Sir, – Today I stopped at the foot of Quay Street in Galway to listen to five terrific young musicians from Tuam: fiddle, concertina, guitar, banjo and a bodhrán played well. It was wonderful.
Alas for the backdrop. Behind the young musicians was a mural welcoming us to “Galway’s Latin Quarter”. Oh dear. And just as bad, across the river another wall welcomes us to “Galway’s West End”. What is this branding nonsense about?
It is, of course, rooted in a good old-fashioned inferiority complex, where one believes that one’s own isn’t good enough but can be improved by borrowing additional veneer from one’s betters. The “betters” see it for what it is: comical self-abasement.
I am reminded of the rebranding of Galway Arts Festival, which became Galway International Arts Festival. The original, home-grown, uniquely mad arts bacchanal was, I suppose, too provincial. That old inferiority complex rearing its head again.
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Galway is a brilliant town with brilliant people. There is no need to demean ourselves. It is time to paint over those awful signs. – Yours, etc,
Denis Healy,
Devon Park,
Galway.
