Tributes were being paid across the country last night to former Galway Mayor and city businessman John Mulholland who passed away on Wednesday, aged 76.
Cllr Mulholland was a member of Galway City Council from 1985 until 2009, serving as Mayor on two occasions, in 1986-87 and again a decade later from 1996 to 1997.
People who accompanied him on Mayoral delegations overseas to attract companies to come to Galway spoke of the great impression he made as the first citizen of the city.
A native of Dublin, John Mulholland came to Galway when his family moved west in the late 1940s. He married his wife Margaret in 1968 and moved to London for some time.
On his return to Galway, with children, Ala, Eddie, Lisa and Aoife he developed the family betting business under the tagline “The better bettor” and was elected to the City Council in 1985.
He continued in politics until his narrow loss to party colleague Hildegarde Naughton in 2009. However, he maintained a keen interest in local and national politics.
Last evening, Mayor Clodagh Higgins said that Cllr Mulholland is a huge loss not only to the party, but the city.
“Even though he might have been out of politics for a while, people still came to him with their issues and he always made sure that the right thing was done.
“He was also a wonderful family man and my heart goes to Margaret and family as they will miss him greatly. He was a proud Galwayman and a proud Salthill man,” she concluded.
Arrangements for the funeral of John Mulholland will be announced later today (Thursday ).
