Galway

I lived in Galway city for about a year! Definitely the best waste of time of my life… I wouldnt trade the experience for anything!! I went to NUIG for a semester which was pretty interesting going to college with all Irish folk but soon all of my friends were Irish and I was even beginning to question going home at all. I stayed on for several months waitressing and promoting a club… a real experience! The weather is shit but you learn to live with it. Nothing that a drink in a pub or a dance in a club cant fix… Let’s see…

Galway is a very different place depending on when you visit. During the summer months (June-Sept) it is basically filled with tourists and ppl just walking about taking pictures and filling the “old man pubs” to capacity. Ugh! That is with the exception of the Galway Races (last week of July) when the entire population of Ireland crowds into this city and makes it into a madhouse. But pretty fun if you can find a place to stay… During the months when college is in session Galway is a great place to be if you are young. The average age in town is something like 23 and college students basically own the city. The clubs are vibrant and fun and give loads of discounts on covercharge if you get stamped in the street. The pubs are great for a pint and good conversation and of course the best part is hearing a good music session. These can be found in Tig Coilis, Taaffes, The Crane Bar, and several other little pubs found about town. Galway has a great alternative scene with tons of Spanish hippies and such and awesome live music all the time at the Roisin Dubh!! Highly recommended!

Staying in Galway is easy. Preferably toward the centre of the town near Shop Street and the like. Eating is decent. If you like pub grub then the Front Door (Sunnys) on shop street is good or the Quays, or for fish and chips MacDunnas comes highly recommended. For “drunk food” one must try the Charcoal Grill. Every student at NUIG or GMIT will tell you where this is. There is also a good chipper across from the Roisin Dubh across the bridge from shop street.

For things to see in Galway: NUIG quad; the spanish arch (bring a beer and sit there for a couple hours on a nice day to people watch); the pubs and clubs; Salt Hill; the Cathedral; take a walk along the prom; go to the aran islands and connemara from Galway… and most importantly just relax while you are here. It is a city with great people and an amazing atmosphere! Sit down and have a pint with the locals or join in a song or a dance. I may be biased but I think this is the one place you cannot miss when you visit Ireland!

i live ere n its lyk da best place eva whooo!
the bus is city link whoo x

It’s the first city i’ve seen in Ireland.
I loved it from the first time.
I like the people and the places.
The only thing i hated is the traffic.
It takes one hour to reach the city center, if you are driving!
Terrible!

I studied abroad here for a semester last year, and before that I had never left the United States so I was expecting a huge culture shock. While it did take me awhile to completely get used to every cultural difference, I found that overall it really only took me about a month to begin calling my place in Galway ‘home.’ Galway is just a wonderful city. The people are friendly and the city is beautiful (and I am surprised to hear that there was a lot of litter in the water more recently, only the river was dirty when I was there, and it certainly wasn’t littered with trash). I miss the city, the university, the bay, and most of all, the people. My Irish (and the occasional American transplant) friends are the best; they were always down for a good time, whether that meant going to the pubs or making massive dinners together in tiny kitchens in university housing.

The water surrounding the town was littered with trash and debris. It was an eyesore and not reassuring that my hostel said you needed to boil the water there before drinking.

Some of the nicest people I’ve ever met live in this city… very hospitable!

I went here as part of a summer study program with my college. I was studying British and Irish dramatic literature. Galway is absolutly amazing. it is beautiful and the people who live there are so nice. One night a group of us went in to town to one of the pubs and the locals were so nice. We ended up sitting down with a couple of local guys and they practically told up their life stories.
One of the first things my friend and I did while we were in Galway was stop by these clifs. The water smelled so good, it was a bit windy but so refreshing. It was right off the road and there was these stone chess sets. We sat down for hours and played chess on top of a cliff listening to the ocean. We were frozen by the time we got back to our rooms, but it was so worth it.
I was only there for a week but I have so many stories of what I did. Everything ther was so wonderful and beautiful it was so sureal.

All my life I’ve disliked dark beer’s of any kind. After being on a fishing trip to Lake Marsk in the spring of 1996 I happened to taste a genuine GUINNESS for the fist time, and WHEEEEY - I was SOLD. From now on I happily enjoy a pint of Guinness to a good meal or among a few friends. As this spring was extraordinary warm with temp’s reaching 25C which was a heat record at the time, the pike fishing in Lough Marsk was crap. But what the heck – as long as the sun shined and the beer was cold and came from Guinness, life wasn’t too bad. Denmark had a disasterous summer that year, but we had our share of sun at Lough Mask, Ireland.

That strange scent in the air is burning peet moss. Good ‘craic’ (sounds like crack) means a good time not good drugs.

St. Patrick’s Day has a great parade I attended. Make sure you drink the hard cider or ‘snake bite’ (cider with currant juice), and a Guiness.

The port was worth a glance, especially since it led me to the attractive and free city museum. There, you can find a collection of fairly good local art housed in a very modern structure: all glass, polished wood, matte white walls, and atrium lighting.