A Galway delegation comprising representatives of local government, academia, business and the arts completed a weeklong promotional visit to the US Midwest.
Delegates from Galway County Council, Galway City Council, ATU Galway City, University of Galway, the Celtic Irish American Academy and Galway Chamber met with government, tourism, cultural and business leaders across Illinois and Wisconsin.
The visit included a series of meetings in Galway City’s sister city of Chicago and Galway County Council’s twinning partner Washington County, as well as a tourism showcase at Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin.
Councillor Albert Dolan (FF), Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway said, “This visit provided opportunities to meet with different agencies to learn, exchange, develop and deepen connections on a wide range of fronts from local government services to tourism and from commerce to community. Comprehensive engagements with the various stakeholders allowed the delegation to explore future collaborations to bring future opportunities to Galway”.
During the last week, the delegation met with business and community organisations, including Enterprise Ireland, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, 167 Green Street/ Fulton Market developers, Chicago Sister Cities International, World Business Chicago, MATTER Chicago and After School Matters.
An alumni event was hosted by the University of Galway in the Irish American Heritage Centre in Chicago, with Illinois-based alumni coming together to network and reflect on their time in Galway City and the University.
Galway County Council delegates travelled to West Bend, the administrative seat of Washington County, where the 21st anniversary of the transatlantic twinning arrangement was celebrated. The delegation also attended at a meeting of the County Board, chaired by Chairman Jeff Schlief, the Chief Executive and the County Board supervisors.
“Meeting with officials in Washington County provided our delegation with a unique insight into how the vital public services are delivered locally,” explained Cllr Dolan.
He added, “Our delegation viewed the Next Generation Housing project, an innovative and unique housing initiative that provides affordable housing where participants availed of the subsidy and agreed to participate in voluntary community activities to repay the equivalent subsidy on the cost of the house,” added the Cathaoirleach. “Washington County’s Chief Community Development Officer, Jamie Ludovic also gave a presentation on Parks Sustainability, showcasing a self-funding model which benefits the entire community in the pursuit of outdoor recreation”.
A highlight of the delegation’s trip was its attendance at Milwaukee Irish Fest om the shore of Lake Michigan at the Henry W. Maier Festival Park. Galway has held an annual presence at the world’s largest celebration of Irish/Celtic music and culture for the past 25 years, promoting the county’s tourism sector to more than 100,000 festival goers.
According to Liam Conneally, Chief Executive of Galway County Council, “A key objective of our presence at Milwaukee Irish Fest was to highlight all that Galway has to offer visitors and to increase awareness amongst Americans of the 6 transatlantic services operating between Shannon Airport and Chicago O’Hare, JFK, Boston Logan and Newark international airports. Many US visitors to Ireland are unaware that there is direct access into the West of Ireland where many ultimately wish to holiday. The group also met with various tour operators who have agreed to distribute tourism information relating to Galway with their agents throughout North America”.
