Memorable Galway Experience

County Galway, in the far western part of Ireland, is in the heart of Connaught, which is one of the "Four Green Fields" often sung about in the old Traditional Irish Ballard about its four territories. The other three being Munster, Leinster, and Ulster, making up all of Ireland. Ulster is now part of the United Kingdom and called Northern Ireland.

I love Galway, as it is one of my favorite areas of Ireland, especially the Connemara area with its wild, barren beauty. Each time I explore its many winding narrow roads, I experience a whole new feeling of spiritual recognition that I have been here before, a long, long time ago. It is almost eerie and mysterious, and it never fails to happen.

Galway has a traditional cultural pride that is proven by its many Gaelic schools where many Irish youngsters from all over Ireland are sent to learn the Gaelic language and old traditions, including the boat making and sailing of the unique Irish sailboats with the red sails. They have competitions and races, which are sights to see out in the Galway Bay from the shores.

I think that Connemara was my first real Irish experience on my first trip to Ireland. It was the area that we explored first, and while traveling on a remote back road, we came across a friendly donkey standing in the middle of the road. When we stopped he came to our window and poked his head inside, we scrambled to find him crackers and leftover bread as we bolted outside of the car to pet him. He nuzzled against us and even gave me a kiss. What a great welcome to Ireland that was. The second experience was stopping for the first time in the pub called Keanes, which was in Maam Bridge called Joyce Country. What a welcome we had there, where we had our first Guinness and cup of hot Irish tea. We were told by the locals that the original Irish cottage used in the movie the "Quiet Man," with John Wayne and Maureen O'Sullivan, was nearby, and they were very proud of that.

On my third trip to Ireland, with my daughter, we stopped at Keans again for a similar welcome from Tommy Thorton and Bridge Gavin, sitting around the turf fireplace warmed by their friendliness and a hearty drink.

Quick Tips:

When you go to Co. Galway, especially the Connemara region, prepare to stay for at least 2 to 4 days. Granted, you will need ample time to take in the true spirit of Galway, starting with Oughterard, which is nicknamed "The Gateway of the West." Galway is right on Galway Bay and has a good population of students and residents, but it is a bit of a challenge to get into the city center after attacking a number of round-a-bouts. I found myself going around and around one in particular until I was sure I chose the correct exit.

I loved Galway, the city; it was charming for its larger size, and the shops and restaurants on Quay Street and in Erye Square were great fun to visit. It is also the home of the first and original "claddaugh ring."

But nothing can beat Connemara and its bare mountains, valleys, bogs, and streams. The coastal area is an array of changing colors, so many blues that shift back and forth as the clouds move over the mountains and the sea. Gorgeous. Bring lots of film or memory cards, because you will want to take lots of photos. I would recommend going to Spiddal, Carna, Cashel, Roundstone, Ballyconnelly, Cliften, Maam Cross, Oughterard, and Leenane. And it will take a few days to see it all properly.

Best Way To Get Around:

Actually, besides renting a car, you can take the bus from Galway to places like Rossaveal and then take a ferry to the Aran Islands, and you can do it all in 1 day. It leaves Galway early, around 6:30am, and you will get back around 7:30pm or so. But it's worth every minute. Once you get out to the island, you can rent a bike or take a tour, which will bring you around the island to all the well-known sites. There are also pubs, cafes, and gift shops to visit.

Trains can be taken from the major cities like Limerick to Galway. This can also be a fun experience.

As for myself, I always prefer renting a car. I love the freedom and opportunity to stop and photograph when I want. Most important, just relax and enjoy this wonderful area of Ireland, as it is a rare and special treat. I can't wait to go back again.

St. Judes Bed and Breakfast was so perfect in so many ways beginning with it's beautiful facade and lovely yard giving you ample off-street parking, which is a big plus in Galway city. It was our first night after our flight and so the extra comforts of St. Judes made it even more special. What a great place to just drop from sheer exhaustion.

