Fun things to do in Galway

Yes, it's true you really can meet 'Sourbugger' in the flesh leading walking tours around the city.

Of course my tour is somewhat different - beheadings murders, bubonic plague, famine and murder are the order of the day with 'Gore of Galway'.

Just pop-in to the tourist information office in Forster Street.

If you are a VT member please be sure to come along and introduce yourself.

We are all in the gutter...but some of us are looking at the stars.

So said Oscar Wilde who now sits as a bronze statue on a bench in shop street in Galway with his contemporary Edward Wilde from Estonia. The statue is an imagined meeting in the street, but they were not related and never met in real life. The statue was a present from the Country of Estonia when they entered the EU in 2004 - and the statue has proved to be a great hit in Galway.

Oscar Wilde himself did not have a major involement with Galway, but rather concentrated on his vices between writing.

He said his three addiction were :

Boys - for which he was eventually imprisoned by the British

Brandy - he was a rampant alcoholic all his life, from Champayne to meths.

Betting - like a good Irishman.

He also said that although born Irish he was condemned to speak the language of Shakespere - to which one wag replied that that was the longest sentence in the English language.

He also said ' Art is useless', but here he is in all in 19th Century glory.

The Saturday market offers a wonderful selection of natural foods and novel and traditional goods and gift ideas which are excellent value. It is no wonder that locals and visitors throng the market all day long every Saturday, rain, hail or shine.

Located in the laneway between Shop Street and Market Street, (past Easons on Shop Street), as you walk between the stalls every one of your senses will be arrested by the cornocopia of smells, tastes, sounds and vision and lively atmosphere created by the interaction betwen the stall holders and browsers alike.

Driving your car around Galway's inner city isn't just cumbersome. Above all, it would not allow you to breathe in the great atmosphere. The street musicians very much reminded me of my old alma mater Goettingen in Germany. Very distinctly Galwegian though, this Spanish-inspired building style as demonstrated by the townhouse in this picture.

The Claddagh is located on the eastern shore of the River Corrib, directly across from the Spanish Arch. Once the site of an old fishing village, the Claddagh of today is a small headland with nice views of the basins, the Spanish Arch and Galway Harbour.

If the weather is sunny and the Spanish Arch greens are overcrowded with people lying in the grass, try here for a nice spot.

From here, it is either possible to walk upstream along the River Corrib, or to follow the Galway Bay shoreline which will get you to the Salthill Promenade.

Also located at the Claddagh is the Siamsa Folk Theatre.

On Forster Street, there is a large tourist information office called the Discover Ireland Centre. It is only a few blocks from Eyre Square -- and it was very close to my hotel. The centre is open all year round, and there are tourist advisors who can provide helpful information about Galway and the rest of western Ireland.

When I visited, I spoke to an advisor about my tour options. After that discussion, I purchased a half-day bus tour of the Cliffs of Moher by Healy Tours for 20 Euros. I have written more about this tour in the Off The Beaten Path section.

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In the Galway city centre, there is a square public park. The plot was officially presented to the city in 1710 by Mayor Edward Eyre, from whom the park originally took its name. In 1965, the square was officially renamed "John F. Kennedy Memorial Park". There is a memorial to President John F. Kennedy on the spot where he addressed the people of Galway on 29 June 1963 shortly before his assassination in Dallas, Texas on 22 November 1963. Despite the official name change, the park is still mostly referred to as Eyre Square.

It is difficult to overestimate the importance of the visit to Galway by President Kennedy. In part, the significance is due to the strong connection between Ireland and the United States as a result of the large number of emigrants. As the first US President of Irish Catholic descent, President Kennedy was a great source of pride for the people of the Republic of Ireland.

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Starting in 1848, the city of Galway designed and built its first system of canals. The city built a second system in the 1950s. The purposes of the canals were to divert and control the water from the River Corrib, to harness its power for mills and electricity generation, and to provide a navigable shipping route to the sea. There are walkways around the canals -- and it is nice place to take a stroll.