John Francis King (9 July 1926 – 18 December 1998) was the Mayor of Galway from 1978–1979. King was born in the family home on Forster Street, but was in fact descended from a very old and prominent

Claddagh Claddagh () is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the River Corrib meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of ...

family, his grandfather been

Padge King Padge King () was Mayor/King of the Claddagh. Biography King was one of the earliest recorded Kings of the Claddagh. The ''Galway Vindicator'' of 12 May 1887 stated that "This custom of appointing their own ruler prevails among the Claddagh fo ...

King of the Claddagh The King of the Claddagh was the leader of the Claddagh community in Galway city as well as at sea who was charged with being the arbiter in any disputes. A new king was chosen on Midsummer#Ireland, St. John's Day, 23 June. It is now an honorary ...

. His parents were Paddy and Delia. Educated by the

Patrician Brothers The Patrician Brothers officially named Brothers of Saint Patrick ( la, Congregatio Fratrum a Sancto Patricio), abbreviated F.S.P. is a Catholic lay religious congregation of Pontifical Right for men founded for the religious and literary educa ...

at the Old Monastery school, he began an apprenticeship with O'Gorman's Bookbinders in August 1941. On 12 January 1954 he married Teresa Murphy of Fairhill, the

, and had Della, Paddy, John, Bernadette, Martina and Tony. In 1986, John Francis King went on to open J.F.K. Bookbinders in Sandy Road Centre, Galway. Run by his daughter, Della, J.F.K. Bookbinders today remains open for business. He was elected to the Corporation as an Independent in June 1974, and acted as deputy-Mayor that year. Elected Mayor in 1978, his first civic duty was attending the twinning ceremony of Galway with St. Louis at UCG on 4 July. Prior to the engagement, King had made some notes for his speech which he left in his pocket. When he began his speech, he found that one of the notes was black while the second contained the measurements for his new suit. He made a point ever afterwards never to have a pre-prepared speech. An innovation of his term was the innovation of each councillor standing as deputy-Mayor for one month.

References

* ''Role of Honour:The Mayors of Galway City 1485-2001'', William Henry, Galway 2001.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071119083053/http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/HistoryofTheCityCouncil/PreviousMayors/ Politicians from County Galway Mayors of Galway Members of Galway City Council 1926 births 1998 deaths {{Ireland-mayor-stub