Angry buskers band together in protest at new bylaws

A busker sings for some young performers as they parade through High Street during the Galway Early Music Festival this year.

placeholder image — A busker sings for some young performers as they parade through High Street during the Galway Early Music Festival this year.

Galway’s buskers are planning the ‘biggest busk ever’ this Sunday – in protest at new proposed busking bylaws in the city.

The group have called on the public and performers alike for the daylong performance from 10am to 10pm at the top of Williamsgate Street, by the Oscar Wilde statue.

A spokesperson for street entertainers, Niceol Blue, says that the purpose of the protest is to let the public know how they can get in touch with the local authority to express opposition to the proposed changes.

There was outrage from the busking community following the newly-drafted regulations put forward by the Galway City Council.

Business owners in the city have expressed concerns about the volume of amplification used by some buskers and the difficulties shoppers have in accessing businesses when huge crowds congregate outside.

Niceol says that the main problem for the busking community was that the City Council did not engage with them when drafting these laws which she says are “poorly written” and “very restrictive”.

“We are not against regulation entirely, but these particular by-laws are quite restrictive and one of them infringes on our right to free speech." To read the rest of this article, see this week's Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week's paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.