The Mayor of Galway, Cllr Niall Ó Brolchain (Green), has expressed his support for traders who were moved by gardaí during a mid-week market in the city this week.
The traders had set up outside St Nicholas's Church for a third week in a row as part of a national campaign to secure traditional rights which were due to lapse under the Casual Trading Act.
However, after several hours, community wardens and gardaí asked the group to take down their stalls. "We have a very good relationship with the community wardens and we don't want to break the law, but we believe that Galway City Council is wrong to state that the traditional mid-week market right has been extinguished," said Anne-Marie McKee, one of the traders.
Ms McKee said the Galway Wednesday market right dates back to 1730. Under the Casual Trading Act 1995, which was introduced in June 1996, "market rights" granted by the British crown over a four-century period which had not been exercised for a 10-year period could be "extinguished" by local authorities.
Several months ago, the Irish Association of Market and Street Traders called on communities to secure any such rights by setting up temporary stalls or pitches. Galway city has a highly successful weekend market, but the Wednesday option had not been availed of for many years. Traders were advised to ensure that their brief activity was witnessed or photographed and documented.
Cllr Ó Brolchain has convened a meeting of the local authority's strategic policy committee next week to discuss the issue and to amend bylaws if necessary.
"Traditionally, market rights were vested with the mayor and I would like to do everything I possibly can to support the vibrancy of the traditional markets in Galway city," he said.
"I believe that we need to look at expanding the trading area of the market as a whole as there is a huge demand for market stalls at present. Last year, there were 79 applications for new stalls in the weekend market. Not one of them was granted a licence."
The council said it was very supportive of the city market and had increased weekend trading hours several years ago. The mid-week market was illegal, and any changes had to take place through established procedures.