Port of Galway harbourmaster Capt Brian Sheridan has said Galway could become a stage for the America's Cup yacht race in the future.
The harbourmaster was commenting as the port outlined its vision for a new “urban quarter” with a dedicated cultural space, a “repurposed” inner basin and high rise waterfront residential development.
The “vision” unveiled by the port yesterday, involves development of some seven hectares (17 acres) of inner docklands for housing, commercial and recreational use.
The new vision for Galway Port sees high rise waterfront residential development
A substantial portion depends on Galway securing approval for its long-planned harbour extension.
However, some 33 per cent of the area could be developed for residential use in advance of port relocation, its chief executive Conor O’Dowd said.
Around 2,000 residents in total could be accommodated in Galway’s inner dockland, O’Dowd said.
Most of the buildings proposed in the “vision” would be approximately six storeys high, but this would be the subject of public consultation, he said.
Galway Harbour Development an aerial view
The Galway dockland centre pier has been earmarked for a cultural facility, and the port is “very open” to public proposals on this, O’Dowd said.
Some 22,300 sq metres (5.5 acres) would be earmarked to develop new public spaces for the city and repurpose the inner dock basin for marine recreation, he said.
Proposed public amenities include the development of “cross-city walking and cycle routes, multi-purpose cultural and event spaces, recreational water sport facilities and a completely re-imagined” street network that turns “towards the sea”, he said.
Capt Sheridan said that the port had hosted Ireland’s first Volvo Ocean Race stopover in 2009 and the finish of the race in 2012.
It has also hosted three national sea festivals in Galway, and is on the route for the Round Britain and Ireland race in May, 2022.
“I think we are well capable of hosting the America's Cup down the road,” he said.
Known as the oldest international contest still held in any sport, the America's Cup involves matches races between the yacht club that currently holds the trophy and a club that is a challenger.
Any club that meets the specific requirements of the contest – held for over a century on the US east coast before it moved to Fremantle, Australia in 1987 and subsequent venues – has the right to challenge the yacht club that currently holds the cup.
The America's Cup is currently held by the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, which was successful in defending its title in Auckland in March 2021.
“These modern super yachts require very little water depth, and Galway bay is a natural amphitheatre for such events,” Capt Sheridan said.
“We dreamed about a port expansion many years ago, and we are now tantalisingly close,”he said.
“ When the Volvo ocean races called here in 2009 and 2012, we were the smallest port in the world on their route – and yet in 2009, Galway was deemed the most successful stopover in its 39-year history,” he said.
O’Dowd said the port’s planning application for a new, deep water port - which was the subject of a Bord Pleanála hearing in 2015 -is at an “advanced stage”.
The plan involves reclaiming some 24 hectares in the inner bay, and the port says a significant “hurdle” was overcome with recent approval of its proposal to provide compensatory land for lost habitats.
The port applied for a rarely used derogation of the EU Habitats Directive –the ‘Imperative Reasons of Overriding Public Interest’ (IROPI) clause – and this has now been approved by the EU and referred to the Minister for Housing and Local Government.
If approved, the port company forecasts a completion date for the deepwater extension of 2032.
