A proactive and creative collaboration between several local business groups resulted in Galway being named the Best City in Ireland at the Bank of Ireland - Enterprise Town Awards in Kilkenny.
The groups including the Galway City Business Association, The Latin Quarter, Galway’s West End, Wood Quay Village, East Village, Gaillimh le Gaeilge, Galway Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of the City of Galway, Cllr. Níall McNelis.
Judges commented on how the extensive presentation detailed all the major initiatives, plans, and programmes for the area and portrayed a modern, vibrant, forward looking place, proud of its past and confident of its future. The strong bonds that exist between the civic, business and community leaders impressed the judges as did the collaboration between them.
In September the business groups came together and formed a sub committee comprising of Gill Carroll, 56 Central, Aislinn O’Driscoll, The House Hotel, Bríd Ní Chonghóile, Gaillimh le Gaeilge and Caroline Mc Neill, McNeil Studios.
Together along with mayor Niall McNelis they brought the independent judges from BOI on a tour of Galway City after a presentation put together by the group with the help of local media business Black Pug Studio.
The judges remarked on the manner in which businesses are embracing their social responsibility and for this reason the prize fund of €10,000 was awarded to Galway City to be used for a project to benefit the entire city.
A Galway Crystal vase was presented to Gill Carroll (Galway City Business Association ), Aislinn O’Driscoll (The Latin Quarter ) and Mayor Níall McNelis who attended the awards ceremony at The Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny on Thursday last.
The local business groups would like to send a big ‘Míle Buíochas’ to everyone who took part and supported the bid to win this prize, especially Marie Meehan, Damien Gardiner, Annie Claffey and all of the team at Bank of Ireland.
