Europe Direct Relay Point launched in Ballinasloe Library

On Thursday March 30th, Councillor Pat Hynes, Mayor of the County of Galway, officially launched the Europe Direct Relay Point in Ballinasloe Library.

The special guests for the occasion, Johanna Finnerty, Head of Public Information Centre, in the European Commission Office in Dublin, and Susan O’Toole from An Chomhairle Leabharlanna, were welcomed to the Library by Mary Dillon, Librarian, Ballinasloe Library.

Mary Dillon and her staff delivered an event which was full of interest, was enjoyable to all who came, had momentum, and was presented in a highly informative and colourful way.

The Europe Direct service provides a whole range of free publications, brochures and guides relating the EU, and provides access to Europe by Satellite and to various EU websites.

The Mayor, in welcoming the initiative, said it would enable the EU to communicate with its citizens in a way which is understandable and relevant to the man on the street.
He quoted Margot Wallström, Vice President of the European Commission, who pointed out 450 million Europeans now and “we are magnificently diverse. We share a marvelous Europe-wide cultural heritage - from the ancient Greek and Roman world, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment down to the present.”

The Ballinasloe Public Library wishes to provide that sense of Europe, using both the EU information and its own library books, CDs and materials in various formats.

Pictured above are left to right - Johanna Finnerty, Head of Public Information Centre, in the European Commission Office in Dublin, Pat McMahon Galway County Librarian, Kevin Kelly, Director of Services, Galway County Council, and, seated, Councillor Pat Hynes, Mayor of the County of the County of Galway.