By Dara Bradley

Eight steel piles at the mouth of the River Corrib, which are visible at low tide and potentially dangerous for canoeists or kayakers, will be removed “as soon as possible”, Galway City Council has insisted.
 

The stanchions, which were attached to taller poles that supported a temporary pedestrian bridge across the river, from the Spanish Arch to Claddagh Quay, were put in place during the Volvo Ocean Race in July.

The bridge was used to link Galway Harbour with South Park in the Claddagh during the finale of the round the world sailing event.
A Council spokesperson said the local authority is aware that the stanchions remain in place, several weeks after the yachts have departed the city.

He said that the organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race Festival, Let’s Do It Global, had attempted to remove the supports when they removed the bridge itself but that a combination of unfavourable tides and poor weather hampered efforts to remove them completely.
“There was a difficulty removing the stanchions,” he said.

“We are aware that they are still in place but Let’s Do It Global has assured us that they will be removed as soon as possible. They have assured us that the stanchions will be removed as soon as possible. It was Let’s Do It Galway who organised the event and who put the stanchions in place and so it is up to them to remove them,” the Council spokesperson added.