Faces of Galway 20/100
Meet Patricia from Mayo.
258, 552 is a big number. This is the combined population of Galway city and county. This is the number of people who were counting on Patricia to succeed in her job.
2020 is a great number. 2020 is the year in which Galway will be the designated European Capital of Culture.
As project manager Patricia did her job beyond expectation, her years of experience with the city council working to develop culture resulted in Galway winning the 2020 bid. On meeting Patricia we discussed the fact that she will only be in this role until March 2016, when the project will be taken over by an independent company (common practise). I asked how that made her feel and she admitted she was quite anxious, it was almost like handing over her baby but she is happy to move on. We discussed the long journey it took to get the bid to the final stages and the elation of the win. I asked her what she would like to see come out of the 2020 bid and she said this:
"The most important thing for me is to slowly open the doors to people who don't think culture is something for them - culture is who we are, how we live our lives, how we relate to others. And to continue with the combined ambition for Galway and what can be achieved together, for a shared purpose."
What constantly stood out is that Patricia didn't put her heart and soul into this as a career goal or for status; she did it for the two hundred thousand plus people of Galway. She felt the weight of each person on her shoulders as she worked to help improve our county. So on behalf of the 258,552 I would like to say, thank you Patricia! For all you have done and continue to do to make Galway great.