Best of west will put your stamina to test
Why has Galway got such X-factor? I give this a lot of thought on the train journey, but once I step out of Ceannt Station and onto Eyre Square, things start to crystallise. It’s because Galway is as much a feeling as a physical place. It’s both a city and a state-of-mind.
Just say the word — Galway — and feel your fingers tingle. No other Irish city evokes quite the same excitement, goodwill and nostalgia at the mere mention of its name. It’s at once a college town and a cultural crossroads, a foodie hub and bo-ho hangout where you’re guaranteed to meet a busker with balloons tied to his head.
Walking through Eyre Square, I soak up the atmosphere by osmosis. Tourists shoot selfies by the rusty-red sails of the Galway hooker. Locals look 20% more relaxed than normal folk. People are optimistically eating outside.
It’s 11.30am on a Friday, and I’m already cracking the weekend open.
Not long ago, the first floor of McCambridge’s deli (mccambridges.com; 38-39 Shop Street) was a store room. Before that, as one Galway local tells me, it was “Old Mr McCambridge’s sitting room”. Pop upstairs these days, and you’ll find one of the best and airiest casual restaurants in the city.
This is the domain of head chef Heather Flaherty, a local legend for her Sunday brunch among other treats — served from 10am to 4.30pm. You can get anything from a bowl of Kilbeggan organic porridge with Bailey’s and hazelnuts (€6.95) to an Irish artisanal fry from €9.95 here... not a bad for a chef from Saskatchewan!
McCambridge’s itself is a culinary crossroads, selling everything from Burren Smokehouse salmon to Kelly’s pudding from Newport. If the queue is too long (it can curl down the staircase), grab soup and a sambo and sit out in the Square.
Visitors to Galway in times past may remember a strangely loveable statue of Pádraic Ó Conaire that sat in Eyre Square. Unveiled in 1935, this piece of street furniture witnessed countless photos and (apparently) a raft of marriage proposals before it was unceremoniously decapitated by vandals in 1999.
“The presiding judge at the court case equalled this crime to the Mona Lisa being taken from the Louvre in Paris,” according to the display notes at Galway City Museum (galwaycitymuseum.ie; free).
It’s there that the statue is kept in safekeeping today, depicting Ó Conaire in modest pose with his toes crossed and hat worn backwards. Pop in to say hello, and you’ll not only learn about the city’s history, but catch some of the best views of the Spanish Arch and River Corrib from the corner windows upstairs.
“I didn’t think I was a person who wanted what they couldn’t have,” sings a busker at the intersection opposite Tig Cóilí — tapping his sandals. I feel much the same way, picking my way through the city’s boutiques and gift stores.
Thankfully, it’s as enjoyable to browse as to buy in Galway. I’m happy with a root through Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop (charliebyrne.com), a hunk of Killeen’s Gouda — and several tasters — from Sheridan’s (sheridanscheesemongers.com), and a few ideas from a dinky little jewellery, art and design store on Upper Abbeygate Street called ‘My Shop... Granny Likes It’ (myshopgranny.com).
You’ll find all sorts of affordable nuggets from the likes of Chupi, Lynsey de Burca and Fab Cow Designs here, and there’s some creativity in the notes and signs posted about the place too, such as the snippet above a piece of glassware: “Boom, wedding gift sorted...”
With buskers fiddling, strumming and piping at 20-yard intervals, the Saturday market in full flow and tourists streaming along the bo-ho catwalk from Quay Street to Shop Street, every weekend feels like a festival in Galway.
Imagine the craic to be had when the festivals crank up. Summer kicks off with Galway Sea Festival (galwayseafestival.com; May 29 — June 2), then Galway Film Fleadh (galwayfilmfleadh.com; July 8-13), Galway Arts Festival (galwayartsfestival.com; July 14-27) and reaching a crescendo with Galway Races (galwayraces.com; July 28 — Aug 3). It’s a heady schedule by anyone’s standards.
Everyone to their own, of course, but I particularly like the look of the Arts Festival this year, with The National playing the Big Top on July 16 (€39.50), and Imelda May following two days later (July 18; €35). Socks will be rocked.
Galway has been shortlisted as one of the Restaurant Association of Ireland’s Top 10 Foodie Towns, so get ready to eat yourself to a standstill — from casual munchies at its bars and cafes to Michelin Star fare at Aniar (aniarrestaurant.ie).
Speaking of Aniar, all eyes are on Enda McEvoy’s new venture in the city — reportedly titled ‘Loam’, after the type of soil — which is all systems go to launch this year... although the chef himself hasn’t given a date. McEvoy, who worked in Noma, won Aniar its Michelin Star, so there’s lots to be excited about.
This visit also reaffirms for me how well Galway does lunch. Casual restaurants like Kai (kaicaferestaurant.com), Dela (dela.ie) and Ard Bia at Nimmo’s (ardbia.com) serve ridiculously tasty and creative dishes in the €9-€12 price bracket, opening up the possibility of all kinds of gastro bliss in the early afternoon.
Forget cheese and ham sambos. The specials on offer during my visit to Árd Bia included Connemara mussels in fennel, white wine and crème fraiche (€12), and Colleran’s lamb and pistachio kofta with bulgar wheat salad (€12).
Other new and noteworthy additions include Espresso 44 on Shop Street, and the welcome return of Cava (cavarestaurant.ie) on Middle Street. If you fancy your craft beers, check out The Oslo in Salthill (galwaybaybrewery.com), the “mother ship” for the Galway Bay Brewery. It does craft on draft from just €4 on Wednesdays.
No shortage of options here. Going to press, the g hotel (theghotel.ie) had B&B from €135 per night, and 7 Cross Street (7crossstreet.com), a boutique townhouse in the Latin Quarter, had weekend B&B rates from €79 per room.
Meanwhile, the Salthill Hotel (salthillhotel.com) has a three night break for the price of two from €139pps. The offer is available Sunday to Thursday to May 31.
For more ideas on things to see and do in Galway, see galway.com, discoverireland.ie/galway or tweet @galwaygaillimh. If you book in advance with Irish Rail Iirishrail.ie), tickets start from €9.99 each way.
Think of travel in County Galway, and Connemara and Lough Corrib come to mind. Both are spectacular wilderness set-pieces, and the mayflies and trout are hopping around the lakes as you read... an annual phenomenon for which even locals have been known to book holidays.
You can also head south from the city, to the pretty coastal town of Kinvara or Galway’s own Yeats Country around Coole Park and Thoor Ballylee. Although the tower in which WB Yeats lived during the 1920s has sadly been closed for some time, it’s still possible to see the exterior, and taking a stroll around Coole Park — Lady Gregory’s former country estate — won’t cost you a cent.
Today a nature reserve (coolepark.ie), the highlight of a visit is the Autograph Tree, a copper beach into which Yeats, Shaw, Synge and others carved their initials. Step through the leaves, examine the trunk, and you’ll feel another tingle.
X-factor isn’t confined to the city, you know.
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