A local pub owner has called out Galway City Council’s upcoming rebrand as he reflected on the origins of the existing ‘G’ logo.

With the original ‘G’ logo hanging above his bar, Fergus McGinn, owner of McGinn’s Hop House in Woodquay, took to social media to voice sharp criticism of the council’s €28,000 rebranding.

“I am not one for ranting,” Mr McGinn said in the video. “In [the council’s] wisdom, they have decided to scrap our Galway ‘G’.”

He goes on to explain that the logo, which is used throughout Galway’s branding today, was designed by Vinny Conneally from Bohermore.

A staple of the Galway community as a part-time fireman and art teacher at St Mary’s, Mr Conneally designed the logo for the quincentennial celebrations marking Galway’s 500th year as a city, Mr McGinn said.

“There is art and culture in this [logo],” he added, pointing to the galleon in the top right-hand corner, which represents the Galway docks that connected the small western city to “the rest of the world”.

“At a time when our culture is being eroded, we are getting rid of a local man’s design.”

Mr McGinn also questioned the total cost of the rebrand once the final design is chosen and rolled out across council vehicles, the mayoral chains, bins and stationery.

“Gabh mo leithscéal for the rant lads,” Mr McGinn concluded, “but it has to be said.”

Galway City Council told the Irish Independent it will share the final logo in the coming days following the conclusion of the current public engagement process.

Three options, produced by outside design consultants, are being considered. All three logos used Galway’s maroon and white, or navy and white inspired by old Galway GAA jerseys.

While the cost of the rollout has yet to be determined, Galway City Council said that once a final design is selected, further details on the budget and implementation timeline will be made public.

“The new branding will largely be implemented as materials/designs reach the end of their life and require replacement, so it will be done as part of the relevant departments’ usual renewal or replacement processes,” a council spokesperson said.

The Irish Independent reached out to Galway City Council for further comment.

Funded by Local Democracy Reporting scheme.