Matt and Mum Do Ireland, Part 6

PART SIX: Who's Your Paddy?

2016-03-15 to 2016-03-18

Overlooking Pollacapall Lough at Kylemore Abbey.

I hope you're ready, liver. This is what we've been training for: St. Patrick's Day in Galway! No, let's be serious - I'm too old to be drinking like we all did in our early 20s. A couple of snifters and generally enjoying the festivities is much more up my alley these days!

On Tuesday 15th March, we said goodbye to the charming and pleasant town of Athlone to head west for Galway. But not before our weekly ritual of a hearty Full Irish Breakfast, and Murphy's Law pub certainly know how to make one of those! If you read my previous post, you will have heard about the Breakfast Challenge offered there. Well, take a gander at the photo below - this is the normal Full Irish. The Challenge is basically 2 of everything you see here, except 4 of each of the puddings AND a bowl of fries. I'm sorry, Murphy's, but I'm just not up to the challenge!

Murphy's Law know how to dish up the calories!

We planned a route to the south to visit the town of Clonfert, home to the Cathedral of St. Brendan. Standing since the 12th century, this cathedral was built on the site of an earlier 6th century church that St. Brendan founded. He was buried just outside the front door (though I think the headstone may have been replaced at least once since 578AD...!). The arch over the doorway is intricately carved out of sandstone; a sign at the base requests that you don't touch it and that the church should be entered from a side door so as to not damage the extremely delicate 800-year-old work.

St. Brendan's Cathedral, Clonfert.

St. Brendan's resting place.

From Clonfert, we proceeded to the town of Athenry, 25km east of Galway. There's not a lot to see here; they have a castle and some original city walls. Unfortunately, the castle only opens in May, so we could only gawk at it through the gate. Externally, it's not so interesting, compared to some of the other castles we have seen, but it was built around 1250AD, so it's obviously of sturdy construction. We went for a general wander around the town which, given its size, was oddly bustling. But there really wasn't much else to see. We stopped in at Dan's Bar and had a coffee before heading back out onto the road.

We arrived in Galway a little before 3pm and eventually found our hostel - the streets wind around a little bit and our GPS got a bit confused for a while. Dropping our bags in our room at Sleepzone in the north end of Galway, we rested for a while before walking into the town.

Our room at Sleepzone Hostel, Galway.

We inquired at Aran Island Ferries about taking a trip across to the Aran Islands the following day. Unfortunately, the ferry, which costs €25 per person, only caters for passengers; no cars. So, in order to actually see a decent amount of the main island (Inishmore) within a single day, you have to join a bus tour for a further €10. We discussed and agreed that we prefer to take things slower and enjoy the sites rather than hopping on and off a bus at a predetermined pace.

Continuing down into the cobbled streets of the pedestrian shopping district, we explored around what is clearly the heart of Galway - especially when it's sunny outside. To the east side stands the Spanish Arch, constructed in the late 1500s; not a mind-blowing structure, but worth appreciating. We made our way back up the mall, stopping at Thomas Dillon's, the original makers of the Claddagh Ring: mum wanted to get one for herself. On the way back to the hostel, we stopped for a light dinner at The Cellar Bar on Eglinton St. I tackled their Hellman's All Ireland award-winning Cajun Chicken Ciabatta. The first couple of bites were a bit bland, but once I got further back, all the flavours mixed and it became a very tasty sandwich!

Quay St, Galway.

Hellman's All Ireland award-winning Cajun Chicken Ciabatta at The Cellar Bar.

We began Wednesday 16th with a light breakfast, provided by our hostel. While not to the same level as Rowan Tree in Ennis, anything free is always good. At Sleepzone Galway, it's just toast and jam with tea and coffee. Our car was parked a short distance away in the carpark on Dyke Street - this quite convenient if you have a car and opt to stay in this area. All day parking from 08:30 - 18:30 for €4, which is far better than feeding the on-street pay-and-display machines every few hours. After breakfast, we set off for the day to the west of Galway county.

Having aborted our plans to visit the Aran Islands, we planned a driving loop out into Connemara region. Apart from miles and miles of beautiful natural scenery, the main attraction out this way is Kylemore Abbey. Our drive took us along the southern coast of the Galway peninsula, though it wasn't actually a coastal road with views. Turning inland and arriving at Costelloe, we continued north until we met the N59 at Maam Cross. We followed this west to Clifden, stopping a couple of times to admire the views across the many lakes and rivers in the area.

One of many gushing rivers in Connemara.

Seems like a good place to get away from the world.

