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Issue Eleven - 28/07/05 |
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Mayor Brian Walsh irate at G8 snub |
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Serving Mayor of Galway, Cllr. Brian Walsh, has spoken out over his non-appearance
at the G8 meeting in Scotland at the start of July. A clearly irate Cllr. Walsh told the
recent sitting of Galway City Council that "the lack of an invite showed a wealth of
ignorance on the part of the other, supposedly important, leaders."
The snub arrives at an ominous time for the mayor, who has had to handle a raft of unfortunate domestic issues. The recent withdrawal on Eyre Square, which saw a welder pull out of his girlfriend in broad daylight during working hours, has resulted in embarrassment for the Council. In addition, promises made by Cllr. Walsh's predecessor, to stop clouds passing over the city, have not yet been met with action. "I can't believe that, at a time of great international confusion and concern, I was not contacted about this meeting," Cllr. Walsh told the assembled. "There was no invite, and I had my secretary check all the postboxes, even those of other people, to make sure. And to add insult to injury, they didn't even raise the issue of the Headford Road works. It's a slap in the face for Galway, and a kick in the legs for this council," he continued. Other Councillors concurred with the feelings expressed by the Mayor, with Cllr. Colette Connolly summing up the mood. "I won't have Galway held in such public low regard, and neither will this council. I even gather that Canada, of all places, was represented. This can not and will not continue." Green Party representative Niall O'Brolchain also expressed his views on the snub, but they were long winded and of little interest. Before concluding an emotional and fraught speech, Cllr. Walsh singled out Japanese Premier, Junichiro Koizumi, for particular scorn. "I had sent him messages for weeks. I specifically asked the young Chinese lad at the city centre Spar to relay those messages and report back with any level of response. The phone did not ring once. If this is the level of courtesy we can expect from these Korean diplomats, then we'd do well to halt all exports to Kuala Lumpur from this moment on." It is expected that Cllr. Walsh will aim to further address some of his concerns at a forthcoming meeting of international migrant workers in the kitchens of the Hudson Bay Hotel, Athlone, this September. |
 Just really really angry about it all
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