Man sets up home in grounds of City Hall

Galway’s homeless crisis landed literally on Galway City Council’s doorstep this week when a man set up camp at their College Road offices.

The man, who came with a sleeping bag and sought shelter under an area that was partly roofed, was spotted by customer service staff, who alerted the Housing Department.

Officials from that Department engaged with him, offering to put him in touch with COPE Galway, the homeless agency which works on behalf of City Council. They offered to organise a place to shower and a bed for the night.

However, that offer was declined and the man left soon after, according to a spokesman for Galway City Council.

It is understood the man was later put up in the facility erected on the Seamus Quirke Road as an emergency shelter during the Winter.

Those 14 ‘cold weather response’ beds – which have been mostly at full capacity over the winter – will be decommissioned this weekend.

What affect that will have on the homeless in Galway will be closely monitored, the spokesman said.
For the rest of this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week’s paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.