Bradley Bytes – a sort of political column with Dara Bradley

When City Councillor Clodagh Higgins (FG) was elected Mayor of Galway on June 17, meetings administrator Ailish Rohan invited her to wear the chains of office for the official photographs at the Ardilaun Hotel.

It was following the long-standing tradition of mayors wearing ceremonial chains. Except what she put round her neck was a replica, not the original.

This, we hear, did not sit well with Classy Clodagh or her supporters. And so Chief Executive of Galway City Council Brendan McGrath was approached about giving her the proper chains for official functions.

Depending on who is telling the story, a threat to not wear a chain at all unless it was the ’proper’ one may or may not have been issued. But the prospect of a chainless mayor was an embarrassing situation management at City Hall was not prepared to risk.

Sure enough, Classy Clodagh used her charm to get her hands on the original chain, which is far more decadent and prestigious than the replica.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed. Two former mayors, Mike Cubbard and Colette Connolly – Clodagh’s immediate predecessors in the Mayor’s Office – have questioned why the proper chains are being used now when they were not available during their terms as First Citizen.

Classy Clodagh’s powers of persuasion are good! Not good enough, however, to have the city’s ceremonial mace and sword prised from storage.

The silver sword and mace, beautifully decorated, were first gifted to Mayor of Galway Edward Eyre in 1712.

They would add pomp to any official city ceremony. Alas, they have been in storage for several years, believed not to have been taken out on official duty since March 17, St Patrick’s Day in 2014 when the former City Councillor Pádraig Conneely (FG) was Mayor.

Will the sword and mace ever see the light of day again, or will they be thrown out during City Hall’s move from College Road to Mervue?
This is a shortened preview version of this column. For more Bradley Bytes, see the November 11 edition of the Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.