Galway In Days Gone By

Council inefficiency 

Although Galway Urban Council is ten thousand pounds in debt, has the most ill-kept streets of any town of its size in Ireland, is without a decent fire brigade or other essential municipal services, and is carrying a high burden of rates, only two members – Messrs. Lee and Griffin – turned up to attend the weekly meeting yesterday.

It has been decided to restore weekly meetings, which should never have been abandoned, because they are essential for efficiency in control, closer co-ordination between the council and the staff, the signing and couching and criticism of the weekly pay-sheets, and the transaction of sanitary business.

Yet the first fruit of this restoration of the normal conduct of affairs was the fiasco on which we are commenting. The consequence of this neglect is that the secretary or his assistant is compelled to hawk round to the houses of three members the wages cheques for signature.

In the circumstances, these cheques are signed without proper or regular authority for payment and without the opportunity of examining and vouching the pay-sheets.

If a businessman were to conduct his affairs on similar lines, he would find himself in the bankruptcy court within six months.

Pictured: Taking part in the cabaret at the Oughterard Old Time Music Hall dinner on December 28, 1973 in the Boat Inn, Oughterard, were, front row: May Donnellan, Lorna Keogh, Theresa Conneely and Basil Keogh. Back row, left to right: Pat Roland, Roddy Joyce, Audrey Gibney, Jim McDonnell, John Devaney and Pearse O'Malley