The Galway County Club has been an elite, all-male affair for almost 200 years, but that tradition is about to change.
After updating the private members’ club’s constitution in 2018 to allow women join, its first female member was approved last week as the 191-year-old institution’s inaugural lady member.
The professional woman is understood to be the first ever female to formally seek membership of the exclusive club, situated on a rocky outcrop overlooking the River Corrib, with a bar, saloon, gym, library, billiards room, mature garden and several en-suite bedrooms with exceptional views of the city.
Speaking to the Advertiser, the club’s new female member, a Dublin-based barrister with links to Oranmore and Galway city, requested anonymity, as her relationship with this social club is “a personal and private matter”.
A senior club official confirmed that her application – which must be proposed and seconded by existing members – has been approved by an executive committee, and all that remains is the same for any new member: to pay their annual subscription before enjoying full membership access.
“This is a private organisation, in a private setting, but we are in the modern era, and the days of ‘blackballing’ are long gone,” the official said, in reference to the archaic practice where membership votes took place by each attendee placing marbles in a velvet sack. If one member dropped a black ball in the bag, the applicant was rejected.
The current system allows members in good standing to propose an applicant, with a committee overseeing the process. Ordinary members may “influence” applications, according to sources.
“Galway County Club is a private members’ club. [It] does not discuss details of members, or proposed members, with any third party,” the club said, in a statement to the Advertiser, adding that “in 2018, the Club rules were changed to allow for female members.” This followed the Galway Mechanics’ Institute on Middle Street opening its membership to women in 2013.
The 2000 Equal Status Act prohibits gender discrimination for most goods and services, but an infamous 2009 Supreme Court ruling involving the Equality Authority v Portmarnock Golf Club did confirm some exemptions for associations that cater solely for the needs of men and women. In 2021, the Dublin golf club cancelled this male-only policy.
The Galway County Club held an EGM in 2018 after the club’s rule book was updated by specialist subcommittee, and insertion of the word ‘ladies’ was approved in a revision of membership criteria. This rulebook change was reportedly made with almost full unanimity by members.
Galway County Club’s first lady member was approved last week. Related to a well-known Galway family with a medical tradition and links to the catering trade, she works as a Senior Counsel with a track record in civil litigation, including negligence, liability, safety standards and public law.
History and perks
Informed sources suggest there were conversations in the Galway County Club dating back 50 years about admitting women, after the first female District Court judges were appointed in the early 1980s, and again in the 1990s, when Ireland elected its first female head of state – President Mary Robinson.
A small cohort of older members, now deceased, were historically opposed to admitting female members, despite women welcomed as members’ guests, and at various Club open day events, since at least the 1960s.
The annual subscription to the Galway County Club is €550. It is understood members hold a beneficial interest in their headquarters at Weir House, a Tudor-Revival-style mansion built around 1880, accessed by a gated foot-bridge over an old mill race separating it from Gaol Island on which Galway cathedral is situated.
The building was previously a private house linked to the fishery until the 1970s, and is built on a rocky outcrop infused with local folklore about the origins of Galway.
Informed property sources speculate the three-storey, cut limestone edifice with a unique river setting would fetch at least €2.5 million in today’s market, netting the 140-strong County Club membership a handy €18,000 each if sold.
The County Club was originally situated at Hibernian House, 45 Eyre Square, before moving to Weir House in the 1980s.
It was founded c1835 as a gentlemen’s club for local dignitaries to meet and entertain friends in, and a place to stay for professionals visiting Galway overnight on business. This tradition remains, with its accommodation often let to members of allied private clubs at a reduced rate, with lawyers from outside the city attending nearby Galway Courthouse providing a sizeable proportion of its paying guests.
Club members who live more than 50 miles away from Galway city enjoy reduced fees.
Solicitors, barristers, doctors, dentists, engineers and businessmen traditionally made up the majority of active members throughout the late twentieth century, but membership has “broadened” over recent years, says a current official.
The County Club does not welcome publicity, and does not have a public website or accessible contact details. The club is understood to make quiet but sizeable donations to local charities after annual fundraising events.
