Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [341]
Quays ( 091-568 347; Quay St) Enormous tavern with endless timber-panelled rooms and passageways, and great vantage points from which to watch live music (ranging from traditional to pop) most nights. Good sidewalk tables.
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ENTERTAINMENT
Most pubs in Galway have live music at least a couple of nights a week. Thursday’s edition of the free Galway Advertiser (www.galwayadvertiser.ie) lists what’s on in the city. A new film centre is set to open near the Galway City Museum later in 2010.
Nightclubs
Clubs generally get cranking around 11pm and wind down around 2am. Admission prices vary according to the nightly program.
Central Park ( 091-565 976; www.centralparkclub.com; 36 Upper Abbeygate St; 11pm-2am) With seven bars and a capacity of 1000 people, CPs is a Galway clubbing institution.
GPO ( 091-563 073; www.gpo.ie; 21 Eglinton St; admission €6-10) On Wednesday, GPO cranks out ’80s and ’90s tunes; the rest of the week, it’s house, R&B, indie and hip hop. It’s a favourite with students, who get free admission most nights.
Theatre
Druid Theatre ( 091-568 617; www.druidtheatre.com; Chapel Lane) This long-established theatre is famed for showing experimental works by young Irish playwrights, as well as new adaptations of classics. Its home is an old tea warehouse, which was renovated in 2009.
Town Hall Theatre ( 091-569 777; www.tht.ie; Courthouse Sq) The Town Hall Theatre features Broadway and West End shows, and visiting singers.
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CLADDAGH RINGS
The fishing village of Claddagh once had its own king as well as its own customs and traditions. Now subsumed into the Galway city centre, virtually all remnants of the original village are gone, but Claddagh rings survive as both a timeless reminder and a timeless source of profits.
Popular with people of real or imagined Irish descent everywhere, the rings depict a heart (symbolising love) between two outstretched hands (friendship), topped by a crown (loyalty). Rings are handcrafted at jewellers around Galway, and start from about €20 for a silver band to well over €1000 for a diamond-set blinged-up version worthy of Tony O’Soprano.
Jewellers include Ireland’s oldest jewellery shop, Thomas Dillon’s Claddagh Gold ( 091-566 365; www.claddaghring.ie; 1 Quay St), which was established in 1750. It has some vintage examples in its small back-room ‘museum’.
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SHOPPING
Galway has an array of speciality shops dotting its narrow streets, stocking cutting-edge fashion, Irish woollens (including Aran sweaters), outdoor clothing and equipment, local jewellery, art and, of course, music. Galway’s market Click here is not just about artisan foods. Artists of all sorts plus buskers, bakers and all-around schlock pedlars make it a festive event. At times stalls appear here on days other than Saturday.
P Powell & Sons ( 091-562 295; powellsmusicshop@eircom.net; William St) You can pick up tin whistles, bodhráns and other instruments here, as well as sheet music. Backpackers note: they stock bongos.
Kiernan Molony Musical Instruments ( 091-566 488; Old Malt Centre, High St) Fiddles abound at this dealer in fine instruments. If your harp has come unglued, they’ll fix it.
Besides the good street shopping, shopping centres include the Eyre Square Centre, with a large Dunne’s supermarket, and Corrib Shopping Centre, a flashy modern place with huge department stores.
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GETTING THERE & AWAY
Air
Service at Galway airport (GWY; 800 491 492; www.galwayairport.com; Carnmore) is limited to Aer Arran (www.aerarran.com), which serves London Luton, Edinburgh and Manchester.
The closest major airport is Shannon Airport (SNN; 061-712 000; www.shannonairport.com), served by domestic and international carriers including Ryanair. Ireland West Airport (NOC; 094-67222; www.irelandwestairport.com), in Knock, is also within easy reach of Galway.
Bus
Bus Éireann (www.buseireann.ie) has services to all major cities in the Republic and the North from