Galway by-election candidate responds to poster backlash
Galway West Green Party by-election candidate Niall Murphy has defended his use of election posters, saying they are necessary to remain competitive with rival candidates.
Mr Murphy came under criticism on social media recently as Galway residents highlighted the small print used to advertise a public meeting on his posters, compared with the prominence of his name and image.
Some commenters expressed frustration at the volume of posters across the city promoting campaign events, suggesting they serve more as advertising tools than genuine invitations to engage with voters.
“These ‘public meetings’ are simply a front for erecting posters,” one user wrote.
Responding online, Mr Murphy said he had little choice but to follow what he described as common campaign practice.
“I was left with the choice of being well behaved and handing an advantage to the opposition, or doing what is becoming common practice,” he said.
While Murphy said he would support a ban on election posters on environmental and fairness grounds, he argued that such move would need to apply equally to all candidates.
“It has to be a level playing field,” he said, adding that only those already assured of election can afford to run poster-free campaigns, which are a “minority”.
Mr Murphy also acknowledged that the meeting details on some of his posters were difficult to read, saying this was partly due to efforts to reuse materials.
“The intention was that the lower portion of the posters could be removed and reused,” he said. In this case, Mr Murphy said he “misjudged” how small the text would appear.
He added that some posters in use are recycled from previous campaigns, but warned that elections still generate significant plastic waste.
“One election in Ireland can produce enough plastic to fill 23 Croke Parks,” Mr Murphy said.
Efforts to restrict election posters have been made in the past. In 2019, Galway City Council considered a proposal to ban them, but this was not progressed following legal advice that existing provisions under the Litter Pollution Act 1997 already regulate their use.
In 2022, then Green Party Senator Pauline O’Reilly introduced legislation seeking to prohibit posters on lampposts and poles, while allowing designated display areas under local authority control. The bill did not complete its passage through the Oireachtas.
Labour Party councillor Helen Ogbu is running for the byelection and currenlty sits on Galway City Council.
Other candidates in the by-election have also promoted public meetings through posters.
Among them, Galway City Labour Councillor Helen Ogbu recently hosted events on traffic congestion and mental health, while Social Democrats candidate Míde Nic Fhionnlaoich held a public meeting on the city’s healthcare challenges in late March.
Speaking to the Irish Independent Ms Nic Fhionnlaoich said :“[The meetings are] a great opportunity to talk to members of the community about an issue that I'm hearing a lot about on the doors.”
“It's often that normal people in this country feel unheard on these issues and it's a great chance to let them be heard in a really productive and really interesting way.”
The Irish Independent reached out to Cllr Ogbu and Galway City Council for comment.