Left-wing councillors failed to convene an emergency sitting of Galway city council this week to discuss military neutrality and the Occupied Territories Bill before year end.
A special meeting may be called within three days if six councillors formally petition the mayor to arrange one, but as Mayor Mike Cubbard (Ind ) was himself one of the six members requesting it last week, officials in City Hall denied the application.
Councillor Eibhlín Seoighthe (Ind ) collected signatures from Mayor Cubbard, Councillor Alan Curran (SD ) and councillors Helen Ogbu, John McDonagh and Níall McNelis of the Labour Party. Her plan was to arrange votes on three motions on the local authority’s agenda since October; two concerning the deployment of Defence Forces personnel under the so-called ‘Triple lock’, and a separate motion on trade with illegal Israeli settlements, tabled in November.
The non-party councillor says she also contacted councillors Clodagh Higgins (FG ), Eddie Hoare (FG ) and Terry O’Flaherty (Ind ) who sent apologies as unavailable this week, and Aisling Burke (SF ) who was unable to respond in time.
A prompt finish to the December plenary meeting earlier this month to allow senior staff and councillors attend a Christmas party booking in a city centre bistro, meant several motions were not addressed. A number of activists picketed the front entrance of City Hall to lobby councillors as they entered, and expressed disappointment afterwards when the motions on neutrality and Palestine were not debated.
“I’m disappointed how the last meeting of the year finished to be honest, and we should have dealt with these motions - and others - to start the new year with a fresh agenda,” said Seoighthe.
Councillors Seoighthe and Burke tabled separate motions three months ago for Galway City Council to declare its opposition to government plans to amend the triple lock policy, which allows UN security council members to veto Ireland’s deployment of more than 12 armed troops. Councillor Ogbu tabled her motion last month, for the council to urge the Government to amend its Occupied Palestinian Territory bill to include the prohibition of trade in services with illegal settlers, in accordance with International Court of Justice and UN resolutions.
To be passed, motions must be approved by a majority of the council’s 18 members attending a formally convened session, as long as a quorum of ten attendees is reached.
Speaking to the Advertiser, Councillor Cubbard said he may arrange a special meeting immediately before the next scheduled, January 12, plenary to discuss these motions. He will be contacting his Ruling Pact colleagues – Fianna Fáil, Labour, Sinn Féin and independent councillor Declan McDonnell – over Christmas, to discuss.
Mayor Cubbard said the Corporate Services department in City Hall, which arranges meetings, has an arguable interpretation of standing orders regarding special sittings. He will propose a reform at the next procedures meeting to be held in the first quarter of 2026.
“They’re basically saying seven signatures are necessary to hold a special meeting, ie the mayor plus six. I don’t read it like that, and the wording needs to be clearer,” said Cubbard.
Galway City Council has a long tradition of passing motions on questions of foreign policy. Although these resolutions have no legally binding effect on the government of the day, they do generate debate, drum up publicity and put pressure on national politicians locally and elsewhere.
In October 2024, at the height of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza, and in the wake of what the Irish Defence Forces called “deliberate attacks” on UN troops in Lebanon, Galway city council passed Councillor Níall McNelis’ motion banning Israel’s prime minister Benjamin ‘Bibi’ Netanyahu from entering the city limits.
The resolution, passed unanimously by the 16 councillors present, generated international headlines as it also included Israel’s president Isaac Herzog, and ministers and ambassadors of the current administration, “for as long as illegal occupation of Palestine and bordering countries continues, and war crimes are being perpetrated by the Israeli state”.
In September this year, the local authority appointed its first ever International Relations Officer. Former Galway Bay FM broadcaster, Keith Finnegan has a remit to “drive a programme of engagement, focusing on cultural exchange and collaboration, learning and programme development, and exploring collaborative funding opportunities for Galway City internationally,” according to the Galway city council website.
Funded by Coimisiún na Meán’s Local Democracy scheme.
