The Mayor of Galway Mike Cubbard has said that his door remains open to the organisers of Salthill Sundays despite the car fanatics ignoring his calls for a meeting in recent weeks.
The Mayor chose to stay silent this week after the infamous event last Sunday, as he tries to find a solution to the problem ahead of this weekend.
Cllr Cubbard explained today that he had regular email contact with the organisers of Salthill Sundays a number of weeks ago and agreed to meet with them to hear what they had planned.
But this meeting never took place and he is now calling for the organisers to ‘step up to the plate’ and ‘show maturity’ by agreeing to a meeting.
“The meeting I offered this past few weeks to the current organisers did not happen but my door remains open,” said Cllr Cubbard.
“On seeing images from last Sunday, I immediately contacted the group and requested that they meet with me and I further asked that they plan no further events until a conversation takes place with the Gardaà and the council.
“This email was not responded to. I now see on their social media that they plan to meet on Sunday and state they will do so until they get what they want.
“I cannot understand how they expect to get anywhere or ‘what they want’ if they won’t sit around a table and tell us?!”
The Mayor added that he realises there are plenty of people who are genuine car enthusiasts and not determined to upset residents.
“I am realistic and know the guards cannot be on the motorway to turn away anyone who someone decides ‘we don’t want’ in the city,” he said.
“This is why I remained silent to now as I tried to reach out. I tried to deal with the problem rather then just talk about it.”
He said that by being proactive mature and reasonable we can find a solution here that ensures residents and local businesses do not see a repeat of what they were subjected to on Sunday.
“Therefore, this is an open call to anyone involved in these events. Get in touch with me and I will listen to your plans and ideas and then work with all those who can potentially make it possible in a way that does not bring Galway to a standstill again.
“The simplistic solution of just saying ‘we don’t want them’ does not work. We need to tackle this head on and now with practical solutions.
“If those organising want respect, I’d advise to show a level of maturity now and step up to the plate, as I said – my door remains open.”
