Shelling out for one of the world’s great festivals

VOTED one of the greatest festivals on the planet, the 49th Galway International Oyster Festival kicks off for a weekend of gourmet food, good Guinness and traditional craic.

"The whole idea was to celebrate the native oyster and to extend the tourist season and it has done that tenfold," said festival spokesperson Niall McNelis.

Some 10,000 people are expected to throng to the City of the Tribes for an event voted by the Sunday Times newspaper as 'one of the 12 greatest festivals on earth' one for each month of the year putting it on a par with the Munich Beer Festival.