Too many treating Spanish Arch as public toilet says McNelis

If the Spanish Arch is the much loved international symbol of Galway city, then why are its own young citizens treating it like a public urinal and a beer garden?

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Over the past week Mr McNelis says the amount of litter being thrown around in the area, and the numbers of people involved in public drinking has mushroomed due to the fine weather. "The Spanish Arch is turning into Buckfast Plaza," he told the Galway Advertiser, "with litter being strewn everywhere and young men urinating against the wall of the Civic Museum."

According to Mr McNelis this is having a negative affect on business and tourism in the area with people being put off by the drinkers. "Business is suffering and tourists are complaining and a tourist who complains is not likely to return," he said.

However Mr McNelis rejects the view that this is an unfortunate by-product of the summer weather. “It’s a cultural thing,” he argues. “People just don’t seem to know how to throw their rubbish away. Urinating against a civic building is not due to a lack of toilets. They just don’t care.”

http://www.galwayadvertiser.ie/dws/story.tpl?inc=2004/05/27/news/46850.html