Passing through Clifden and Letterfrack, we arrived at Kylemore Abbey shortly after 11am. The entry fee to see the Abbey and Victorian Walled Garden is €13. Inside the Abbey, a short video explaining the history of the site is played every half-hour. Originally built as a mansion for the wealthy Mitchell Henry and his wife, it passed through various hands later in the late 1800s. While Henry was in residence, the tragic passing of his wife inspired him to build a Gothic-style church in her memory, as well as interring her body in a purpose-built mausoleum. By 1920, it was sold onto the Benedictine nuns who began using it as their Abbey, and hence the current name.

Kylemore Abbey.

A re-creation of what life in the Abbey would have been like during the Henry's time there.

The Henry Mausoleum.

Kylemore Abbey's Gothic Church.

Gothic Church's elaborate stained glass window.

From the Visitor Centre, it's a 1.6km (1 mile) walk to the Victorian Walled Garden. There is also a shuttle bus to get there, but it's not a hard walk, and there's some nice scenery along the way. Originally containing 21 greenhouses and providing all the fruit and vegetables for the Henry family, as well as a pleasant place to stroll, the Garden is expertly manicured and maintained. Unfortunately, the original greenhouses no long stand, but their foundations are still there. As with various other estate gardens that we have visited on our journey, this one is quite effective at relaxing your senses to a state of removal from the rest of the world (though it's a little harder to do that when there are many other tourists around you trying to do the same!).

Along the walk to the Victorian Walled Garden.

Victorian Walled Garden of Kylemore Abbey.

After finishing our tour of the Abbey and Garden, we continued along the road to the small village of Leenaun, sitting at the edge of Killary Harbour, Ireland's only fjord. We stopped here for lunch, hoping for a nice country pub meal. Unfortunately, most things were closed due to the winter downturn in traffic. Gaynor's Bar was able to offer us what turned out to be a very substantial soup and toasted sandwich. A little overpriced at €7.90 each, but definitely filled the gap. At Leenaun, the N59 meets the R336 (the coastal road we took that morning) and it crosses back down to Maam Cross. We followed this route all the way back to Galway, arriving at 4pm.

The view over Killary Harbour from Leenaun.

After a short rest, we wandered into the Shop St and Quay St; mum needed to get a St. Patrick's Day t-shirt to celebrate the following day! Achieving that, we stopped in at Taaffe's Bar where traditional Irish music is played at 17:30 and 21:30 every day. We enjoyed a few pints while mentally dancing all over the bar to the sounds of accordion, Irish flute and banjo before calling it a night.

The music was much more cheerful than the accordionist looks here!

Warming up for St. Paddy's day with a pint of the good stuff!

And so, the main event arrived on a sunny Thursday morning, March 17th. We took our time getting going; the parade through Galway got underway from 11:30am, proceeding through town and stopping just near our hostel. We walked out to Eyre Square around 11am and found a spot to stand just north of the Square itself. As the crowds continued to amass, it became clear that pageants and parades are about the same all over the world - people just shove and elbow and push themselves into the best position they can with little care for those around them! I have no problem with little kids going to the front, but when grown adults think it's okay to arrive late and park themselves in front of others, it grinds my gears. But hey, I guess that's where being 6'3" helps me: I can just look over all of them! The parade itself was a little lacking in atmosphere. Lots of different groups from local Galway businesses, sporting teams and hobby clubs proceeded past, some singing songs or performing various acts. The crowd of thousands watched on, but mostly in mumbled silence. It was good overall, but just felt a bit lacklustre.

The Town Crier announcing the start of the parade.

A little pipe music to rev things up.

Spongebob was there... for some reason!

Everyone loves a creepy rabbit on stilts.

After the parade, we wandered down towards Shop St, and so did several thousand other people. It became very obvious very quickly that it was going to be hard to find a place to sit and eat or get a drink. We checked a few souvenir shops for festive hats; at one of them we noticed there was a cafe/restaurant called 56 Central upstairs. They had a special of Beef & Guinness Stew on for the day, which made for the perfect lunch choice on St. Paddy's Day. So we proceeded up the stairs and found a line of people waiting for a table. But, to our luck, the waitress advised that "table for two" was the lucky number - the line was full of larger groups waiting for a big table. And so we got to proceed straight in to a seat. The stew was delicious and rich, served with a nice helping of mashed potato (as are most dishes in Ireland!). Deciding to splurge a bit in honour of St. Paddy's, we partook in some dessert, too, opting for the Paleo Chocolate & Coconut Tart and the Salted Caramel Tart. The winner, for me, was the former. The Salted Caramel was nice, but not very salty and a little dry and hard to cut.

The crowds on Shop St after the parade.

Beef & Guinness Stew for lunch at 56 Central.

