What are the opening hours?

Monday 5pm - 6:15pm Tuesday 5pm - 6:15pm Wednesday 5pm - 6:15pm Thursday 5pm - 6:15pm Friday 5pm - 6:15pm Saturday 2pm - 3:15pm 4pm - 5:15pm

http://www.greatguidesofgalway.com/

Great guides of Galway, Galway (2025)

22/03/2025

H is for the Hall of the Red Earl

The excavation in Druid Lane are often cited as being the oldest excavated building in Galway...unfortunately I don't think that's true! The Aran Sweater shop at the bottom of Quay street is claiming the year 1230.

Whatever the truth, it's great that it's free entry for one and all, and the explanation boards are well presented. With an unearthing of over 11,000 it was certainly a treasure trove for the archaeologists.

The building, in effect, had the same purpose for around 800 years...the local, much loved, tax office. It's now the HQ of the civic trust.

It's surprisingly little known despite being in the heart of the Latin Quarter.

08/03/2025

G is for the 'G', not the drug but the hotel. The five-star hotel is located just outside the centre within easy each of the dog track and a branch of Lidl.

Whilst the neighbourhood might not live up the expectations of a visitor seeking the 'quaint' or 'chocolate-box' vision of Ireland the hotel oozes 'modern design' chic. This is mainly due to one of the co-owners Philip Treacy who was responsible for much of the interior look. As one of the world's milliners, I can't help wondering if the roof, nice though it is, could have been a far more extravagant affair - like his creations that turn up at royal weddings and the like.

27/02/2025

F is for food...

Galway has become something of a 'foodie' city over the past few years. The likes or 'Anair' and 'Kai' make the headlines and have that celebrity status, but I'm going to make a few of my own recommendations that are in the 'mid-range' of restaurants in the city. They are purely what I have enjoyed and I make no claims to having some kind of educated culinary palette. I also havn't included any places that I've not personally visited....so here goes...

Best 'fast-food' - 'Smash Bird' on Dominic street, runners up 'Supermacs' (I don't want to get Lynched for not mentioning them) and 'The Charcoal Grill'.

Best Pizza - 'Wooza' on Middle street, runner up 'The Dough Bros'

Best Cafe - 'The Secret Garden' on Sea Road, runners up 'Urban Grind' and 'The Lighthouse'

Best Vegan/vegetarian - 'Greens & co' on Henry Street, runner up 'Food for thought'

Best coffee - 'Magpie' opposite Charlie Byrnes in shopping centre off middle st/lower cross st, runners up Coffeewerk and 'The Lane Cafe'

Best ethnic food - sorry, nothing blew my mind in this category

Best fish and chips - 'Hooked' on Henry street, runner up 'McDonaghs' (which will get its own post and remains probably the best known restaurant in Galway)

Best fish restaurant - 'Oscars' on Dominik St, runner up 'Kirwans'.

Best 'standard' restaurant - 'Rouge' on Dominick street, runners up 'Ean' and 'Dela'.

I will be really interested to hear your thoughts in the comments...enjoy!

08/02/2025

E is for...who else but Eddie boy himself!

When Ed Sheeran used to busk the streets of Galway as a teenager he usually choose this spot on Shop street outside the the now sadly closed 'Treasure Chest' giftware shop.

'Galway girl', of course, became a massive worldwide hit, although in deference to the Steve Earle original it could nearly have been a whole other story. It's said he experimented with 'Dublin Girl, Limerick Girl (see ran off with someone else), Wexford Girl and just about any other Irish town you could think of...but only 'Galway' really scanned.

The last time he gave a concert here he sang the original version but it morphed into his version half-way through...and the crowd went wild.

22/01/2025

D is for Dead Man's Beach.
Located just along the coast at the end of Lakeshore drive we have the almost unknown expanse of Dead Man's beach. The legend goes that on a visit to Galway one Christopher Columbus decided to take a leisurely stroll one Sunday morning. On getting to this point he happened upon two bodies on the beach, one male and one female. It's also said that he noted that they were of 'Cathay' appearance. Although still used in the name of a certain Asian airline the term is seems somewhat antiquated now in reference to people from that part of the world. He went onto reckon that they could not have floated all the way from what we now call China, given the distance and the ocean currents.

If that was true then they must have come in from the West, therefore there must be a way to China by going the 'wrong way'! Great logic, but it does seem something of a tall tale, even for Galway! Whether his gruesome discovery ever actually happened or whether it engendered any confidence for his later explorations...we shall never know.

18/01/2025

C is for Charlie Byrnes. This wonderful bookshop as been a feature of Galway for around 40 years. I think the current location on middle street is it's fourth re-generation having begun as a market stall in the west end.

