 16 December 2024 | Mike Crowe[20] | |
| Name | LEA | Elected as | New affiliation | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eibhlín Seoighthe | Galway City Central | Social Democrats | Independent | 31 July 2025[21] | ||
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