Hundreds of students queue at Galway pub for Donegal event

Hundreds of students queued outside a Galway city pub on Tuesday morning ahead of an annual Donegal themed event.

Donegal Tuesday, held on the second day of the unofficial rag week, was one of the events set up after students at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) voted to abolish rag week in 2011.

Students, many wearing Donegal GAA jerseys, began queuing near the Hole in the Wall pub in the city centre from early in the morning. Hundreds lined the footpath leading from Eyre Street to Woodquay Street by the time the pub opened its doors at 10.30am.

A large number of students are believed to have travelled from outside Galway to take part.

An Garda Síochána used its Twitter account to call on students to act responsibly during rag week and remind them that local gardaí would be on the streets enforcing the Public Order Act.

A second message posted on the @gardainfo account reminded students in Galway not to be the one that ruins it for everyone and to have fun while being safe.

NUIG students’ union president Declan Higgins said the Donegal Tuesday event was not connected with the university.

“Members of the student body voted in 2011 to discontinue rag week,” said Mr Higgins, adding that many of the former rag week events badly affected the welfare of students in NUIG.

He said an agreement was signed between the university and the student body which brought an end to the annual rag week events in return for a series of concessions from the college.

These concessions included an almost-trebling of the university’s contribution to the student assistance fund from €33,000 to €93,000, and a guarantee that the campus health unit would not introduce charges.

The decision to end the festival and accept the concessions was passed by 95 per cent of the vote in 2011.

A Facebook account set up for the event in 2013 writes that Donegal Tuesday is a chance to celebrate Daniel O'Donnell, Football Special and Jim McGuinness.

It continues: “In honour of our fine county we’re gonna wreck the Hole, wreck Ardara and pull up Brian’s trousers. Pints at the ready and shots on standby. Dust off your finest of the green and gold as the ultimate day of celebration approaches.”