Galway City Council Accused of Failing To Consult In Advance of Watersports Ban at Silver Strand

21st July 2025

Lorna Siggins

Galway's Silver Strand Beach Sign pictured July 2025

Watersports enthusiasts have accused Galway City Council of failing to consult over its decision to ban all activity except for swimming at Silver Strand beach near Barna.

A motion before Galway City Council this Tuesday (July 22) calls for immediate removal of signage, along with meaningful consultation and planning for beach management and zoning.

Silver Strand is described on the beaches.ie website as being “used year round for swimming and windsurfing”.

“The tidal inlet of Lough Rusheen, located behind Silverstrand Beach is a long established centre for water sports," it says.

In April 2021, watersports bodies submitted a document to both Galway City and County councils with recommendations on beach management for Silver Strand.

“While we did receive an acknowledgment of receipt, our request for a meeting and further discussion did not receive a response,” Brian Coll, spokesman for the group, says.

He says that representatives of the watersports community are now “deeply disappointed that, despite our proactive efforts to engage constructively on the management of Silver Strand beach, there was no consultation or engagement from Galway City Council prior to the introduction of new signage in July 2025 prohibiting watersports”.

The three-part motion before Galway City Council calling for signage removal, along with consultation and planning, will be proposed by Fine Gael councillor Clodagh Higgins and seconded by Independent councillor Donal Lyons.

Galway City Council said that “the signage was in line with the risk assessments carried out by Water Safety Ireland”.

“Risk assessments were completed at the request of Galway City Council to comply with Blue Flag and An Taisce requirements,”it says.

“These risk assessments are carried out by Water Safety Ireland, who are a statutory body, with a risk assessor accredited from the International Lifesaving Federation of Europe. The risk assessor is independent,”it said.

“Galway City Council has recently erected safety information boards on foot of the risk assessments, complying with recommendations received for ISO water safety signage,”it said.

Published in Galway Harbour

Tagged under

Galway City Council

About The Author

Lorna Siggins

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Lorna Siggins is a print and radio reporter, and a former Irish Times western correspondent. She is the author of Search and Rescue: True stories of Irish Air-Sea Rescues and the Loss of R116 (2022); Everest Callling (1994) on the first Irish Everest expedition; Mayday! Mayday! (2004); and Once Upon a Time in the West: the Corrib gas controversy (2010). She is also co-producer with Sarah Blake of the Doc on One "Miracle in Galway Bay" which recently won a Celtic Media Award

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Galway Port & Harbour

Galway Bay is a large bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south. Galway city and port is located on the northeast side of the bay. The bay is about 50 kilometres (31 miles) long and from 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) to 30 kilometres (19 miles) in breadth.

The Aran Islands are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay.

Galway Port FAQs

How old is Galway port?

Galway was founded in the 13th century by the de Burgo family, and became an important seaport with sailing ships bearing wine imports and exports of fish, hides and wool.

How old is Galway bay?

Not as old as previously thought. Galway bay was once a series of lagoons, known as Loch Lurgan, plied by people in log canoes. Ancient tree stumps exposed by storms in 2010 have been dated back about 7,500 years.

What is the tonnage of the port?

It is about 660,000 tonnes as it is a tidal port.

Who is the harbourmaster of Galway port?

Capt Brian Sheridan, who succeeded his late father, Capt Frank Sheridan

When are the lock gates open?

The dock gates open approximately two hours before high water and close at high water subject to ship movements on each tide.

What's the biggest ship that can 'fit' in the harbour?

The typical ship sizes are in the region of 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes

Is renewable energy generating a lot of business for Galway port?

Turbines for about 14 wind projects have been imported in recent years, but the tonnage of these cargoes is light. A European industry report calculates that each turbine generates €10 million in locally generated revenue during construction and logistics/transport.

Is Galway a European cable location?

Yes, Iceland has selected Galway as European landing location for international telecommunications cables. Farice, a company wholly owned by the Icelandic Government, currently owns and operates two submarine cables linking Iceland to Northern Europe.

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It is "very much a live project", Harbourmaster Capt Sheridan says, and the Port of Galway board is "awaiting the outcome of a Bord Pleanála determination", he says.

Where does all the scrap go at Galway Port?

90% of the scrap steel is exported to Spain with the balance being shipped to Portugal. Since the pandemic, scrap steel is shipped to the Liverpool where it is either transhipped to larger ships bound for China.

Why is Galway Port exporting silage and the Irish farmers are crying out for it?

It might look like silage, but in fact, its bales domestic and municipal waste, exported to Denmark where the waste is incinerated, and the heat is used in district heating of homes and schools. It is called RDF or Refuse Derived Fuel and has been exported out of Galway since 2013.

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The new ferry is arriving at Galway Bay onboard the cargo ship SVENJA. The vessel is currently on passage to Belem, Brazil before making her way across the Atlantic to Galway.

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Two Volvo round world races have selected Galway for the prestigious yacht race route. Some 10,000 people welcomed the boats in during its first stopover in 2009, when a festival was marked by stunning weather. It was also selected for the race finish in 2012. The Volvo has changed its name and is now known as the "Ocean Race". Capt Sheridan says that once port expansion and the re-urbanisation of the docklands is complete, the port will welcome the "ocean race, Clipper race, Tall Ships race, Small Ships Regatta and maybe the America's Cup right into the city centre...".

When is Seafest coming back to Galway?

The pandemic was the reason why Seafest did not go ahead in Cork in 2020. Galway will welcome Seafest back after it calls to Waterford and Limerick, thus having been to all the Port cities.