Call it off: Mayor urges Galway students to scrap booze-ups
The Mayor of Galway has called on the organisers of unofficial ‘Rag Week’ and ‘Donegal Tuesday’ events which are scheduled to take place in the city next week to abandon their plans.
Mayor Padraig Conneely (FG) said the events which were being organised through social media sites were not approved by student leaders at NUI Galway and GMIT, the city’s two third level colleges.
He has called on the Gardaí to “pro-actively” deal with public order offences around the city next week and for young students to show respect for elderly neighbours in areas such as Newcastle, Headford Road, and Woodquay.
Similar ‘unofficial’ events have caused problems for local residents in these areas over the past two years since students at both colleges voted to abandon Rag Week activities following pressure from residents and college authorities.
Two years ago, Gardaí were forced to close the Hole in the Wall pub on Eyre Street at 7pm on a February Tuesday when members of the city’s fire brigade expressed concerns that too many inebriated young people had gathered in the pub.
The pub has attracted large crowds to all-day drinking events for the ‘Donegal Tuesday’ celebrations which were organised independently of the third level colleges over the past two years.
“This event, organised through social media, caused major problems last year and left a wake of destruction in many housing estates,” said Mayor Conneely yesterday.
Mayor Conneely said the students’ unions at NUI Galway and GMIT had worked responsibly to liaise with residents in areas near the colleges over the past couple of years, but it was a shame that a significant minority were causing problems after attending the all-day drinking events in a number of city pubs.
Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel