Will President Higgins speak for the people or the establishment?

Thu, Nov 10, 2011

Tomorrow will see former Galway Mayor and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins become the ninth president of Ireland. It will be a proud day for everyone from the city and county he has called home for the last 50 years.

The lead up to the inauguration has led Insider to consider some of the values Michael D espouses; his idea that ‘The future is unwritten and we should never accept as inevitable anything that authority presents to us as so’; the need to renew the Republic; a politics based on citizenship and people first; and equality for all.

Will President Higgins speak for the people or the establishment?

Thu, Nov 10, 2011

Tomorrow will see former Galway Mayor and Galway West TD Michael D Higgins become the ninth president of Ireland. It will be a proud day for everyone from the city and county he has called home for the last 50 years.

Tiochfaidh ár lá sa Ghaillimh?

Thu, Sep 22, 2011

“Sinn Féin, whether we agree with it and accept what it says or not, is an organisation brimful with answers to our problems and they are answers, in the main, that directly confront the policies being pursued by other parties.”

Sinn Féin to hold major conference in Galway

Thu, Sep 22, 2011

Galway will be the location for a major Sinn Féin conference, entitled Towards a New Republic – I dTreo Poblacht Nua, which will be addressed by party president Gerry Adams.

Local democracy? It’s just a myth

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

“The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public - Robert F Kennedy

Local democracy? It’s just a myth

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

“The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use - of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public - Robert F Kennedy

City councillors - all revved up with nowhere to go

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Monday’s emergency Galway City Council meeting to tackle traffic congestion had a lot in common with the gridlock that it aspired to solve - it was stop-start, slow-moving, tempers became frayed, and after four hours you realised that you hadn’t actually got anywhere.

Mayor demands traffic action from City Hall officials

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

The “ball is now firmly in the court” of Galway City Council officials to provide solutions to solve the city’s traffic problems as waiting for long term infrastructural developments is not good enough.

This is the view of the Mayor of Galway Hildegarde Naughton who, at Monday’s city council meeting, put forward a motion calling on the officials and the Gardaí to carry out such co-ordination “with immediate effect”. The motion was carried by a majority vote of 12/3.

No winners in Norrisgate saga

Thu, Jul 21, 2011

There are no winners in this whole sorry saga. Sen David Norris’ bid to address the Galway City Council looks set to be rejected for a third time; Mayor Hildegarde Naughton looks certain to compound her new found reputation as Galway politics’ ‘Calamity Jane’, and Michael J Crowe has come out of this none too well either.

Was joining the €uro really a good idea?

Thu, Jul 14, 2011

The fallout from the most dramatic economic collapse imaginable over these past three years, coming after the incredible highs of more than a decade of the fabled or now much-maligned ‘Celtic Tiger’, has produced plenty of reviews and reassessments of that period in Irish history and of the decisions taken.

Most of the attention has focused on the domestic policy of Irish governments in that time - the slashing of taxes, ramping up of public expenditure to buy votes, the excessive focus on the construction sector, and poor (some would say non-existent) banking regulation, for instance.

Did Naughton sacrifice principles for prestige?

Thu, Jul 07, 2011

Last week’s dramatic mayoral election summoned to mind the pithy observation of former US president Dwight D Eisenhower: “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

Greek activist to speak at public meeting on EU/IMF bailout

Thu, Jul 07, 2011

Greek political activist Giannis Koutras will address a public meeting in Galway tomorrow on the issue of the bank and EU/IMF bailouts.

Kyne, Cannon, and Higgins - Are they Galway’s rising political stars

Thu, Jun 16, 2011

The dust has settled; the new Government has come through its first 100 days; Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and US president Barack Obama have been and gone; Garrett the Good, Declan Costello, and Brian Lenihan - three icons of Irish politics - have passed to their eternal reward. What a first six months of 2011 this has been.

The political landscape has changed fundamentally in the State. Here in Galway we have seen fundamental changes also, with six new TDs and two new senators elected to represent us for the lifetime of the current Government - however long that might be.

The contemplative benefits of a morning in Galway’s dole office

Thu, May 05, 2011

RECENTLY INSIDER spent a morning in Galway’s dole office. It was a fruitless stay in the financial sense, but it proved to be beneficial in a contemplative way.

Crowe calls for restoration of The Fishery Tower

Thu, May 05, 2011

The Fishery Tower may be one of the most eye catching historic buildings in the city, but it has “fallen into a dreadful state” and its footbridge is “a safety-hazard”.

Exhibition to highlight the understated role of women in technology

Thu, May 05, 2011

An exhibition entitled Hidden Histories of Women in Computing has gone on display at the Digital Enterprise Research Institute (DERI) in NUI Galway. The exhibition highlights how, in spite of many obstacles, women have over the centuries made significant contributions to advances in communications and computer technologies.

Is Crowe sick of politics?

Thu, Apr 14, 2011

What is Michael J Crowe up to now? First there was the ‘I’m sick of trees’ comment, then there was the one man battle against the Galway Alliance Against War, and now he says he is “winding down” from politics - this is despite having three years left of his term as a councillor.

Limited special offer from ESPA at the g

Thu, Apr 14, 2011

ESPA at the g - situated on the upper two floors of the five star g Hotel in Galway city - has just introduced a limited edition special offer.

Customers booking a 55 minutes age-defying lift and firm facial treatment for €95, along with use of the thermal suite facilities and the relaxation room, will receive a complimentary lift and firm intensive serum worth more than €35.

The Seanad - reform or remove, nothing else will do

Thu, Mar 31, 2011

Seanad Éireann - a retirement home for politicians on the way out, a nursery for aspiring TDs, a powerless talking shop with an inbuilt Government majority, an undemocratically elected chamber, and the most pointless entity in Irish politics - the Upper House of the Oireachtas is all of these.

Kitt demands commitments to protect small rural schools

Thu, Mar 31, 2011

The long term implications of the Small Primary Schools Value for Money Review has caused concern that many rural schools in places like County Galway face being shut down in the coming years.

This is the view of Fianna Fáil Galway East TD Michael Kitt who is calling on the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn to make a firm commitment to protect small rural schools into the future.

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