Galway County Council

Role: Partner

Website: http://www.galway.ie

Contact persons:

Sharon O’Grady
Arts officer
sogrady@galwaycoco.ie

Sorcha Keane 
Festival director
sorchakkeane@gmail.com

Galway County Council is the leading agency engaged in local arts development in county Galway and as such is committed to working collaboratively and in partnership with others to provide excellence and leadership in the delivery and development of the arts throughout the County and Europe.  

County Galway has a geographic area of 6,149 km2 and is the second largest County in Ireland. It has a population of 179,048 (2016 census) and covers an area from the Atlantic coastal regions in the west to the pasture-land bordering the River Shannon in the east. The population has been steadily growing at a rate of 10% over the past decade. Galway is a diverse county, socially, geographically, economically and culturally and is home to the largest Gaeltacht in Ireland and the most populated off-shore islands which adds to its uniqueness. It also has a significant area comprising EU ‘Natura’ designated sites reflecting the high quality natural and unique environments found throughout the County. The Irish language and our linguistic heritage is an intrinsic part of cultural life in Galway. 

The remit of Galway County Council includes some suburbs of Galway City not within the remit of Galway City Council but primarily comprising five Municipal Districts: Athenry/Oranmore (35,158), Ballinasloe (24,646), Connemara (38,532), Loughrea (39,346) and Tuam (41,708). Galway County Council (Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the elected and administrative body and is responsible for the development of the County as a vibrant place in which people can live, work, visit and invest. The Council has 39 elected members and elections are held every five years (most recent 2019).