Chief Executive rejects fringe IRB group during council row

Galway County Council Chief Executive Liam Conneally said the local authority was the county’s only recognised democratic authority after a row erupted over an email circulated to councillors concerning a fringe organisation calling itself the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB).

Published 4th Jun 2026, 14:34 BST Galway County Council Chief Executive Liam Conneally said the local authority was the county's only recognised democratic authority. | Iconic Galway County Council Chief Executive Liam Conneally said the local authority was the county’s only recognised democratic authority after a row erupted over an email circulated to councillors concerning a fringe organisation calling itself the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB). Sign up to our Connacht Tribune Today daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Connacht Tribune within your account.

“There is one democratic council in Galway and this is it,” he told a meeting of Galway County Council. “This is the statutory authority for governance of County Galway. I will be reporting to one council only. I won’t be responding or replying to any other entity.”

The controversy followed the circulation of an email by Independent Cllr Tom Welby concerning the IRB. He asked that councillors “not engage with these people” and described the group as “completely undemocratic”.

However, several councillors criticised the circulation of the email. Independent Ireland Cllr Shaun Cunniffe said councillors should not be “cross-examining” one another as it is only diluting our power”.

The election is over Tom, it was a great contest, we all did our best. We need to dust ourselves down and keep going. I don’t know why this is persisting.

Fianna Fáil Cllr Cillian Keane said he did not want to see the issue turned into “a political football”. “I don’t think this is acceptable,” he said. “We are better than that. People can have their opinions but this isn’t the place.”

Fianna Fáil Cllr Martina Kinane said she was “hugely disappointed” the email had circulated through council accounts and said it “should be retracted”.

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“We are here for Galway County Council,” she said. “The election is over. A very fair, hard-worked election. This is not good enough. Fairness is very important.”

Independent Ireland Cllr Declan Kelly said he agreed with the Chief Executive’s position on the matter and said he would be ignoring the email.

While no councillor was named during the debate, the controversy arose against the backdrop of reports that Independent Ireland Cllr Noel Thomas had attended a public meeting organised by the IRB.

Following the circulation of the email, Cllr Thomas told the Connacht Tribune the controversy amounted to “sour grapes from his own disappointing result from the election”.

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The IRB claims continuity with the historic Irish Republican Brotherhood, although historians and mainstream republican organisations reject that claim.

The organisation has drawn attention over attempts to establish what it describes as “community courts” and parallel governing structures.

The group declared Crossmolina Town Hall in Mayo to be an ‘Éire Supreme Court’ for Connacht, despite having no legal authority or standing within the Irish legal system.

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