Another great plus is that the bus stops right in front of the B&B so you can go into the City Center without any problems and then you don't have to use your car. On our first night there after we first recovered from our flight, we tried to walk to the center, but it was a bit too far for us. We did, however, stop into a local pub called O'Flannigans, which was quit near the B&B and the local folk were gathering to watch a "football" soccer game on the telly. It was a local team from Galway and they were in the finals, so the pub had a festive happy feeling to it. Further down the road a bit was the famous Wards Pub, one of the oldest in the area and it was as cheerful inside as it was outside.

I can't say enough about our experience at St. Judes. The most wonderful thing about it is the lovely Ita Johnstone, who is your hostess. She will make you feel so at home, and can't help you enough with information and directions. She has a formal approach, quiet but sweet and accommodating. Her breakfast table will delight you first with the crisp white-linen tablecloths on a padded surface, very elegant tableware, shining pots and dishes. A nice menu with fresh stewed fruits, and great soda bread.

The rooms are all beautiful and nicely decorated with good taste, all en suite, private, and clean. Our room was in the back overlooking part of the garden and back street. It had three beds all in a row with very expensive bed linens, creamy white, with a damask bed covering. The pillows were heavenly and everything gave you a feeling of sheer comfort. The bathrooms were very clean with hot water and a towel warmer.

She even had an extra heater in the room if you needed it. Many B&Bs can be cold in off season but we were warm and comfortable. Another thing is the downstairs lounge, it was private for just the guests and had a nice turf fire going. We enjoyed it so much, a place we could drink wine and enjoy our newly bought cheeses as we watched TV for the weather.

Ita and her hubby have two poodles who stay in the kitchen, but you can visit with them if you would like. I very highly recommend this B&B, it is rated very high by the travel guides and you will not be unhappy here. We spent 2 nights, and I wish we could have stayed longer.

Staying at Cregg's Castle was our most memorable experience in Ireland. It was like going back in time to a place and era of long ago. The castle itself is stunning and located down a long winding road surrounded by mystical forest and pastures. It is a working farm with sheep, a donkey, and lots and lots of dogs.

We were welcomed by Ann Marie Broderick the hostess who had a nice turf fire going in the huge keeping room with lots of over stuffed chairs and couches. Some have said that it is kind of shabby, but I think it was part of the charm. A candle was lit on the coffee table and a pot of tea was prepared for us. Our room was on "the first floor" which we call the second, and it was comfortable with a bathroom en suite. Our room had dark blue walls and a make-do canopy bed with two singles also. Deep set windows which in the morning in the misty rain gave us a nice view of the woods and some pastures. It looked almost enchanted especially with the huge stone walls that surrounded the castle.

I loved the ambiance here, I loved the drafty old rooms and mixture of old and somewhat old furniture and wall coverings. This is not a grand castle, but more like a farm with a real peasant-like feeling to it. The best thing of all was when we returned from having dinner in a local pub, Ann Marie and her husband Paddy entertained us with their traditional Irish music, she plays the borham drum and he the Irish Ullien pipes and whistles. They have made many CDs and he has performed and toured with Michael Flagerty's famous "Feet of Flames."

Breakfast was wonderful with stewed fresh tomatoes and mushrooms and great brown bread. It was a huge dining room with high ceiling and an antique chandelier, we sat at a long table and enjoyed the cook and waitress who served us with food and her Irish wit. We were then offered to explore the grounds. They keep a mess of "Wellies" boots under the outside front steps to use if you need for the muddy barnyard. The back yard court and entrance to the barnyard was so quaint and charming. The many dogs greeted us and accommodated us to the back, Charlie the feisty Highland Terrier, Elvis the homely mixed Dachshund, a wonderful Sheep Dog and playful Chocolate Lab. We met "Johnnie" the donkey, and "Izzie" the ewe—who thinks she is a dog. How great it was to see this area, with its many stone walls, green moss growing on walls and fences, and barns, sheds and equipment. This is how are imagined Ireland to be. Just like Cregg Castle.

