The opinions of 120 local Galway businesses over new 'G' logo

The business polls undertaken reflect the views of those who chose to respond

Published 24th Sep 2026, 18:06 BST Galway City Council logo on van and inset publican Fergus McGinn | Main image: Galway City Council The business polls undertaken reflect the views of those who chose to respond The controversy over Galway City Council’s replacement of the familiar ‘ G ’ logo shows no sign of abating, with a new poll revealing strong opposition among members of the local business community.

Businesswoman Gill Carroll polled 120 local business owners and members of the business community on the new branding, with more than 98 per cent of those who responded to the respective questions opposing the change and questioning the reported €28,000 spend.

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“These figures highlight the concerns within our local business community about both the design itself and the use of public funds,” said Ms Carroll to the Galway City Tribune .

“This is not about being against change or progress. It is about ensuring that decisions are made with integrity, that public money is spent wisely and that the heritage and identity of Galway remain at the forefront of how we present our city to the world.

“Galway deserves branding that is original, meaningful and truly representative of the city and its people.”

The business polls undertaken reflect the views of those who chose to respond.

Among those who did respond to Ms Carroll’s questions, opposition was emphatic, with 59 of 60 (98.3 per cent) opposing the change to the ‘G’.

A separate question asked whether the reported €28,000 cost of the council’s new branding represented good value for public money and originality.

Here, 63 of 64 respondents (98.4 per cent) said the reported €28,000 did not represent good value for public money and originality.

Just one said they did not know enough about the issue to say.

Ms Carroll said she carried out the poll to establish the views of people within the local business community on both the new branding and the money spent.

“I recently carried out a poll among 120 local business owners and members of the business community to get their views on the new branding and the money spent,” she said.

“Of those surveyed, 59 indicated that they did not support the new design, while 63 believed the money had been poorly spent. The remaining participants did not respond to the respective questions.

“As a business owner in Galway, I understand and appreciate the need for our city to evolve and for its branding to reflect that.

“However, any rebranding must be carried out with integrity, transparency and a genuine respect for Galway's heritage and history.”

She has called on Galway City Council to “spend public money wisely”.

“Our local businesses are facing increasing costs year after year, including commercial rates,” she continued.

“At a time when business owners are working harder than ever to manage these pressures, we could hope that Galway City Council would spend public money wisely and responsibly.”

The poll is the latest development in a controversy which has gathered momentum since the new visual identity was unveiled.

Publican Fergus McGinn has been a prominent voice in the campaign after making an impassioned plea on social media to “keep the Galway G”, highlighting its origins as a design by Galway graphic designer Jimmy Conneely for the city’s Quincentennial celebrations in 1984.

Read More Battle to ‘Keep the Galway G’ to return to City Hall as rebrand goes ahead Galway City Council responds as embarrassing €28,000 logo likenesses emerge Mayor of Galway City opposed as Galway City Council unveils new logo and brand identity 'They are ignoring the public outcry’ – ‘Keep the Galway G’ campaigner hits out at new logo Galway city council's controversial new 'G' almost identical to European company's logo Galway City Council unveil new ‘G’ logo after controversy Mr McGinn is now planning a public meeting on the controversy, providing an opportunity for members of the public to voice their views on the replacement of the ‘G’ and the wider rebranding.

A separate poll among members of the Galway Pub Operators group also showed strong opposition among those who responded.

Those who answered the value-for-money question said they did not consider the reported €28,000 cost good value for public money, while respondents also overwhelmingly opposed the change to the ‘G’.

Just one chose the “don’t care” option on the logo question, prompting some light-hearted commentary from Mr McGinn, who joked that the response had come from “a Mayo man”.

Details of the planned public meeting have yet to be finalised.

Meanwhile, the controversy is also set to return to the political arena after councillors submitted a request for a special meeting of Galway City Council.

Mayor of Galway Cllr Helen Ogbu (Lab) has said a meeting “will take place soon”.

Former Mayor Cllr Mike Cubbard (Ind) said the required number of councillors had signed the request for a special meeting.

He said the council executive had subsequently offered a workshop, but maintained that the council’s standing orders are clear on the procedure, once the request has been submitted.

Cllr Alan Cheevers (FF) has also said that a majority of councillors requested the special meeting and pointed to the provisions of the council’s standing orders.

Under Galway City Council’s standing orders, a special meeting may be requested in writing by any six councillors, and it must be acted on within seven days of being presented.

The council has said the new visual identity followed a review of its existing branding and is intended to create a more consistent identity across its services.

It says the new lower-case ‘g’ draws on Galway’s civic and maritime heritage, with its form reflecting the hull of the ship represented in the city’s Coat of Arms, while also drawing on the tradition of seanchló, the historic script used in Irish.

The Coat of Arms will remain in use as part of the council’s wider brand family and in formal civic contexts.

The council has also said the €28,000 cost covered the overall brand development project, which included a review and audit, stakeholder engagement, brand strategy, visual identity development, accessibility and bilingual considerations, templates and visual identity guidelines.

It says the new branding will be introduced gradually as existing materials and assets are renewed or replaced.

Meanwhile, Gerry Hanley, who was instrumental in establishing Galway’s sister-city relationship with Menlo Park, California , has said lessons should be learned from a strikingly similar branding controversy in the Californian city more than a decade ago.

Menlo Park considered changes to its established city logo during a branding exercise in 2013, but councillors ultimately opted to retain the integrity of the existing oak-tree logo, with more limited modifications to its typeface and presentation.

Official Menlo Park records from the time show that the council directed that the existing logo be retained before work continued on graphic standards and other elements of the city’s branding.

Mr Hanley believes the experience of Galway’s sister city offers lessons as controversy continues over the replacement of Galway’s own long-established ‘G’.

He is also seeking answers on how much the entire transition to the new branding will ultimately cost.

Mr Hanley said he intends to write to the Minister for Finance seeking an estimate of the costs involved, or an assurance that all expenditure associated with the transition will be tracked so that the eventual overall cost can be established.

He wants to establish the full cost of the rebranding once all expenditure involved in making the transition has been taken into account, rather than focusing solely on the €28,000 already spent on the branding project.