A Galway delegation – led by the Mayor of the city and the Caithoirleach of the County Council and including representatives of local government, academia, business and the arts – has completed a weeklong promotional visit to the US Midwest.

The group included members of Galway County Council, Galway City Council, ATU Galway City, University of Galway, the Celtic Irish American Academy and Galway Chamber, who met with government, tourism, cultural and business leaders across Illinois and Wisconsin.

The visit included a series of meetings in Galway City’s sister city of Chicago and Galway County Council’s twinning partner Washington County, as well as a tourism showcase at Milwaukee Irish Fest in Wisconsin.

Cathaoirleach of the County of Galway, Cllr Albert Dolan, described the trip as a chance ‘to meet with different agencies to learn, exchange, develop and deepen connections on a wide range of fronts from local government services to tourism and from commerce to community’.

“Comprehensive engagements with the various stakeholders allowed the delegation to explore future collaborations to bring future opportunities to Galway,” he said.

Over the week, the delegation met with business and community organisations, including Enterprise Ireland, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, 167 Green Street/ Fulton Market developers, Chicago Sister Cities International, World Business Chicago, MATTER Chicago and After School Matters.

An alumni event was hosted by the University of Galway in the Irish American Heritage Centre in Chicago, with Illinois-based alumni coming together to network and reflect on their time in Galway City and the University.

Galway County Council delegates travelled to West Bend, the administrative seat of Washington County, where the 21st anniversary of the transatlantic twinning arrangement was celebrated.

The delegation also attended at a meeting of the County Board, chaired by Chairman Jeff Schlief, the Chief Executive and the County Board supervisors.

“Meeting with officials in Washington County provided our delegation with a unique insight into how the vital public services are delivered locally,” explained Cllr Dolan.

“Our delegation viewed the Next Generation Housing project, an innovative and unique housing initiative that provides affordable housing where participants availed of the subsidy and agreed to participate in voluntary community activities to repay the equivalent subsidy on the cost of the house,” added the Cathaoirleach.

“Washington County’s Chief Community Development Officer, Jamie Ludovic also gave a presentation on Parks Sustainability, showcasing a self-funding model which benefits the entire community in the pursuit of outdoor recreation.”

A highlight of the delegation’s trip was its attendance at Milwaukee Irish Fest om the shore of Lake Michigan at the Henry W. Maier Festival Park.

They were joined by tourism operators from across the county and the country for this 43rd annual Milwaukee Irish Fest, which has a huge audience of more than 130,000 visitors.

“The Milwaukee Irish Fest provides a really good platform for Tourism Ireland to showcase Galway and the island of Ireland, including our rich heritage and culture, to prospective American visitors,” said Alison Metcalfe, Tourism Ireland’s Head of North America.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity to inspire some of the many people of Irish descent who’re living and working in the US, as well as those with Irish connections or an affinity for Ireland, to come and visit.

“The United States remains an extremely important market for tourism to the island of Ireland. In 2023, we welcomed over 1.1 million American tourists to Ireland. It’s our most important market in terms of revenue, responsible for around 30% of all tourist revenue in 2023.”

Galway has held an annual presence at the world’s largest celebration of Irish/Celtic music and culture for the past 25 years, promoting the county’s tourism sector to festival goers – with Irish roots and without.

Pictured: The visiting Galway delegation pictured at Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce.