Flags banned from Prom – then Council put up their own

City Hall has been told to raise the white flag on its new barmy policy of banning flags on the Prom in Salthill.

Galway City Council’s decision to ban the flying of green Connacht Rugby flags, and maroon and white Galway GAA flags from the promenade and other areas of the city has caused widespread disappointment among the city’s sports-mad fans.

And the local authority stands accused of hypocrisy – it has placed several flags of rival GAA counties in flower boxes in Salthill, while at the same time disallowing the maroon and white flags from local lampposts.

One of the flags erected by the City Council last week was a Kilkenny black and amber flag, which irked local Galway fans in a week when the county’s hurlers were meeting the Cats in a replay.

“It sticks in my craw that the Council have banned Galway flags from the Prom and yet they put up a Kilkenny flag themselves. It’s just madness,” said one Galway hurling supporter.

The Council has written to Connacht and Galway GAA informing them that flags are no longer allowed to be flown on the lampposts in Salthill.

Connacht Rugby flew their flags in the lead-up to big matches, particularly European matches, while Galway GAA flew flags in the lead-up championship matches in the summer.

The reason given for the ban is that the Council is drawing up an events signage and branding policy, so that standards and uniformity will apply to signs and flags etcetera across the city.

It is thought a policy in relation to this would be a bonus as the local authority bids for the European Capital of Culture 2020.

Fianna Fáil City Councillor, Mike Crowe, said the decision to ban flags from the Prom was “officialdom gone mad”.

“It’s just nonsense. This is just another civil service rigid attitude, where it’s either black and white and no grey areas. Why do officials keep giving people sticks to beat them with.

“I mean, sport is a huge part of the city, it’s a huge part of our culture, and whether it be Connacht Ruby, the Galway hurlers or footballers, or Galway FC, the City Council should be supporting them and seen to support them.”

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel