Bring back Rag Week says boss of Supermac’s

SUPERMAC’S boss Pat McDonagh has this week said that Rag Week 2015 should be ‘formalised’ and should return as an official event, after what he described as ‘exemplary’ behaviour from the students at last week’s unofficial annual students’ celebration.

Rag Week was banned three years ago by the students’ unions at both NUI Galway and GMIT, after pressure was put on the student leaders by the college authorities.

 The move followed a litany of public order offences during Rag Week 2011, which prompted Gardai to call for the event to be banned.

 “All parties to Rag Week should get together to build on this year’s successful event and formalise Rag Week for 2015. The positive energy of the week is there to be harnessed and I am suggesting that charity events could be organised around the event which would greatly benefit the city and the local community,” said Pat McDonagh.

 Over the years, Supermac’s in Eyre Square has established itself as the late night meeting point for thousands of students during Rag Week – Mr. McDonagh said that there hadn’t been a single episode of misbehaviour at his premises during this year’s event.

 “My experience, and that of the Supermac’s outlets in Galway throughout the week, was of students enjoying the best of good humour, banter and craic without a single episode of misbehaviour,” Pat McDonagh said in a statement released this week.

 He added that he was prompted to speak out after a media focus had suggested that Galway students were somehow a threat to law and order, in the run-up to the unofficial Rag Week.

 The Supermac’s boss said that misleading hype in advance of Rag Week had sent out a message that measures such as the early closing of premises were necessary to prevent incidents.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.