Michael "Mickey" Smyth was an Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 trade unionist and Labour Party

Labour Party (Ireland)

The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in the Republic of Ireland. The Labour Party was founded in 1912 in Clonmel, County Tipperary, by James Connolly, James Larkin and William X. O'Brien as the political wing of the Irish Trade Union Congress. Unlike the other main Irish...

 politician. He was 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...

 from 1971 to 1972.

Smyth was one of six children born to Patrick Smyth and Barbara Crowley of Prospect Hill, Galway City. He was a shop stewart in the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union

The Irish Transport and General Workers Union, an Irish trade union, was founded by James Larkin in 1908 as a general union. Initially drawing its membership from branches of the Liverpool-based National Union of Dock Labourers, from which Larkin had been expelled, it grew to include workers in a...

, and in 1963 became a founder member of the city's first credit union

Credit union

A credit union is a cooperative financial institution that is owned and controlled by its members and operated for the purpose of promoting thrift, providing credit at competitive rates, and providing other financial services to its members...

, St. Columba's Credit Union Limited, Mervue. He was to continue working for the Credit Union for the rest of his life. He was a member, and later chairman, of the Trades Council, joined the Labour Party in the 1950s, later becoming a member of its constituency council.

Smyth was elected to Galway Corporation in the early 1960s and was elected Mayor on 5 July 1971. It was under his auspices that the first Mayoral Ball was held, at Seapoint, Salthill, on 29 February 1872. At his instigation, cross-border holidays were held for chldren from Derry

Derry

Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"...

, a city he visited while Mayor.

He did not seek re-election to the council in June 1974

Irish local elections, 1974

The 1974 Irish local elections were held in all the counties, cities and towns of Ireland on 18 June 1974.- Results :- County councils :- Large corporations :- Small corporations :- See also :*Local government in the Republic of Ireland...

.

External links

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