by Brendan Speedie Smith

As the highlight of the celebrations to mark 500 years since Galway was granted self-governing city status by King Richard III, US President Ronald Reagan came here on June 2 1984 to receive the Freedom of the City and to be conferred with an honorary doctorate-in-law at University College Galway.

In what was a US Presidential election year, Reagan’s Republican Party were thrilled with the opportunity for him to emphasise his Irish ancestry which they hoped could help capture a significant segment of the influential Irish/American blue-collar demographic that up until then traditionally voted Democrat.

Around this time too, a special committee representing a diverse range of groups had been set up to plan a series of Reagan-themed events – music nights, street theatre, poetry readings and public talks.

It meant that, on June 2, thousands of people from all walks of life came into the city to join thousands of Galwegians to mark a visit that had captivated the attention of global audiences. But they were not there to welcome President Reagan; they were there to condemn him, to protest against US foreign policies which had brought poverty, destruction and death to millions of civilians across Latin America, South Africa and the Middle East.

Caption: A section of the crowd gathered at Fr Burke Park on Fr Griffin Road, ahead of their protest march.

Read the full version Speedie’s memories of a huge day in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.