Galway Independent Column - 22nd September 2010

Any individual, being a fully paid up Member of Galway Chamber, can put himself or herself forward to be a member of the Council of Galway Chamber, in effect our board of directors. Election to Council takes place every year and currently the Postal Ballot of the Chamber Council Elections 2010/2011, is with members. Half of the places on Council are decided by postal ballot with the remaining places being voted for at our AGM in October.

Our Council members all work with Galway Chamber in a voluntary capacity to make Galway, as we say in our mission statement, the leading location for business, investment and people. Council members come from all business sectors and range from sole traders to employees of multi national companies and everything in between. What they all have in common is a wish to make business better in Galway.

Policy issues, lobbying campaigns, programme of work are decided by Council and enacted by the executive with committee assistance from Council. There is a full meeting of Council once a month with an agenda pertinent to Chamber business and the issues relevant to the wider business community. This year Galway Chamber will hold its 219th AGM which is a long time being in business for business.

Our offices at Commerce House, Merchant’s Road are open five days a week from 9 am to 5.30 pm and members and potential members are very welcome to call in. As a business organisation our strength is in our membership and the more members we have the more strength we have to lobby on issues affecting business in Galway. Our website www.galwaychamber.com has more information about what we do and how to become a member. We are also on Facebook and Twitter and these Galway Independent columns are available for comment on Galway Chamber’s Blog on www.galwaychamber.blogspot.com

Our current President is Paul Shelly and the following list of Presidents of Galway Chamber from 1923 to 2010 includes names that will be very familiar to readers. They all made a significant contribution to Galway Chamber and to business in Galway: Alex Grant, Martin McDonagh, T. J. W. Kenny, E. K. Jackson, J. O'Kelly Lynch, P. O'Gorman, Martin McDonagh, T. J. W. Kenny, J. J. Ward, Louis O'Dea, J. J. Ward, J. F. Costello, M. O'Flaherty, Dr. T. Walsh, J. D. Whelan, G. D. Naughton, John Allen, R. T. Curley, D. D. Coyle, Lord Killanan, G. I. Corbett, G. O'Gorman, P. D. Ryan, J. M Lydon, C. E. Faller, Kerry O'Sullivan, N. C. Rabbitt, Joseph Herbert, E. L. Hynes, L. M. O'Brien, Thomas McDonagh, Joseph Curley, P. McCambridge, Conor Connolly, G. P. Watson, John D. Coyle, D. P. Griffin, Seosamh o'hOgairtaigh, Thomas O'Connor, Mary Bennett, John D. Coyle, Jim Sweeney, Bernard O'Hara, Terry Brennan, Michael Corless, Liam O'Connell, Joe Greaney, Michael Hegarty, Judy Greene, Michael Coyle, Joe Greaney, Hannah Kiely, Chris Coughlan, John Madden, David Niland, Peter Allen and Paul Shelly. Carmel Brennan is the incoming President.