Controversial poem cost Galway City Council €1,000
A controversial poem about Galway’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2020 was commissioned at cost of €1,000.
Well-known poet Rita Ann Higgins’ poem, which contained a withering assessment of her native city, was paid by the local authority.
Galway City Council was left red-faced when ‘Our Killer City’ was published, causing embarrassment due to its ‘warts and all’ portrayal of the City of the Tribes. The Council confirmed that it commissioned the poem, and, documents released under Freedom of Information Act (FOI), reveal it cost some €1,000.
In it Ms Higgins described Galway as a “shitty city”, which grabbed national headlines soon after it was confirmed Galway had won the Capital of Culture bid.
Described by critics as a ‘savage ode’, it spares no institution with Health Service Executive, University Hospital Galway, Galway City Council, NUI Galway, GMIT and the Solas Picture Palace all criticised in verse. There are also ‘digs’ at Galway City Councillors and unelected officials in the poem.
“This is pity city, shitty city. Sewage in your nostrils city. This is Galway. City of expert panels. City of Slickers and slackers who name call Travellers knackers,” the poem reads.
The poem concludes with the following put-down: “This is Galway, the bidding city the forbidding city. City of thieves or is it scribes or is it tribes? The jury are coming this July, the word is out they’ll rule on the bid, for Capital of Culture twenty twenty give the horse plenty. We have a great little city here, a pity little city, a shitty little city.”
Many councillors lambasted the poem at a City Council meeting.
A City Council spokesperson said the Galway 2020 team had sought to commission a piece of work that “cast a critical eye” over the city. The poem fulfilled the brief, he said.
Our Killer City
Galway’s bid to win Capital of Culture is all twenty twenty give the horse plenty We’re in with a great chance, until they hear about the legionnaire’s disease outbreak in the fire station, where our life savers need saving.
The birds are tweeting about the arrival of the jury this July. The word is out they’ll rule on the bid. Best to keep them councillors out of sight, with the malarkey they go on with, in City Hall. Govern, govern my arse they wouldn’t govern a sly fart on a runway. We’ll end up crowned the capital of fools. Accusations of nepotism, potassium. a host of other isms, chisms, chasms and schisms. I sent you that letter by mistake said the CEO, buckling under pressure. You are not actually co-opted onto those committees, FYI, you are co-workered off.
My ogyny, your ogyny, misogyny. We laugh about it at bus stops. We say, aren’t some of our elected representatives a laughing stock. We’ll never get Capital of Culture if they look through that window. Some people live their lives so they can die on a trolley in Galway’s A&E. Just wait and wait and wait and you'll die waiting. Eighteen million on a new block and not a new bed in sight or on site. The car park police in the hospital grounds are a culture shock unto themselves. Don’t die on a trolley in the bidding city the forbidding city, before you have paid your parking or we will kill your next of kin with the weight of their parking ticket. Culture Capital or no Culture capital.
The swans in the canals all know, we underpay our nurses we underpay our teachers we overpay our consultants and we don’t know why. This is fair-play city, or unfair play city if you are a woman working for years in NUIG and hoping for a promotion. Hashtag-go-Micheline-go. They'll sue the blog off ya, but won't they look silly, don't they look silly.
This is pity city, shitty city. Sewage in your nostrils city. This is Galway city of expert panels. City of slickers and slackers who name call Travellers knackers. If you want the odour of outrage ask the students at GMIT who have to re-sit exams. Allegations of cheating. Oh no not this again. They are coming in July to rule on the bid. We'll hide that bit of news about the GMIT and the gender discrimination in NUIG in the parlour that never gets used. To that we'll throw the new block, the bed-less block at University Hospital Galway. This is Galway slicker and slacker. Have your home burgled by your favourite nephew, while you are at his other aunt’s funeral. He didn't know it was her house and he didn't know taking her jewellery without her permission was stealing.
This is Galway the bidding City the forbidding city. Where the woman in court apologised to her man for putting him through this. The judge asked her, did he apologise to you when he was sticking that screwdriver in your forehead? No but he wasn’t feeling himself that day your honour.
Someone in City hall, not a councillor this time, is yowling about the Capital of Culture bid. If the bid book isn’t ready on time says the yowler, I’ll send you all to the fire station or The Picture Palace. She is pepping and prepping and side stepping. Her side-kick got side kicked. No impact. Complaining is the devils work. Stick in a few more theatres there that we don’t have, stick in a gallery or two. How will they know if it’s true? How will they know if it’s not true?
This is Galway, city of tools. A man brings a cleaver into hospital with him. The judge coming down with a migraine, reached into her bag a yokes. What got into you, she said, pleading with the plaintiff? I heard the chops were tough your honour, nothing more, nothing less. But you were seen chasing the back of a poor man’s head, with a cleaver. It wasn’t me your honour, and he wasn’t poor. What about local artists? Someone dared to ask, not the yowler from city hall or her side-kicked side-kick. To hell with local artists what do they bring the city? nothing but scruffy dogs and ripped jeans, hippies with hobbies the lot of them. As for the buskers, wanting to fit in with the odour of outrage. Move them on, hide them in GMIT, or The Picture Palace. Don’t mention local artists at all. Let it be like they don’t exist. Raise the rents is the best way to keep the ripped jeans gang out, like it’s always been. Artists me arse. This is Galway, the bidding city the forbidding city. City of thieves or is it scribes or is it tribes? The jury are coming this July, the word is out they'll rule on the bid, for Capital of Culture twenty twenty give the horse plenty. We have a great little city here, a pity little city, a shitty little city.