Salthill Air Show organiser Brian McGrath has dismissed suggestions that the accident at this year's event (pictured above) had anything to do with the decision to scrap the show. Photo: Declan Monaghan.

The Salthill Air Show will not go ahead next year, despite receiving a funding allocation from Galway City Council on Monday.

According to organisers, the show had been incurring losses "year on year" and the "nightmarish issues" thrown up by the logistics as well as opposition from the anti-war movement have made it too difficult to continue.

Speaking to the Galway Independent yesterday, Air Show Technical Director Tony Gibson said the decision was made after some discussions over the last couple of weeks. "It's a very expensive event to run and there are a lot of people to be catered for. I know Brian [McGrath] is very personally upset with the anti-show movement and the push they've made to get the funding cut," he said.

Michael Coyle, CEO of the Galway Chamber, said yesterday that the cancellation of the air show would have a "significant impact" on business in Salthill and the rest of the city for the weekend it was due to be held. "The show spoke for itself in terms of the numbers attending - there were up to 100,000 people on a good day - and the impact of that number of people is considerable."

Niall Farrell of the Galway Anti-War Alliance told the Galway Independent yesterday that his group was "delighted" with the news. "As we've said all along, we have nothing against appreciating the achievements of aviation, but we object to warplanes polluting the skies over Galway." Mr Farrell said the organisation was particularly happy, given the survey it conducted in Salthill and the Claddagh, which found that 47 per cent of residents were not in favour of the show.

Mr Farrell also suggested that insurance was a factor in the air show's cancellation, following last year's accident. A door came off a helicopter at last year's event, hitting a spectator.

However, this has been refuted by the main organiser Brian McGrath, who said the cancellation was down to the high costs of the show and funding difficulties.

A motion by Councillor Catherine Connolly to exclude military aircraft from the air show was defeated by a large majority at Monday night's council budget meeting.

Speaking to the Galway Independent yesterday, Cllr Michael Crowe, a long-time supporter of the air show, said: "The air show brought an average of 120,000 people to Salthill every year. Every year the council allocated it €15,000, which is only a pittance in comparison to the real cost, and every year the anti-war alliance put up a fight. I'm sick and tired of this anti-war crowd. The people of Galway don't cause the war and these planes are for display purposes only."

The Fianna Fáil councillor also condemned the "lack of support" shown by mayors in recent years to the air show. "It was ignored by three out of the four last mayors. Brian Walsh was the only one who acknowledged it. The city needs this, businesses need every lift they can get." Cllr Crowe said he would be asking the city manager, Joe MacGrath to work with the air show committee in order to reinstate it.

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