Galway City Council has voted to abandon its practice of opening its monthly meeting with a prayer.
The vote to scrap the prayer in favour of a moment of silent reflection was tied at seven votes each until the council’s deputy chairperson, Fine Gael’s Pearce Flannery, used his casting vote to back the motion to abolish it.
The vote came despite his party colleagues having voted to keep it.
Several councillors, including two Fianna Fáil representatives who it is believed supported keeping the prayer, were absent from the meeting.