Gerard G. Colgan, 10 May 1916 - Mayor of Galway

Mayor of Galway

The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The Council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area which is the city of Galway – the largest city in the province of Connacht, in the Republic of Ireland. The office was originally established by a...

.

Colgan's father was a native of County Kildare

County Kildare

County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

 and a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary

Royal Irish Constabulary

The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...

, which his mother, Delia Donohoe, was a native of Clooniff, County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

. He was the youngest of four children, raised at the family home in Barna

Barna

Bearna is a Gaeltacht village west of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland, on the R336 regional road. Once a satellite of Galway city, the village is now rapidly becoming one of its suburbs. Officially the village is regarded as Irish speaking and is therefore a constituent part of the regions...

, where his mother was a schoolteacher and his father was stationed. However they were forced to move when their house was burned down during the Irish War of Independence

Irish War of Independence

The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...

. The family moved to the Cappagh Road, and some years later to Dublin, before returning to Galway

Galway

Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...

 again, where Colgan graduated from university as a civil engineer.

Colgan was elected Mayor on 5 July 1976, his first function been to open the Congress of the Irish Trade Unions at Leisureland the following day. He was present in St. Louis in March 1977 for the twinning of the cities, the visit also used to promote business ties between St. Louis and Galway. One of his last acts as Mayor was to attend the opening of the Zapata Lexington semi-submersible oilrig, anchored south of the Porcupine Bank

Porcupine Bank

Porcupine Bank is an area of the Irish shelf approximately west of Ireland. The relatively raised area of seabed lies between the deep-water Porcupine Seabight and Rockall Trough....

, one hundred and sixty miles west of Galway.

Colgan married Carmell Smal of Bohermore (in England in September 1944) and had children: Brian, David, Vivienne, Roy and Denise.

External links

• http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/HistoryofTheCityCouncil/PreviousMayors/