Galway wins 'Great Town of the Year' award

Galway has been named UK & Ireland Great Town of the Year 2013.

The Academy of Urbanism Annual Awards Ceremony took place in London today, and saw the city beat competition from English towns Falmouth in Cornwall and Shrewsbury in Shropshire.

Fifty entrants to the category were whittled down to 10, then a final three, before Galway was crowned the winner.

A panel of assessors visited Galway in August to judge on a range of criteria, including governance, commercial success and social sustainability.