Galway mayoral gifts cost just €900 over three years

When it comes to buying presents, Galway City Council abides by the rule: ‘It’s the thought that counts’.

The local authority has spared quite a bit of expense by opting for buying thoughtful gifts with a Galway tinge rather than choosing extravagance.

The City Council spent just under €900 on presents that were gifted to visiting dignitaries over the past three years, according to documents released under the Freedom of Information Act.

The figure includes the spend on gifts that were brought with the city’s mayor, and officials, who travelled abroad and met with dignitaries during that period.

It includes expenditure of some €315 in 2014; €245 in 2015; and €334 last year.

Two of the recipients of the presents each year in the past three years included the Mayor of Chicago and Mayor of Milwaukee.

Galway is a sister city of Chicago, and Milwaukee, and a delegation from Galway City Council, usually including the mayor, visits the US on a trade and tourism mission every Summer.

Galway’s Chicago-based senator, Billy Lawless, in his capacity as co-chairperson of the Galway Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities International, also received gifts from the city of Galway.

In 2014, the Mayor of Chicago and Mayor of Milwaukee were given framed prints of Galway’s famous Long Walk. They were worth €70 each.

Senator Lawless was given a print of a Galway Hooker (€80), in the same year. Other gifts in 2014 included items of Galway crystal.

For more on the mayoral gifts, see this week’s Galway City Tribune.
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