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Civic · Galway city

Galway County Council

Every town on this site outside the city boundary is run, at local level, from one building on Prospect Hill in Galway: Áras an Chontae, County Hall. Galway County Council has 39 elected members, meets under a Cathaoirleach, and is managed day to day by a chief executive, Liam Conneally. If you want to know who fixes the road, decides the planning application or runs the fire brigade in Tuam or Clifden, it is here.

Checked against the source on 2026-09-19.

Áras an Chontae, Galway County Council on the 3D model; tap a pin for its page and directions.

1899 and the county's shape

The council was set up on 1 April 1899 under the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898, taking over from the grand jury. Its area was the old judicial county less a few electoral divisions that went to Clare, Drummaan, Inishcaltra North, Mountshannon and Rosmoylan, and two that went to Mayo, Ballinchalla and Owenbrin, and plus the Roscommon side of Ballinasloe; the town of Galway had its own county status. Proportional representation by single transferable vote came in for the 1920 local elections and has been used ever since.

What the council is responsible for

Under the Local Government Act 2001 the council looks after housing and community, roads and transport, planning and development, amenities and culture, the environment and the fire service. Elections are held every five years from multi-member local electoral areas, which are grouped into municipal districts; the current councillors were elected on 7 June 2024. The council sends three members to the Northern and Western Regional Assembly, where they sit on the West Strategic Planning Area Committee. The model on this page pins County Hall.

Questions people ask

Where is Galway County Council's office?
At Áras an Chontae, County Hall, on Prospect Hill in Galway city.
How many councillors does Galway County Council have?
39, elected every five years by single transferable vote from local electoral areas; the current council was elected on 7 June 2024.
Does Galway County Council cover Galway city?
No; the city has its own council, Galway City Council. The county council covers the rest of the county.

Written from Wikipedia, "Galway County Council" (CC BY-SA 4.0), read on 2026-09-19, and from the OpenStreetMap places on the model. Nothing has been added from memory; follow the source for its footnotes.