Michael Smyth (27 April 1921 – 7 May 1981) was an Irish

trade unionist A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

and Labour Party politician. He was

Mayor of Galway The office of Mayor of Galway is an honorific title used by the of Galway City Council. The council has jurisdiction throughout its administrative area of the city of Galway which is the largest city in the province of Connacht, in Ireland. Th ...

from 1971 to 1972. Smyth was one of six children born to Patrick Smyth and Barbara Crowley of Prospect Hill, Galway City. He was a shop steward in the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin and James Fearon in January 1909 as a general union. Initially ...

, and in 1963 became a founder member of the city's first

credit union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

, St. Columba's Credit Union Limited, Mervue. He was to continue working for the Credit Union for the rest of his life. He was a member, and later chairman, of the

Trades Council A labour council, trades council or industrial council is an association of trade union, labour unions or local union, union branches in a given area. Most commonly, they represent unions in a given geographical area, whether at the district, city, ...

, joined the Labour Party in the 1950s, later becoming a member of its constituency council. Smyth was elected to Galway Corporation in the early 1960s and was elected Mayor on 5 July 1971. It was under his auspices that the first Mayoral Ball was held, at Seapoint,

Salthill Salthill () is a Coast, seaside area to the southwest of Galway city centre in the west of Ireland. The area is home to a number of tourist amenities and there is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as "the Prom", which overlooks Galway ...

, on 29 February 1972. At his instigation, cross-border holidays were held for children from

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, a city he visited while Mayor. He did not seek re-election to the council in

June 1974 The following events occurred in June 1974: June 1, 1974 (Saturday) *The U.S. medical magazine ''Emergency Medicine'' published "Pop Goes the Cafe Coronary", an informal article by thoracic surgeon Henry Heimlich, describing the effective us ...

References

* ''Role of Honour: The Mayors of Galway City 1485-2001'', William Henry, Galway, 2001.

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071119083053/http://www.galwaycity.ie/AllServices/YourCouncil/HistoryofTheCityCouncil/PreviousMayors/ Politicians from County Galway Mayors of Galway 1921 births 1981 deaths Labour Party (Ireland) politicians Trade unionists from County Galway {{Ireland-mayor-stub