Busker McNelis a double jobber or doppleganger?

Niall McNelis sent us a statement urging Galway City Council to address concerns of buskers, who feel “amplification is going to stop them from performing”.

The Labour Party Councillor tells us he has been inundated with emails from buskers, who fear they will be banned from the city’s streets if new bye-laws are enacted.

And well he might be concerned. Because, as our photo shows, the jeweller is double-jobbing, and is in fact a street performer himself.

Our photographer Joe O’Shaughnessy snapped Niall playing with his flute while entertaining passers-by on High Street recently.

Legs crossed, and lush locks flowing in the wind, the artist formerly known as Harry Potter was belting out the tunes, without the help of amplification.

No wonder Niall’s colleagues want to ban busking. Or was it his doppelganger?

Spending a penny costs Galway euros

Joe Donoghue of Donoghue Coaches in Clarinbridge, and chairperson of the Coach Tourism and Transport Council, has been inundated with complaints from his members about the lack of facilities in the city, which is driving tour operators away.

It’s costing the city big bucks in terms of tourism revenue – possibly as much as €600,000 per month during peak summer season.

One of the main gripes of the coach drivers is the lack of public toilet facilities in Galway. Joe knows this only too well, and doesn’t need to rely on the complaints from his members to prove the point – he’s got first-hand experience.

“I myself dropped a tour of 40 people in Eyre Square and directed them to the public toilets,” he recalled.

“One of my female clients entered the toilet and while inside, somebody outside pressed the button and the door opened, leaving a very red-faced lady in full view to the public while spending her penny.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.