Galway set to rekindle old relationship with St Louis

The relationship between Galway and St Louis is to be rekindled.

Galway City has been twinned with St Louis, Missouri since 1977 but the relationship between the two has been largely dormant in recent years.

Mayor of Galway, city councillor Donal Lyons (Ind) that Galway is “trying to revive” the connection with its ‘sister city’ in the US.

Mayor Lyons said he would be meeting with officials from St Louis later this month.

St Louis is one of eight World cities that are twinned with Galway. The others include: Lorient, France; Seattle, Chicago, Milwaukee, Cambridge in Massachusetts in the USA; Bradford in England; and Aalborg in Denmark.

Galway also has friendship agreements with Qingdao, China; Auckland, New Zealand; Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada; Stirling in Scotland; and Menlo Park in California, USA.

Twinning involves cultural, educational and an exchange of common interests between communities in different countries.

Meanwhile, it was confirmed that a dozen or more people from the Galway Committee of the Chicago Sister Cities International are coming to the city later this week to celebrate Billy Lawless becoming a freeman of his native city.

Mr Lawless will be honoured at a special Council meeting, in which elected members will be fully robed on Friday.

The event is being held in the g Hotel because the usual venue for such ceremonies, Hotel Meyrick in Eyre Square, is booked-up.

Up to 200 people are expected to attend the ceremony, including the family of Mr Lawless as well as his Dubai-based hotelier brother Gerry Lawless, Council officials confirmed.

At a Council meeting in December it was officially agreed to confer the honour of freeman on Mr Lawless.

The Rahoon native is being recognised for his work on behalf of Galway and on behalf of Irish immigrants and the Irish in America for years.

A leading Chicago businessman, Mr Lawless is Chair of Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform and a board member and co-founder of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition and fights tirelessly for immigration reform.