The 100,000 plus books are a mixture on new and second-hand on pretty much any topic you can think of. The feature of the books lining the 'mall' is so instagram-worthy it may appear set-up, but far from it!

I especially like those random times in the year when buying in secondhand books just gets a little out of control and one of their famous sales events is on the cards. Its usually five books (only the outside ones) for five euro (that's total not each). If you combine choosing them whilst sipping on a coffee form Magpies (just opposite in the shopping centre) then you must be onto a winner.

BTW, equally enticing for book fans is 'Bell, book and candle' back in the west end. That place deserves its own post later in the series.

08/01/2025

And onto 'B'. B is for 'Bam' (or Brian if you prefer). You will often find him performing on shop street (his instagram is: https://www.instagram.com/bam_artiste/?hl=en, although for the picture i've gone with a piece of street art he completed opposite Sally Long's pub. If I understand it correctly it is a kind of 'art therapy piece' whereby he is exploring what is going on in his own mind as regards a complex relationship he had in the past. Whatever way you interpret the piece the essential Picasso-like blueness seems to really shine through for me.

01/01/2025

Happy new year to all. I've got back onto facebook again and I'm delighted to start a new series of posts that I'm calling the 'A-Z of Galway. We will begin with this little picture of Allcock (stop sniggering at the back) and Brown. These were the first men ever to fly across the atlantic. Perhaps more celebrated in Clifden they had an almighty party in what is now the Hardiman hotel in Galway in 1919 after completing their amazing feat of derring-do. You can still find their picture in the dining room of the hotel - looking somewhat worse for wear at the breakfast table the next year. have a great year everyone. Best wishes. The Great Guides of Galway.

23/05/2024

So here's a good one...cows, sheep or people...which are the most numerous?

Well the numbers are in, and the results are...

In third place it's people at 276,451 as of the 2022 census,

In runner-up position it's our cattle heard at 435,343 (according to the Irish cattle breeding federation in 2021)

but the winners are the sheep at 442,851, with an average flock size of 107 according to the 2022 National Sheep and Goat census. I presume it is quite difficult to get an exact number as so often the officials fall asleep half-way through the count. Some of them will we our very own breed...the Galway sheep.

As we are in election season, I suggest that the cows should demand a re-count!

03/05/2024

This may be a bit left field, but Galway has its place in Cricket History. Colonel Kumar Sri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, (1872-1933), or simply ”Ranji” was an Indian cricketer who became ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar.
Ranjitsinhji was an unorthodox batsman whose fast reactions and individual style were to revolutionise the game. He is particularly associated the leg glance, (I appreciate I have now lost 98% of Irish and American readers) which he certainly popularised and probably invented.
He has been called the "Father of Indian Cricket" and the annual first-class championship of India, is still called the Ranji Trophy. He may have never played on Eyre Sq, but he did go on to own Ballynahinch castle in Connemara (now a top hotel) He arrived every summer, around June. In Galway, before heading to Ballynahinch in his own private rail carriage, he would buy five motorcars - two limousines and three smaller cars - that, when leaving again for India in October, he would give away as gifts!

14/04/2024

At last! I managed to recover my account, so I'll be back with a post a week, probably each Sunday. First world problems eh?
Todays post is taken at the exact corner where Ed Sheeran used to busk from before he was famous. With the family visiting the Grandparents in Mayo each year he came here to ply his skills.
I heard an interview recently when he claimed (being modest I presume) that he earnt about 2 euros one day and nothing on another....don't believe a word of it!
More about Ed another day, for now I will leave you with Ed's corner outside the now departed 'Treasure Chest' chest. Sad to see another of Galway fixture bite the dust.

17/02/2024

I visited the Museum of Justice recently in Nottingham in the UK. I can certainly recommend it if you happen to 'be in the area' as they say.
The museum inhabits the old Nottingham jail and also features a rather impressive courtroom that was in use until more modern times. They hold a somewhat farcical 'fake trial' that is certainly enjoyable and is based on real events. With audience participation (I was a drunken police officer for a few moments) the ham acting knew no bounds.
It was interesting to see two men mentioned with links to Galway. It's William Joyce however who we can claim as one of our own...unfortunately.

Although born in the United States the family ended up in Galway where he attended 'the Jez'. It's said that in a playground fight there his nose was broken, so he always spoke with a nasal whine in later years. The scar came from an incident where someone wasn't too impressed with his support of Hi**er in the Pre-year wars.

Fleeing to Germany as war broke out, he became a leading propogandist in the second World War. His signature catchphrase was 'Germany calling, Germany calling'.
After the war he was tried and hanged in London Wandsworth jail.
Many years later his body was returned to his sister and re-buried in Galway.