Cregg Castle is situated on 165 acres of wood and farmland. Email them at Creggcas@indigo.ie and go to www.CreggCastle.com

Okay... Moran's is hidden away on a dead-end road, that sits on an inlet of the end of Galway Bay, and serves the most famous oysters in the world. These oysters grow in the most environmentally controlled oyster beds in Ireland. These oysters are "to die for," and they are served at Moran's Oyster Cottage, The Weir and Pub.

We heard about Moran's when we were staying in Galway City and just randoming asked someone where to go to have the best oysters. So, this is how we heard about it. With special directions we found it the next day on our way back to County Clare. After you pass through Clarinbridge on the main road N18 at Kilcolgan you will take a right on a narrow road down to the waterfront. It is a dead-end road and the Oyster Cottage sits on an inlet of Dunbulcaun Bay.

It was a darling place, a small cozy pub with a tiny room that is lined on three sides by booths and a large eating table in the middle, you can see out of the quaint, deep-set window and it looks out on to the bay. In warm weather, most sit outside and eat their fresh oysters on picnic tables. The cottage itself is an original thatch cottage and the whole environment makes you feel as if you have found a secret treasure. Open all year, it is known that Kings and Queens have been flown in to have and eat these famous Irish grown oysters.

Kylemore Abbey, near the Connemara National Forest in Co. Galway, was a pleasure and a disappointment. It is located in a beautiful area, backdropped by steep, sharp, barren mountains, and sits on a lovely lake between Letterfrack and Leenane. It is actually a working abbey and also a boarding school for girls who attend from many other countries.

The abbey itself was limited to only about three rooms and an entrance hall, which made it frustrating because somehow you are led to believe you are going to see more of it. From there, you take a nice long walk along the back side of the lake on a nice path to the Church, which is open and you can sit and contemplate in the beauty of it. One unique feature of the church is that it is decorated with long slender pillars made of all different shades and colors of Connemara marble known for that area. Also, the stain glass windows are lovely. I did enjoy this very much.

What was amusing was that the girls that attended the school were outside for their lunch break and they were seen here and there frolicking and laughing and running to and fro in the sunny day. It was just before the Christmas holiday, and I believe they were excited about returning to their homes for the festivities.

Kylemore also has a cafeteria open to the public and a gift shop, but I found it cold and unfriendly somehow. I would recommend finding someplace else to eat, or taking a picnic to eat by the lake next to the Abbey. It did have lovely gardens, and the scenery in the area is breathtaking.

Connemara, in County Galway, is one of the most beautiful places I have ever experienced. It is not just the visual beauty but the emotional and spiritual beauty that really captures me. The landscape is so barren and simple, somehow whisking away all the complexities of modern day life, and bringing us back to a place we all long for. A place that nothing exits except the wind, sky, lakes (loughs), and mountains. Of course there is always a meandering sheep or donkey around the corner of the narrow winding roads to catch you when you least expect it. The sheep are decorated in the most ridiculous manner of blotches in pink, blue, or aqua dabbed on a part of their body that identifies them as belonging to a particular local farmer. To the visiting person for the first time this seems odd, but to the familiar it is quite natural. A part of the scenery that is expected. A vital part of Ireland itself.

Connemara National Park will bring you to a diverse surrounding including the bogs, and turf cutting areas. But, the barren rocky hills are the part that I enjoy the most. Oddly enough, these barren mountains were not always a subject of pleasure, but a reminder of the history of Ireland when the people were moved away from their good land by the invading English, and sent to the infertile rocky shores of Connemara, Counties Galway, and Mayo, the land of Connaught, the most undesirable.

