Music, dancing and beer, Galway

I visited a few pubs in Dublin and a good time was had by all. I went to the Skeff, Tis Coili, The Quays, and Bunch of grapes. They had a good session going on at the Skeff. We also had some great pub food at the Quay Bar.

If your in Galway your choices are plentiful for pubs and you should take advantage.

The Skeff was my favorite and I included the website and phone # below.

The best thing you can do in Galway is spend a night or two or twelve relaxing in one of the many different pubs available. There's nothing quite like laughing the night away with your friends over a pint of Guinness, or leaning in to hear the stories and opinions of the always talkative locals. The best way to get to know the locals is to go into the pubs. Everyone is interested in your story and in telling their own.
My best suggestion is to go to as many different pubs as possible. It's easy to find one place you like and go back to it again and again, but each place has it's own atmosphere and ambiance, and every place is worth a visit. Try something new as often as possible, and I can guarantee you won't be disappointed.
My personal recommendations are:
The Kings Head Pub and Taffes (both on shop street) are the best place to go to meet other fellow travelers, especially within the college-aged crowd. Lively and loud, they're a fun place to go for a lot of laughs and good times.
If you're looking for something a little quieter, go towards the spanish arches, cross the river, take an immediate right for a block. On the opposite corner you'll see Monroe's. Music every night, an traditional dancing every tuesday night, Monroe's is a great place to go when you're looking for something a little more popular with locals as well as tourists. If you go next door, you can order pizza that will be delivered right to your table in monroe's. We took advantage of that many a night. Continuing down Dominik street, you'll see the Rosin Dubh, (it's alright, you can just call it "the black rose." If you're looking for the local rock music scene, this is the place to go. Check out their schedule, many nights they'll have bands in the back playing for free. Even when there isn't music playing, the place is a great place to relax and talk with friends. The dark, wooden interiors give the place a pretty awesome ambiance that's great for a quiet night out with friends. Further down dominik street, you'll run into the Crane. If you're looking for a local favorite, this is it. we saw very few tourists there, but did not feel out of place being tourists ourselves. If you're really looking to get to know the locals, this is the best place to do it. Look out for spontaneous music sessions.
These are just a handful of my favorites, but as I said, don't limit yourself. Each place is totally different. In the same way, don't stick to one drink either. There are a variety of different beers to try, don't limit yourself to only drinking Guinness each and every night. A personal favorite for a light, refreshing beer is Carlsberg, and of course, you HAVE to try the locally made Galway Hooker.

Best places we saw traditional irish music in Galway was in The Crane Bar,
Tigh Coili, and The Western Hotel. The Thursday night session at The Western Hotel
is a must, a real fun jam with 10 or 12 musicians when we went.

basically if the day is any way sunny in galway and the students don't have exams then the thing to do is to head down to the spanish arch with a few bruskies and drink up, make sure you watch out for the gardai though they don't give you too much trouble. there's usually juggling, football, skate boarding, music or something to watch down there.

One of my favorite activities was to just absorb the city. On Quay and School Streets there are lots of street performers and from time to time street preachers.

I found the locals in Galway to be friendly, but it was easier to take up a conversation in Dublin. I enjoyed going into Galway and it's worth a visit.

2 more images

There are many wonderful pubs where you can hear traditional music.