The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of
Galway City Council
Galway City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for hous ...
. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of
Galway
Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...
which is the largest city in the
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
of
Connacht
Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...
, in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
. The current mayor is Clodagh Higgins, (
FG).
Election to the office
The Mayor is elected to office annually by Councillors of Galway City Council from amongst its members. There is no popular vote. Up to 1841, Mayors were elected in August and took office in September. There was a strong tradition of festivities to mark this start of a new
municipal year
The municipal year is a period used by local government in the United Kingdom. The municipal year usually begins in May, following any local elections. It is not a fixed date so the number of days in any municipal year varies.
History
The munici ...
. Current practice is for the term of office to begin in June with the former Mayor presenting the Chain of Office to the incoming Mayor, thus formally inaugurating a new term. The process is repeated the following June, unless the same person is given a second consecutive term.
History of the office
The office was originally established by a
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
issued by King
Richard III of England in December 1484 and had significant powers. The office has existed, with a break of ninety-seven years, since it was inaugurated in 1485. The Mayor led
Galway Corporation
Galway City Council ( ga, Comhairle Cathrach na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for Local government in the Republic of Ireland, local government in the city of Galway, Ireland. As a city council, it is governed by the Local Government ...
from 1485 to 1841 and again from 1937 to 2001.
Prior to the creation of the mayoralty, the town of Galway was ruled by a
Provost or Sovereign, who was appointed by the
Earl of Ulster
The title of Earl of Ulster has been created six times in the Peerage of Ireland and twice in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since 1928, the title has been held by the Duke of Gloucester and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's eld ...
. After the murder of the
3rd Earl in June 1333, the town was under the control of successive members of the
Clanricarde
Clanricarde (; ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries.
T ...
line of the
House of Burke family. This situation lasted until well into the 15th century. However, charters from
Richard II (in 1396) and
Edward IV (in 1464) gave the citizens of the town semi-independence from the Clanricardes.
The office of Mayor of Galway was created by a charter issued by King Richard III of England in December 1484 at the solicitation of merchants from the city's leading families, known as the
Tribes of Galway
The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...
. This made Galway a virtual city-state. Although it survived the turbulent 17th century, the massive corruption of the office led to its disestablishment in 1841, when Galway Corporation was relegated to the status of an
Urban District Council
In England and Wales, Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, an urban district was a type of local government district that covered an urbanised area. Urban districts had an elected urban district council (UDC), which shared local gove ...
, headed by a chairman. In 1937 the city regained its corporation status and the office of Mayor was re-installed.
The office was all but abolished under the
Local Government Act 2001. All that remains of the office, per section 11 of the Act is a symbolic role: "Subject to this Act, royal charters and letters patent relating to local authorities shall continue to apply for ceremonial and related purposes in accordance with local civic tradition but shall otherwise cease to have effect.". The Act goes on to state the chairman of the Council must be styled the Cathaoirleach and that "Any reference in any other enactment to the lord mayor, mayor, chairman, deputy lord mayor, deputy mayor or vice-chairman or cognate words shall, where the context so requires, be read as a reference to the Cathaoirleach or Leas-Chathaoirleach or other title standing for the time being." (section 31 (3)).
List of mayors
*
List of mayors of Galway
The Mayor of Galway is the head of Galway City Council and first citizen of Galway, Ireland. This is a list of the mayors of Galway, from 1485 to the present.
"Tribes" period (1485–1654) 15th century
16th century
17th century
Commonweal ...
(from 1485)
See also
*
List of rulers and officers of Galway 1230–1485
References
External links
Galway City Council Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayor Of Galway
Politics of Galway (city)