From humble Gorbals roots to the top office in Glasgow

Pat Lally, former Lord Provost of Glasgow

Born: 1926

Died: June 8, 2018 career was often turbulent, there is little doubt he was genuinely committed to improving Glasgow and making life better for its residents.

He was there for the key events in Glasgow’s tourismand-culture renaissance in the 1980s and 1990s. The Garden Festival was hosted on his watch in 1988, and Glasgow’s elevation to City of Culture in 1990.

He was instrumental in seeing the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall built – indeed at the time some dubbed it “Lally’s Palais”, an echo of Lally’s Lavvies, the affectionate name given to the toilets he was pivotal in having provided for the first time in many Glasgow tenements two decades earlier.

These monikers are a sign of the affection in which he was held by many – if far from all – Glasgow residents. He had joined the Labour Party in 1950 and was first elected to the then Glasgow Corporation in 1966.

After the inception of Glasgow District Council, he became its leader for eight years, between 1986 to 1982, and then for a further term from 1994 to 1996. He was lord provost from 1996-99.

He was first suspended by Labour over a row concerning housing allocations, in 1977. However, he returned to the party and to the City Chambers in 1980. His suspension from the Labour Party in 1997 was part of the party’s New Labour transformation and attempts to rid it of sleaze, but the charges related to votes-for-trips did not stick and he was readmitted.

Born and raised in Gorbals, he left school at 13, and worked initially in the clothing trade before going on to serve as a radar operator in the RAF during the Second World War.

He married Peggy, who predeceased him in 2007, but who was an energetic and committed lady provost, and they had two sons, Derek and Robert. He was both an astute political operator and a tireless promoter of Glasgow on the national and international stage. Meanwhile, at home he did much to attempt to ensure the transformation of the city was genuine and not just spin.

As Lord Provost he inculcated a genuine sense of civic pride at a time when few would have readily associated the city with gardens, culture or architecture.

He was recognised internationally when he became the first European to be awarded citizenship of Dalian, in China, and he was awarded the Order of Merit by Jacques Chirac.

He was also appointed a Commander of the The Military and Hospitaller Order of Saint Lazarus of Jerusalem.

His retirement was marked by the artist Peter Howson with two portraits: one referencing his nickname, showed him rising again (naked) from the grave.

He was not successful in all his endeavours. He stood three times for Holyrood, including standing for the Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party in 2007, but was never elected. He also failed in a bid to stop traffic cones being repeatedly placed on the head of the statue of Wellington in the city centre.

“There’s nothing a Glaswegian likes better than a good laugh. But even the best of jokes wears a bit thin after up to 10 years.”

He was wrong – the joke shows no sign of abating.