Galway Arts Festival
Founded in 1978, the Galway Arts Festival collaborates with artists and companies throughout the world to produce and present an international programme of theatre, spectacle, dance, visual arts, music, literature & comedy involving hundreds of artists and performers. Galway Arts Festival is at the heart of all aspects of life in Galway City contributing immeasurably to the economic, social and cultural life of the west of Ireland. Over its 29-year history the Festival has become a vital showcase for Irish arts internationally and international arts in Ireland and is now firmly established as Ireland's leading arts festival. The festival takes place every year during the last two weeks in July.
info@galwayartsfestival.ie
091 509700
Galway Oyster Festival
The first Oyster Festival in Galway took place in 1954. A local hotelier came up with the idea of celebrating the opening of the oyster season with a festival. With help from local businessmen and Guinness, the first festival took place the following September with 34 guests attending the first Oyster Festival Banquet and from such humble beginnings grew what is now regarded as one of the most celebrated and longest running festivals in the world. For the best in gourmet seafood, live music and the best Guinness in town, it is well worth making the trip to the Galway Oyster Festival. For four days and nights on the last weekend in September, Galway City comes alive as thousands of people travel from the four corners of the world to enjoy a remarkable festival celebrating the oyster, a food known for it’s mysterious luxury and passion.
info@galwayoysterfest.com
091 522066
Galway Races
Adrenaline-pumping action, heart-stopping finishes and breath-taking fashion are all to be found at the Galway Races. Situated on the outskirts of Galway City, the Galway Race Festival is world renowned. Veteran race goers, and those who simply love the atmosphere, travel from around the world for the unique experience. The Summer Festival Race Meeting is famous for its electric atmosphere, excellent racing and infectious sense of fun. Celebrities can be seen sipping champagne by the Champagne Tent and the more conservative can be heard above the crowd as the horses round the bend into the home stretch. The Festival runs for seven consecutive days starting from the last Monday in July each year.
information@galwayraces.com
091 753870
Salthill Air Show
The Salthill Air Show is a free air show held every summer along the Salthill Promenade on the shores of the famous Galway Bay. The Salthill Air Show is one of the few free Air Show's in Europe and Salthill will once again be a fabulous day out for all the family. The Air Show attracts performances from the National Demonstration Team of the United Staates, "The Thunderbirds", The Red Arrows and several display aircraft from the RAF, the Irish Air Corps, Army and Navy, the Irish Coastguard and lots more.
frank@salthillairshow.com
Babóro International Arts Festival for Children
Baboró International Arts Festival for Children is recognised as the leading Irish arts festival devoted exclusively to children with an attendance record of over 72,000 since its foundation in 1997. For the last ten years, one week in October has been devoted to presenting high quality national and international arts performances and workshops for children in and out of schools and families. Venues in and around Galway are used for the presentation of this festival with selected artists travelling out to county schools, youth centres and community centres.
admin@baboro.ie
091 562667
Cúirt International Festival of Literature
The Cúirt International Festival of Literature is Ireland’s premier literary event. The festival annually brings approximately sixty authors of local, national and international repute to Galway for readings, workshops, discussions and book signings. Over the course of its history, the Cúirt Festival has hosted a dazzling array of literary talent, including Nobel Prize winners, J.M. Coetzee, Nadine Gordimer, Derek Walcott and Seamus Heaney. Contemporary literature is given a full airing during the week of the festival and there are events to suit all literary tastes and interests.
info@galwayartscentre.ie
091 565886
Galway Early Music Festival
Since its inception in 1996, Galway Early Music has produced annual festivals which celebrated the culture of Europe from the 12th to the 18th century in music, dance, costume and colour. The aim of the festival is to create an audience for the music and dance of the medieval, renaissance and baroque periods through concerts and participation in workshops and masterclasses. The festival also encourages interaction of professional and amateur musicians and the development of historically informed performance in Galway and in Ireland as a whole. Galway Early Music Festival takes place in May each year.
info@galwayearlymusic.com
087 9305506
Clarinbridge Oyster Festival
Clarenbridge Village is a little piece of heaven just 10 minutes drive south of Galway City. The first Oyster Festival was in 1954 and since then Clarenbridge has hosted many National and International celebrities and has contributed enormously to the development of the tourist trade in the region. September 1st ends the oysters honeymoon and the eating season opens with the Gala Oyster Celebration in the festival marquee. That’s when oyster lovers head for Clarenbridge to sample what are recognised as “probably the most succulent Oysters in the World!”
info@clarenbridge.com
091 796766
Galway Town Hall Theatre
The building which houses the Town Hall Theatre was erected in the 1820's and served first as a Courthouse and later as a conventional Town Hall. In the 1950's, the building was converted into a cinema and was used for film screenings until it fell into disrepair in the 1990's. Galway Corporation, with the assistance of a grant from the Department of Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, undertook a major refurbishment of the building between 1993 and 1995 and it re-opened as a state of the art, 393 seat Municipal Theatre in October, 1995. The Theatre is situated in the centre of Galway and features a fine portico overlooking the newly renovated Courthouse Square and a bar/cafe in the upper foyer.
tht@galwaycity.ie
091 569777
Kennys Bookshop and Art Gallery
Situated in the heart of Galway, Kennys was established in 1940 by Des & Maureen Kenny. Web folklore has it that Kennys Bookshop was the second bookshop in the world to have its own website. Only a sci-fi shop in San Francisco beat them to it. As pioneers of bookselling online, Kennys have continually redeveloped their site over the years to keep up-to-date on the changing trends and needs of our customers. Kennys has a renowned stock of books on Irish history, culture, literature and language, as well as a comprehensive selection of non-Irish material that covers all aspects of the human experience.
art@kennys.ie
091 534760
Theatre
Theatre plays a large role in Galway with three theatres; The Taibhearc, The Druid and The Town Hall Theatre. The Taibhearc, situated Middle Street, is mainly an Irish language theatre. The Druid has played host to some of the best theatrical productions in the country and the Town Hall is Galway's Municipal Theatre.
Nightlife
The nightlife in Galway is buzzing. There are numerous pubs to suit different people. Quay Street is very good for those interested in traditional music and Galway also has a number of nightclubs to cater for the younger age group.
