Ballinasloe is to honour Oscar-nominated film director Danny Boyle, whose mother hailed from the town.
The local Town Council wants to give a civic reception to UK-based Boyle who spent childhood summers with relatives in Co Galway.
The director, whose previous films include Trainspotting, has garnered 11 Oscar nominations for his current box office hit, Slumdog Millionaire.
Mayor of Ballinasloe, Cllr Pat O’Sullivan said: “I will be proposing a motion at Tuesday’s monthly meeting of the Town Council to confer the honour on Danny Boyle.
“His mother was from the town and some distant cousins still live here.
“We’ve been following his career very closely over the years and I suppose we are claiming him as one of our own!”
Mr O’Sullivan, who is principal of St Catherine’s National School in nearby Aughrim, believes Mr Boyle’s childhood memories in Ballinasloe have influenced his work.
“The town is bound to have had a bearing on his films,” he explained.
If Mr Boyle agrees to accept the civic reception offer, he will be invited to an official ceremony in the Town Hall and receive a ceremonial scroll.
“It is the highest honour a Town Council can give to somebody. If Danny has an Oscar under his arm when he comes, even better,” added Mr O’Sullivan.
Previous recipients of civic receptions in Ballinasloe include former Taoiseach Charlie Haughey, Cardinal Sean Brady and former President Patrick Hillery.
Ballinasloe residents are currently unable to view Slumdog Millionaire in the town as a new cinema is midway through construction.
Other Boyle films include Shallow Grave, The Beach, and 28 Days Later, which starred Co Cork actor Cillian Murphy.
The 52-year-old, who was born in Lancashire, thought about becoming a priest as a youngster and attended a religious school as a teenager.
He later studied at the University of Wales in Bangor before beginning his directing career in theatre and TV.
PA