Galway City
29 September 2018
Going between Cnoc Suain and our farm stay in County Clare, we are going to pass right through Galway city and so decided to spend most of the day there. Much of this trip was spent in sparsely populated areas – little villages, rural countryside, small towns... I believe Westport was the biggest town we’ve stopped at so far with its 5,000 or so people. Galway is a populous city though, the sixth largest in the country. Sure, that isn’t saying much by Irish standards, but at 79,000 people it stands well above the other places we’ve visited. We were in the city the other night technically, though just on the edge in Salthill. Today we will actually go downtown to the heart of Galway!
The streets quickly grew crowded as we approached the city center. Galway is a busy city with a large population of college students and significant tourist traffic as well. So much time spent on the open roads of County Mayo and Connemara made the city felt even more cluttered. We eventually found a spot to park in a garage, and set off by the Spanish Arch to explore the city on foot.
Quay St is the start of the main walking street through Galway packed full of shops and pubs. If you want to find a spot to go in this city, find your way to Quay St. Quay Street becomes High Street, which becomes Shop Street, which eventually becomes William Street. It happens over a fairly short distance, and it gets confusing. But regardless of which section you are on, this is where things are happening. There were crowds walking up and down the street, buskers on guitar serenading them on their way, and even fishmongers on the sides shucking oysters to order, so you can grab a snack as you go. Lots of lively activity happening there!
Our first stop on Shop Street was a famous, long-running gourmet food shop called McCambridge’s. Since the 1920s, McCambridge’s of Galway has been a foodie staple, selling gourmet local products, fine wines and spirits, and a large selection of fresh ingredients and shop-prepared foods. There was a wall of Irish whiskey you could sample, tons of Irish cheeses and meats, and the deli case in the middle of the shop had us wishing we were hungry, it looked amazing! It’s too bad that we won’t have a kitchen for the remainder of this trip as I would have loved to play with a few of these specialty ingredients. Unfortunately, it was all just browsing for today. This place is definitely a food lover’s destination, and a great stop if you are in town!
A little further up the road (on William Street now) was a nice old-time pub called Garavan’s Bar. The Garavan family has owned a pub here since 1937, but the building itself dates back to the 1600’s as part of Galway’s original fortifications! There is a lot of history in those walls, and you could almost feel that history coming through in the pub’s atmosphere. The room was cozy and dim, full of dark wood, but the patrons were lively. The menu is a drinking frog saying either “Oh, The Stories We Will Tell” or “Come have a drink with me!” This is great place to hang out for sure!
Garavan’s is known for two things especially – their Irish Coffee and their whiskey flights they call “platters” - and we were going to go for both! We started with the coffee, and I must say this is the best example of Irish Coffee I’ve had yet. Just perfect! Next, we shared the “Distiller’s Tasting Platter”, consisting of three whiskies – Green Spot Pot Still (don’t ask me to say this aloud because I can’t), Teeling Small Batch, and Greenmore 8 Year Single Grain (which is now branded as Kilbeggan Single Grain I’ve been told). Along with the tasting platter came an envelope with detailed tasting notes for each of the three samples, but the bartender offered a good bit of knowledge as well. The whole experience was very well presented! We actually liked the Greenmore/Kilbeggan the best, we’re going to have to keep an eye out for a bottle!
We left Quay/Shop/William St behind for a bit as we tucked through some side roads heading toward the Galway Cathedral. The giant building stood huge in front of us as we approached. We paid our donation and went inside...
Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed Into Heaven and Saint Nicholas is the official name of the building, but nobody is actually going to say all that, so it is usually called Galway Cathedral. It was constructed between 1958 and 1965, making it a fairly new cathedral for European standards. Apparently, it was built when the old cathedral burnt down, and the current building sits on the site of an old prison. So, a lot of sketchy vibes to begin with. It is an impressive building for sure, mostly due to its size and prominence in the city, and the sound inside just makes you want to play some music. The dome is a nice Rennaissance style, the stone walls are impressive, and the stained glass is pretty.... and wow what an organ! However, while it can certainly be beautiful, it also just feels kinda... plain. Maybe it’s an unfair comparison to the majestic cathedrals on the continent, and surely for North American tourists who make Ireland their first overseas trip it is a big change from what they are used to seeing, but we couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. Maybe it’s unfair to compare it to the likes of St. Stephansdom or Salzburg Cathedral, but still... The opinion among people from Galway (who are called Galwegians apparently) is pretty much split... some think it is beautiful, others think it a hideous monstrosity. Apparently, many don’t like it because of supposed shady financial dealings that funded its construction. More sketchy vibes. I know this is something we don’t say on this site very often, but this is one stop you can probably miss unless you really have a reason to go.
We meandered back to Quay St, passing by a nice outdoor farm market and more street musicians, and found our way to Cupán Tae for a spot of afternoon high tea!
Sure we may have had some tea one afternoon, but we’ve never done an actual Afternoon Tea before. Definitely one of the strong British influences on Ireland, Afternoon Tea is so much more than a mug with a teabag, it is an event almost to the point of ritual, and it is taken very seriously. We selected our tea (which was phenomenal!), and were served a three-tier stand of their finest china full of little sandwiches and desserts. Decadent and posh is definitely not our usual cup of tea (hardy-har), but it was something we wanted to try and we were very happy we did. Everything was just amazing, and I can’t emphasize just how exquisite the tea was... every once in a while, it’s fine to fancy up and indulge in a bit of posh luxury. What a stylish way to end our day in Galway!
