Galway City Council is proud to announce a new community partnership, with Eimear Greaney of UpSew, to launch a monthly Repair Café. Held at the iconic Galway Rowing Club, this initiative is a cornerstone of the ‘Circular City Galway’ project, designed to tackle textile waste and provide people with the skills to extend the life of their belongings. The Repair Café is free to attend – just drop in with your items for repair. Check ‘Repair_Cafe_Galway’ on Instagram for the time and dates of the monthly Repair Café.
The launch of the Repair Café is particularly timely following the recent publication of the first National Policy Statement on Textiles by Minister of State for Employment, Small Business and Retail, Alan Dillon TD. This landmark policy signals a major shift in accountability, mandating that by April 2028, producers and retailers must fund the full cost of collecting and managing used clothing and textiles. By establishing these repair hubs now, Galway City Council and UpSew are staying ahead of the curve—building the local infrastructure and culture of reuse necessary to meet these upcoming national requirements and transition away from the "take-make-waste" model.
Since 2018, Ireland’s textile consumption has skyrocketed from 20.3kg to 53kg per person annually. This surge is largely driven by the rise of ultra-fast fashion from global platforms including Shein and Temu.
Eimear Greaney, founder of UpSew, commented, "UpSew was started in 2014 because I saw our local charity shops becoming unofficial textile processors, often at a financial loss, due to the sheer volume of discarded clothing. For over a decade, we’ve focused on repair and reuse. These monthly cafés are a natural evolution—a space for the skilled and the curious to meet, socialise, and keep items out of the landfill."
Repair Café Galway is as much about community as it is about repair. The café is run entirely by volunteers and offers a welcoming space where visitors bring items to repair with a volunteer, making the process both collaborative and skill sharing.
The Repair Café is designed to be informal and accessible. Whether residents have a "quick fix" or want to learn the basics of upcycling, the "drop-in" nature of the event removes barriers to entry.
Alongside repairs, the monthly café hosts a craft table where people can work on their own projects or simply drop in for a chat. In March and April, Galway IT MeetUp will join the Café for a Linux Install event — a practical way to extend the life of laptops stuck on Windows 10.
Eimear Greaney continued, “Because Repair Cafés are rooted in community, we also started a community calendar on the Repair_Cafe_Galway Instagram page, listing free local events in one easy to find place. With our weather getting wetter, windier and warmer, and the waste we generate unsustainable, our aim is to inspire a shift toward reuse, creativity, and community resilience — and to create easier, more grounded conversations about climate action and what communities can do together.”
Fergal Cushen, Environmental Awareness Officer, Galway City Council, commented: "We are delighted to support regular Repair Cafés in Galway City. They tick so many boxes for what we are trying to achieve as a sustainable and environmentally responsible city. The informal aspect nurtures a vital community bond while providing free access to repair skills for diverse groups across Galway."
Galway City Council, as a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Champion, supports the initiative which is linked several key global goals:
- SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities): Fostering inclusive, local spaces for community connection.
- SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): Promoting a circular economy by reducing waste.
- SDG 13 (Climate Action): Cutting carbon emissions associated with the manufacturing and transport of new products.
Event Details
- Location: Galway Rowing Club, Woodquay, Galway.
- Frequency: Monthly – Check Repair_Cafe_Galway on Instagram for future dates
- Cost: Free to attend