More than 98 per cent of the people who took part in a referendum in Galway at the weekend have voted against plans to remove trees from Eyre Square.
Galway City Council intends to remove up to 80 per cent of the existing trees at Eyre Square and replace them with new ones as part of a €5 million scheme to enhance the square.
The vote on Saturday was organised by Galway Environmental Alliance. The result was announced yesterday and already the organisers have been contacted by groups from around Ireland who are interested in holding similar polls in their towns and cities.
"We have been contacted by a community group from Cork who are worried about an issue there regarding the knocking down of trees. Also some people in Tuam, Co Galway, have contacted us about their concerns about plans to build a road through the town's only major green area, the Palace Grounds," said Ms Sheila Gallagher, of the Galway Environmental Alliance.
The outcome of the vote was announced at the count centre in the Atlanta Hotel. Some 98.35 per cent of votes cast were in favour of saving the trees, which have been a landmark in Galway for decades.
Voting took place from 9 a.m to 9 p.m. on Saturday at eight polling stations across Galway city. The total turnout was 2,329. With only 16 spoiled votes, the valid poll was 2,313.
A total of 2,275 people voted to save the trees and only 38 people voted against.
According to Mr Niall O'Brolchain, of the Galway Environmental Alliance, the group hired the services of a solicitor to verify the validity of the voting at the polling stations.
"In his opinion, our system was even more rigorous than the national elections. He also said that our volunteers were well-trained and that the voting was operated with absolute integrity," Mr O'Brolchain said.
About 500 people had to be turned away either because they were not registered to vote or because they lived outside the city boundary.
"We had held earlier polls among about 500 people in each of several surveys around the city in the past few months. In all of these, about 98 per cent said that they wanted the trees retained. So we feel that the 98.35 per cent who voted yes at the weekend are a microcosm of what the whole city's population feel about this issue," Mr O'Brolchain added.
While the organisers admit that the referendum has no legal standing, they insist that it has sent a "moral message" to Galway City Council.