Celebrations to mark Eyre Sq 300th anniversary

Date Published: 23-Feb-2012

By Bernie Ní Fhlatharta

Plans to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the handing over of Eyre Square to the city are well under way.

Up to 1712, the patch of green wooded land, which is now Eyre Square, used to be in private ownership, the private garden of the Eyre family to be exact.

Edward Eyre, who lived in a mansion which is now the Meyrick Hotel, had been a Mayor of Galway city and, in a gesture of goodwill, he bestowed his private garden on the city.

Documentation pertaining to that handover in May 1712 is currently in storage and the property of Galway City Council, and will be put on public display in May.

Councillor Pádraig Conneely, who is chairman of the City Cultural Committee, said he was thrilled that the City Council was going about marking the public beginnings of Eyre Square 300 years ago.

In fact, it is possible that a direct descendant of Edward Eyre might attend the festivities. The City Council has been in touch with members of the Eyre family, who live in the UK.

Cllr Conneely, said that the City’s Heritage Officer, Jim Higgins was reviewing the history of Eyre Square and how it came to be given to the city. He presented a report to the Cultural Committee this week and it was decided that the handover’s 300th anniversary would be publicly marked in May.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.