Mayor and city manager say thanks to all who made Volvo possible

A chara,

On behalf of Galway City Council, we wish to publicly express our appreciation to everyone who contributed to the very successful grand finalé for the Volvo Ocean Race.

· To John Killeen, Enda O’Coineen, and all of the team at Lets Do It Global whose vision brought the event to Galway, and who deserve most credit for delivering such a successful finalé

· To the Members and staff of Galway City Council who recognised the value of the event for the city and supported it financially, logistically, and practically from the outset working hand in hand with LDIG over the past six months to ensure the event ran smoothly,

· To Galway Harbour Company for hosting the race village and all of the on-water activities,

· To An Gárda Siochána, the Defence Forces, the HSE, Lough Corrib Navigation Trustees and the Civil Defence for ensuring we all enjoyed the events and got home safely afterwards

· To Fáilte Ireland, other Government agencies and departments which provided funding and other practical support for the race finalé and the events in the Global Village,

· To all of the local agencies, including GMIT, NUIG, City and County Enterprise Board, Galway County Council, City of Galway VEC, the Western Development Commission who contributed to the showcase exhibitions in the global village,

· To the many local organisations and clubs for their generous support,

· To the 1,500 people who were so generous in volunteering their time and energy to assist the organisers,

· To the many businesses, local and national who provided either direct or in-kind sponsorship towards the cost of the event,

· To those who organised the local events in their own communities around the city, and who worked hard to ensure that our city looked well,

· To Ambassador Rooney and his team at the US Embassy for inviting us to celebrate Independence Day with them in Galway, and providing a wonderful parade and fireworks display,

· To Rev Gary Hastings and the Select Vestry of St Nicholas Collegiate Church for hosting our Civic Reception,

· To the local print and broadcast media for getting behind the event from the outset and promoting it effectively over the past few months,

· To the people of the city who put up with the inconveniences caused by temporary traffic diversions and other disruptions and turned out in their thousands to support the event and to welcome the crews back to Galway.

· To all of the other people and organisations who we have not mentioned and whose contribution, large or small, helped to make the event a success.

As Galwegians, we are very proud of what was has been achieved in our city through people working together. Our collective efforts have yielded significant benefits, economic and otherwise, have raised the city’s profile, and brought out all of what is great about Galway. For this, we thank you all.

Cllr.Terry O’Flaherty, Mayor of Galway

Joe O’Neill, City Manager