Call for ban on street braiding sparks avalanche of criticism
A Labour Party councillor has been accused of using “racial euphemisms” to “unfairly target” a handful of hair braiders on city streets.
Former Social Democrats General Election candidate Niall Ó Tuathaill has called on Councillor Billy Cameron to apologise for calling on a ban on “the new Irish” engaging in hair braiding on Shop Street, particularly when the streets are thronged during Race Week and the Galway International Arts Festival.
Cllr Cameron’s views published in last week’s Galway City Tribune elicited a massive response online, prompting overwhelmingly negative comments, some of them labelling the Newcastle councillor a racist.
Cllr Cameron this week hit back at the “anonymous warriors” and the head of the Galway West Branch of the Social Democrats, pointing out that he had worked for 20 years with the Galway One World Centre which helped refugees.
“When Niall Ó Tuathail gets to the coal face he will realise that he will be asked to make representations on behalf of business people as well as the ordinary people walking the streets,” explained the Labour City Central representative.
“I thought I was being politically correct saying ‘new Irish’. If the Social Democrats would like to give me a briefing on the politically correct terminology for today that’s fine. I want to stress one thing. I was the councillor who introduced in a budget the social inclusion grants which were targeted to people in vulnerable situations and I was the one who drove those grants.
“It’s very easy to sit at a computer and have a rant off. In total, I got four emails about it, one of them from a person working in Dublin City University who called me a raging racist.
“Okay, so you have eight hair braiders on a packed pedestrian street in the summer when the population explodes. Do we next say it’s okay for eight manicurists, eight pedicurists and eight hot towel shavers to set up?