Salthill Park looks set to host an open air music concert for the fist time in more than 25 years and English folk-pop band Mumford & Sons look set to be the headline act.
Plans are under way to try and bring Mumford & Sons, who are best known for the single ‘Little Lion Man’ and their hugely successful debut album Sigh No More, to play in a concert in Salthill Park with the date being considered of Saturday June 9.
The band have also won numerous awards including British Album of The Year at the Brit Awards and Best New Act at the Q Awards. They have also received a number of Grammy nominations.
The Galway City Council is in talks with an event promoter regarding staging the concert and details are being finalised details. Subject to that agreement, the plans then would go on public display to get the views of the public and business community. They will be on display five weeks and then would be brought before a meeting of the city councillors for a final decision.
Fianna Fáil councillor Michael J Crowe, chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure committee in City Hall is involved in organising the event.
“We are looking at a maximum capacity of 15,000 but I expect numbers will be closer to 10,000,” he said. “Bringing this concert to Salthill will be of significant benefit to the local businesses particularly following on from the bank holiday weekend and the Salthill Fives competition.
“The council will also receive a fee from the promoters for the use of the public space. My own view is that this should be around €20,000. This money should be ring fenced for use on projects or schemes in the Salthill area that would be of benefit to residents.”
Cllr Crowe has also been in discussions with City Hall regarding any issues that may cause problems such as care of the ground during the concert and access for residents in the general area on the day.
“I want to assure people that these and any other challenge that may arise will be addressed and handled in a proper manner,” he said.
Cllr Crowe said the concert is a “win-win for Galway”.
“It will bring a welcome economic benefit to the area and we need to work more to deliver projects like this,” he said. “It is important the Galway City Council ensure events such as this happen within our city. We are one of the biggest cities in Ireland and we should be attracting more and bigger acts to Galway than in the past.”