Some decadent desserts to top it off.

Stomachs full, we continued down toward the Spanish Arch where lots of people had gathered and staked out a spot on the ground. It looked like there was some stuff happening on the other side of the bridge, so we continued across there, but immediately realised that we seemed to have crossed into Galway's version of Jersey Shore, given the way the teens over there were dressed and made-up! Circling around the area, we crossed back over the river and returned to Quay St. Checking out Taaffe's Bar, it was clearly going to be too hard to get a drink there, so we went further up and tried Garavan's. Slightly more standing room there, and before long we managed to snag a seat in the corner. The band started up - they played a very Country & Western style which was unfortunate, but they were very good at what they did. We sat and listened for about 2 hours, enjoying some drinks before moving along.

Sláinte! That means "cheers" in Gaelic.

A bit of bluegrass entertainment on St. Paddy's Day.

We dropped in at Skeffington Arms Hotel on Eyre Square, immediately realising it was mostly a uni student age-group. We stayed for a while before deciding to go back to the hostel to rest for a bit. We ventured out again around 8pm; the streets were a different place. Rubbish strewn all over the footpaths and most of the clientele still out were early-20-somethings. The major pubs were still packed and going strong. We managed to get one last drink at The King's Head before deciding that was enough. We'd got a good taste of a real St. Patrick's Day in Ireland; it was pretty much as I'd always expected it to be!

A few sore heads would have been had on March 18th.

Our last day in Galway, we just hung around in the city and went for a walk through town. Emerging from the hostel at 10am, Galway was indeed still a little sleepy. Some of the dedicated were out jogging and walking their dogs down by the bay, but generally, an air of hangover had descended upon the city. We walked across to Nun's Island and had a look at the Galway Cathedral; quite an impressive structure, but was only built in the 1950s, albeit to an older style. We continued across and down to The Claddagh, circling around South Park and almost all the way to Salthill. It's a very pleasant walk, provided the weather is good. We were lucky enough to get a perfectly clear and sunny day.

Galway Cathedral on Nun's Island.

Contemplating life.

Returning to Quay St about 12pm, we stopped in at McDonaugh's to sample some of their reputedly famous Cod & Chips. I noted to mum that I'm unsure how you can be famous for fried fish and chips - if you're doing such a simple dish it poorly, surely you won't be in business for long! In any case, their fame is well deserved, as the fish was deliciously soft and light with a nice crispy batter, though it did fall apart easily which made it troublesome to eat, but didn't detract from the flavour. The chips were thick-cut and not overcooked. So I guess, overall, I can agree with this recommendation!

Cod & Chips at McDonaugh's.

Relaxing down by the Spanish Arch for a while, we decided to go to the Galway City Museum, located just on the eastern side of the Arch. Three stories tall, the Museum gives a varied array of artefacts and information about the history of Galway, right from the first humans to come to Ireland through until modern times. It's free admission, so if you want to learn a bit about Galway's colourful history, definitely give it a look.

Spanish Arch.

In the evening, we walked to check out the last few places on our Galway hit-list: Lynch's Window and St. Nicholas' Church. The story goes that Lynch's Window is the window at which the hanging of the son of Galway's former Mayor, James Lynch Fitzstephen occurred in 1493. His son had murdered a Spanish man and Lynch hanged him as a point to the city that upholding the law is of utmost importance, even over the bonds of family. The wall including this window has been preserved in a location on Market Street, just next to St. Nicholas' Church (nice segue, Matt). The church is supposedly the location at which Christopher Columbus heard mass for the last time before setting sail to find what became the Americas.

Lynch's Window, Market Street.

Inscription explaining the memorial.

St. Nicholas' Church.

As a final hat-tip to Galway, we returned to one of the most popular bars, Taaffe's, to take in one last traditional session before heading off the following morning. To our luck, we were graced with a new addition to our "trad session" instruments: the Uilleann Pipes. Essentially bagpipes without a mouth-piece, the bag is filled with air via a bellows, squeezed with the left elbow. The right arm squeezes the bag and both hands control the notes on the pipe. It all seems to take intense concentration and coordination, unsurprisingly, as can be seen by the look on the player's face! Accompanied by a guitar, fiddle, two accordions and a tin whistle, the session, overall, probably wasn't my pick of the bunch, but it was great to see something a little different. Definitely don't miss Taaffe's on your way through Galway.

Uilleann Pipes apparently take around seven years to learn.

And so, the time to move along had again come. Galway was a fantastic town - big in size and population, but with the traditional small-town feel which we have come to love through our travels. A great way to finish off our time in the Republic. Next stop: Northern Ireland.