The organisers of this year's Galway Christmas Market in Eyre Square have expressed delight with the numbers who attended and with the benefit the event has given to local businesses and charities.
The festive atmosphere around the city was boosted by the buzz of the market, drawing hundreds of thousands of shoppers to the city at a crucial time of the year for retailers.
Organiser Maria Moynihan Lee told the Advertiser that this year's market was one of the best ones she had seen.
"2021 was one of the market’s best years - not only did great crowd numbers turn out, but they were much more evenly spread across peak and off peak times which is more desirable in these times.
She said that two thirds of the stands were for local businesses and that using the market to encourage start-ups is a welcome trend.
"More than 65% of traders are local and this year we had three new local small business start-ups among them. This is very welcome and they all reported that the market kick-started them rightly and gave them a good profile at an important stage in their development.
"We were also elighted that more than 30 local small scale producers took part in the craft section on the Skeff Road and that 20 local charities also conducted fundraising and awareness raising activities at the market.
Ms Moynihan Lee expressed her gratitude to the agencies which enabled the event to happen and enabled investment in lighting which will continued to be used in future Christmas markets in the city.
"We are very grateful to Galway City Council (Economic Development, Planning, Parks And Roads section ) and all of the statutory agencies (Gardai, fire officer, HSE ) who worked with us to make it possible.
"Their support from an early stage also meant that we were in a position to commit to doubling our spend on lighting and decorative installations - which we did.
"It’s no exaggeration to say that it was a lifeline for all involved and we’re very much looking forward to 2022," she concluded.
