Douglas Hyde or Dubhghlas de Híde (1860 – 1949) was the first President of Ireland from June 1938 to June 1945. Originally from Co. Roscommon, Hyde was Co-founder and First President (1893-1915) of the Gaelic League, the national movement for the revival of the Irish language.
In 1939, Hyde was also the first person to be given the honour of being awarded the ‘Freedom of Galway’– this stand made from Connemara marble, commemorates the occasion.
An inscribed plate on the stand reads:
Seo iad an dubhadán agus an peann as ar baineadh
leas nuair a sgríobh an Dochtúir Dubhglas de Hide
Uachtarán na hÉireann, a anim ar an Rolla, an 31adh
Lughnasa 1939, ar an ócáid a rinneadh Saoránach
Onórach de Cathair na Gaillimhe de.
