Galway set for £13m spree

Galway has never had difficulty in selling a positive image, but Judge John Garavan's recent remarks about its womenfolk could not have come at a better time for some.

Punch-drunk after a highly successful arts festival, the city's tourism interests are bracing themselves for a £13 million race week spending spree.

Galway Chamber of Commerce has predicted Ballybrit racecourse will attract some 178,000 people, beginning this evening, and up to £18.6 million will be placed in bets. The races will attract a tourist spend of £8.4 million, and residents will contribute almost £5 million to the economy, the chamber says.

Bigger than Cheltenham and slightly smaller than Ascot, Galway now boasts one of the largest racing festivals in Europe. Last year, during seven record-breaking days, punters bet over £14 million with bookmakers and on the Tote. Business owners and punters, many of whom will be on a short working week, have been warned by the i Garda to be extra vigilant about counterfeit money and professional pickpockets. Special traffic arrangements are also in place around the city to avoid congestion.

Officially, the city's nightclub owners are still outraged at last week's remarks in Galway District Court by Judge Garavan. Unofficially, some say the judge's reference to "respectable young men" meeting "dreadful" girls in Galway nightclubs might not be so bad for business after all.

If the clubs could stay open long enough, that is. The shortage of Garda numbers has been identified by the club owners as the main reason for continued restrictions on licensing, in spite of extended hours introduced elsewhere by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue.

"Galway is among three centres nationally which have the earliest closing times and is expected to compete on equal terms with other less well known tourist centres," the owners said in a joint statement.

The Mayor, Cllr Martin Quinn, has called for the introduction of more mobile Garda units, similar to units in Manchester and Bristol, which are capable of carrying up to six gardai on patrol and equipped to defuse potentially dangerous situations.