Maybe this is the spiritual connection that I feel, a beautiful people existing with the depth of their hearts and soul, some making it, some not. Yet, the beauty of the sky, and the sun moving through the clouds to cast shadows over Connemara will always be unique and absolutely gorgeous. There is something magical about the combination that cannot be duplicated anywhere else. That is what Connemara is all about... this uniqueness and it's amazing ever changing colors.

Galway's City Center would be considered the area in which all the streets between the bridge near Quay Street and Eyre Square are. Some are cobblestoned and only walkways, some are open to cars. It feels like a maze of narrow alleys and cubby holes. If you come over the Wolfe Tone Bridge over the River Corrib you come into the Quay Street area, where you will see the famous Spanish Arch. In the very middle of the cobblestone streets is also St. Nicholas Church (not cathedral) and Lynch's Castle. But the best part to me about this area are all the wonderful shops, cafes, and pubs. We were there just before Christmas, so everything was decorated and that added to it's charm. Shopping was a must, with a nice array of different gift items we did not see in the rest of Ireland on our trip. If you see something you like, buy it because you probably won't find it again.

I didn't expect to like Galway City so much. It has a lot of quaint Irish charm and is full of students who are studying at the local colleges, and some are on a Study Abroad program from the United States. This gives the city an extra youthfulness and energy. Eyre Square was still under construction, so I would not advise anyone renting in those hotels yet, someday they may finish, but it has been along time. We stayed in Lower Salt Hill at the St. Jude's Guesthouse and B&B. It was so lovely, and we could take a bus to the inner city right outside our gated driveway. Wintertime made it more interesting to visit because we found ourselves huddling around many a turf fire in pubs, cafes, and B&Bs, which led to friendly chats and relaxing times.

A walk along the river in front of the Spanish Arch is very nice, the waters were rough and swift-moving, a contrast to the stately quiet of the buildings. We ate lunch in Lynch's Cafe, overlooking the Quay Street, and later that evening had dinner at MacDonagh's Seafood Restaurant for our favorite, fish-n-chips. Decorated with things from the sea made a charming environment, but the service could have been better. The night before we had dinner at Monroe's Pub, which has great oven baked pizza. It is located just before you go over the bridge to Galway Center. We ran into some people that were on the plane with us, they were visiting their son who is one of the students.

As we talked to local folk they said most restaurants are good, but none are excellent in Galway City. This may be true, however, everything else about it was just fine.

Keane's Pub has a soft spot for me because when ever I have been there something very special happens. It is situated between some of Connemara's barren mountains and the Lough Corrib area in an area called Maam Bridge. A small pub, it has a bar in the front and a small pub that is centered around the lovely fireplace with a turf fire going situated in the back. I have been told it is one of the oldest pubs in the Galway region, and was popular in the late 1800s.

The first time I encountered Keane's Pub was back in 1996 on my first trip to Ireland. It was our first travel day just off the plane in Shannon, and we had driven from Shannon to Gort, past Galway City and then to Connemara. It was as we were passing through Connemara on our way to Achill Island in Co. Mayo that we finally stopped at Keane's for a hot cup of tea and my friend Ellie had her first Guinnes. We were so warmly welcomed and so excited with Ireland that it left an impression on me.

My second visit to Keane's was in November of 2005, my third trip to Ireland with my daughter and friend. I recognised it after we had been traveling again through Connemara but this time on our way to Corrundula in County Galway where we had planned on staying in a castle B&B called Cregg Castle. It was late in the day and very very foggy, so stopping to sit around that same turf fireplace was again a warm relaxing treat. We were welcomed by some locals who insisted on us sitting with them. I wish we could have stayed longer with these wonderful people but we had to continue driving on in the fog.

Maam Bridge or just Maam (different maps call it either name) sit just above the head on Lough Corrib, and the ride from there to Cong is one of the most beautiful I can remember (when it is not foggy). I really like this area a lot. County Galway and the West of Ireland has a country flavor you will love. The land may be barren but the people are full of friendliness and life.