There is something quietly powerful about the turn of the year. It is, of course, just another date on the calendar, but it carries with it a psychological lift — a sense of renewal, of possibility, of beginnings. Perhaps that feeling is sharpened by the fact that we are emerging from the darkest weeks of the year, inching towards longer days, growth, and springtime. Our antennae, tuned for hope, begin to rise again.
This particular date has always resonated with me. Twenty-five years ago today, I walked through the door of the Galway Advertiser for the first time. Ten years before that, on the very same day, I entered the offices of the Tuam Herald. Those personal milestones have given me a deep appreciation for the promise that exists at the start of every new year — not in a naïve, “new you” sense, but in a more grounded belief that each year offers fresh opportunities to do better, personally and collectively, and to make new lifelong connections.
And yet, years have a habit of repeating themselves. Each arrives bearing the familiar mixed bag of joy and sorrow, progress and frustration, triumph and tragedy. New years are, in many ways, repeat offenders — carrying echoes of those that came before. In Galway, I have now watched decades pass in twos and threes, like bicycles slipping along the Iniskeen Road on a July evening, only to find ourselves still grappling with the same mistakes, the same inertia, the same failure to fully realise our potential.
We are now almost into the second half of the 2020s, with the 2030s looming. In the 1930s, Galway’s potential as a city that could look to the sea for its fortune was debated — and ultimately ignored. The question now is whether we are on the cusp of repeating that historic failure. The experience of living, working, studying, and visiting Galway is shaped directly by decisions on planning and infrastructure. Those choices matter. With a by-election expected in late spring, we will find ourselves briefly in the eye of a political storm. Perhaps that moment should be used to raise our voices — loudly and clearly — about the kind of city we want Galway to be.
At a human level too, the new year is also an invitation to recalibrate. Instead of focusing on what to give up, perhaps we might concentrate on what to embrace: better habits, deeper connections, curiosity, kindness. Feed your mind and soul. Follow the fortunes of Galway’s teams. Go to a play in the Town Hall or An Taibhdhearc. Listen to live music. Support local cafés. Take part in your community. Keep moving — body and mind — because one nourishes the other.
There are wonderful things happening all around us, if we take the time to notice. The start of a new year is not a cure-all, but it is a chance — a moment to lean towards hope rather than cynicism, engagement rather than withdrawal.
So, as we step forward, may common sense prevail, may responsibility be taken seriously, and may Galway — and the wider world — inch closer to being the places they are capable of becoming. Here’s wishing everyone a happy, joyful, and interesting 2026, and hoping that somewhere along the way, our world becomes a better place within it.
