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Keywords: royal galway yacht club | galway |
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image located by Peter Edwards, 14 October 2018
See also:
Burgee: Pennant 7:10 (print image). Field turquoise divided horizontally by
four thin white wavy lines, charged with the arms of Galway within a light green
circle, incorporating a crown and heart, fimbriated white. Between the second
and third white lines, and from the arms to the fly point, the white words ROYAL
GALWAY Y.C. Est 1882.
Source: accessed 14 September 2018,
http://www.royalgalway.com/
"In the early 1990s the club gradually re-established itself . . .when Ireland
and Galway decided to put a team in the Volvo Ocean Race in 2008/2009, the
Green Dragon, it was done under the burgee of the Royal Galway Yacht Club. With
this, the membership fee was €100,000 and 16 paid the fee together with others
who became members for services to Galway and Sailing including Ian Walker,
Skipper of the Green Dragon. His core team, supported by Jamie Boag, went on to
win the 2014/2015 Volvo Ocean Race for Abu Dhabi. . . . Now the club,
professionally managed by EnCircle 360, is being developed on a global basis
with Round the World plans for 2016 and beyond. . . . And while always
maintaining its root on Galway Bay, and supporting Galway Bay Sailing Club it is
developing as a ‘virtual’ club on a worldwide basis. . . . Above all, the club
has a focus on youth development and making the world a better place in the
spirit of Irish excellence and adventure around the world. Membership is only
granted to those who have contributed financially or through great deeds and
services to worthwhile causes. . . . Other than being ‘serious’ in the core
values and transparency when raising funds for charities and worthwhile causes
such as the ATLANTIC Youth Trust a core rule of the club is that members who
take membership of the Royal Galway Yacht Club too seriously, will be expelled.”
Source: accessed 14 September 2018,
http://www.royalgalway.com/about.html
"YACHT CLUB – Volvo Ocean
Race Organisers in Galway have revived a 120-year old Yacht Club with 'Royal'
connections . . . . The 'Royal Galway Yacht Club' (RGYC) was established in 1892
but had not been heard of for quite some time. But in 2011 it has set sail
again, becoming the latest Yacht Club on the Irish sailing scene and an addition
to the clubs operating on Galway Bay.. . . It has four flag officers (three
Commodores and one Admiral) and it will have 'no royal aspirations’ in spite of
the name according to promoter Enda O’Coineen. . . . In an open letter sent
recently to VOR supporters, O'Coineen says the RGYC has been revived as a
‘slightly unconventional club’. . . . Anyone taking matters too seriously in the
newly revived club Afloat. i.e., understands runs the risk of being 'black
balled’. . . . Presumably what a yacht club in the Republic of Ireland cares to
call itself is no longer of any concern to the British Home Office?”
Source:
accessed 15 September 2018,
https://afloat.ie/item/17236-galway-revives-ancient-royal-yacht-club
Peter Edwards, 26 September 2018
image located by Jan Mertens, 9 May 2011
The burgee was a blue field, white cross throughout and near the hoist, a
yellow heraldic ship on stylized waves, with sails furled and a tiny royal crown
(in full colour) above, the hull bearing a yellow shield with a green? lion,
rampant. Surely these are the arms of Galway, also the former arms of County
Galway (the lion is coloured differently)? :
http://www.heraldry.ws/regional/galwaycity.gif
The
image above is found in the 1923 French ‘Album des pavillons nationaux et
des marques distinctives’ in spite of spelling “Golway”
(Plate CI, ill. 24). The crown (Tudor model) is much larger and the
shield is left bare; a bonus is the undifferentiated Red Ensign of the
period.
Jan Mertens, 9 May 2011
image by Jose C. Alegria, 17 October 2013
Sometime ago while heading off in a round the world race the Late Lord
Killanin presented me with the burgee of the Royal Galway. He asked me to fly
the flag and continue the tradition. We are rebuilding the club on the back of a
syndicate who are building a boat for the Volvo round the world race in 2009.
Enda O'Coineen, 30 December 2007
Flying the burgee of a defunct yacht club should not be a problem, though I
suggest that it should be flown as a personal or house flag, and not in the
position that a club burgee would normally be flown. Reviving the club and using
the same burgee is a slightly more doubtful proposition. The title 'royal' was
granted to the Galway Yacht Club in 1882. What a yacht club in the Republic of
Ireland cares to call itself is no longer of any concern to the British Home
Office. There are still 'royal' yacht clubs in the Republic of Ireland so
presumably the Irish government would have no objection to the use of an
historic title by a revived club. Using the same burgee should not be a problem
as long as it does not contravene any Irish regulations. The crown is still used
on the burgees of three Irish yacht clubs. A record of which clubs have been
granted the title 'royal' should be held by the Home Office in London. The title
'royal' does not in itself have any significance as far as flags are concerned.
Most British yacht clubs that had/have the title 'royal' have also been granted,
quite separately, the right to have a special club ensign. The Royal Galway was
one of the very few royal clubs that did not have this right.
David Prothero, 31 December 2007
It looks like the new burgee can be seen on the right at
https://plus.google.com/photos/100504723095200747522/photo/5337236447140441218?banner=pwa&gpsrc=pwrd1.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 15
September 2009
I found the burgee (image above) in Alicante's yacht club, port of
exit of the last Volvo Ocean Race. I read that the club was revived for this
race that ended in Galway:
http://afloat.ie/sail/events/galway-stopover/item/17236-galway-revives-ancient-royal-yacht-club
Jose C. Alegria, 18 October 2013
Though it may be that the Royal Galway Yacht Club was revived, specifically for
a race, it doesn't seem very alive today. While the organisation does have
a business address, it doesn't have an Internet presence of any kind that I
could find.
No information on officers' flags, alas, for lack of officers'
addresses for asking about flags. In the old club, of course, the officers had
stars on the collars of their club uniforms. I've so far found no mention of
officer's flags, though.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 23 June
2014