As for Oscar...well we do have that lovely piece on Shop Street.

I

10/02/2024

A new mural has appeared in Galway recently. If your arriving at the coach station on Fairgreen road then take a very small diversion, up the slight hill to view it. You can then easily turn right to the rail station and onto Eyre Sq.
It features the iconic view of the 'Long walk', but also the Salthill diving boards and for some reason a man in a red safety helmet fishing a pint of Guinness out of the canal. The symbolism is lost on me...but if anyone can enlighten us?

04/02/2024

Thought I would give sport a try this week. The Six Nations annual tournament kicked off on Friday and provided an emphatic win over les bleus.
The man of the match, for my money at least, was our own Bundee Aki. Although a Kiwi by birth he has naturalised here and seems now firmly rooted in Oranmore, just down the road from Rugby Sportsground on College Road in Galway.

You need a few calories to keep going as (arguably) the world's finest rugby player. I don't know if Bundee is partial to a burger or not, but if you want to try one for yourself 'Supermacs' promoted one during the world cup...i'm sure it will return in time and some local pubs (e.g the Dail) bar does an especially good one! Try one

BTW some people are still trying to figure out if his name should be pronounced ' Ah-key' or 'Ack -ee' , any thoughts?

27/01/2024

Who let the dogs out? Galway may be well known for it commitment to public art...but not this piece. Located in the housing estates of Doughiska, I doubt any tourist to our city has ever seen it unless they happen to have booked a really cheap air bnb...but that's just my speculation.

As almost all of the new houses here were completed in the last 20 years or so it is somewhat surprising that no record (at least via my google search) of the artworks provenance seems to exist. Is it a planned piece by the developer who has now gone bust along with their records? Is it a piece of 'guerrilla art'? Is it the product an eccentric unknown artist pining for a certain canine?

The sculpture certainly is technically proficient, but why the avatar-like blueness and why are the six blue dogs all in a straight line?

If you do seek it out I can thoroughly recommend pondering over your findings at the 'Neighbourhood cafe' a short distance away just past the the architectural gem of Doughiska...the local Lidl.

23/01/2024

My post this week is a little delayed due to storm Isha. I'm convinced that the Irish Met office come up with names just to confuse foreign news journalists. I hope we don't have too many more...we havn't got a Q,Y or Z ready.

A couple of years back the UK went with 'Betty' (it was a public vote
thing)...you have to love that sense of humour...Betty doen't sound aggressive at all. Its the name of a kindly old aunt whose main interests in life are goosberry jam and watching 'Countdown'.

In the current storm we lost the clocktower off the highpoint of Garvey's pub. Nowadays the pub has new owners and is called 'thirteen'. It doesn't alter the fact it will always be Garvey's to me and a certain John Wayne is said to have sunk a few pints there.

13/01/2024

Today's post refers to one of the great characters of our city, Dick (or Richard I suppose) Martin.
As the local MP he had no problem rigging election although his luck did eventually run out spending his last days as a bankrupt in France. Imagine the shame.

In his lifetime he acquired not one but two nicknames. As 'hair-trigger' dick it is said he fought over 1,000 duels and won every one.

He might not have cared much for his fellow human beings, but he certainly loved animals. As one of the founders of the RSPCA (Royal Society for the protection of cruelty to animals) he is better remembered as 'Humanity dick'. The animal charity celebrated its 200th birthday just last week.

His home is now to a pub in the Latin Quarter...you can find it yourselves!

06/01/2024

The weather outside is frightful...but not as bad as Storm Desmond back in 2015. The wonderful Teresa Mannion delivered a warning from Salthill prom warning us not to go out. The impassioned 30-second report went very viral indeed. It's amazing how it still terms up in comedy programmes or as an insert on a social media thing.

Perhaps fewer people have seen the nice little mural that has been completed to highlight this lovely little footnote in our history.

You can find it at the junction of Whitestrand Road and Father Griffin road.....do go out and find it!

Great guides of Galway

22/03/2025

08/03/2025

27/02/2025

08/02/2025

22/01/2025

18/01/2025

08/01/2025

01/01/2025

23/05/2024

03/05/2024

14/04/2024

17/02/2024

10/02/2024

04/02/2024

27/01/2024

23/01/2024

13/01/2024

06/01/2024

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Monday	5pm - 6:15pm
Tuesday	5pm - 6:15pm
Wednesday	5pm - 6:15pm
Thursday	5pm - 6:15pm
Friday	5pm - 6:15pm
Saturday	2pm - 3:15pm
	4pm - 5:15pm