24/10/16 - Galway Pub Crawl - Day 1

Distance - 5 Miles
Pubs - 6
Geocaches - 1


We are in Galway for 3 nights.  In Quay Street, I over-hear one of the guides telling aged Septics that there are 50 pubs in the town.

Now, we won't be able to get through all of them, but we'll give it a bloody good go.

Killorans Bar, Salthills

We start the first day with a bracing sea walk to Salthills.  Mrs Mappiman tells me I am to lick the sea wall when we get to the end.  Another look on her iPhone and it appears as though I am meant to kick it.

After taking in the monuments to the Great Famine and Sailors lost at Sea, we need refreshments and Killorans looks a suitably fine place to sit outside and watch the world go by in better than expected weather for West Ireland in October.

Yellow

It's a locals pub where they look after the tourists just as well.  There's no objection to Mrs Mappiman stuffing her face with an ice cream on their bench and the friendly bar man even hand delivers my pint after it has had the necessary 7.5 minutes to build properly.

A nice introduction to Galway.

The Quays, Quay Street

This is on my top 10 list of pubs in Galway.  It's in a little street where all the action is.  Honestly, you could sit outside here all day and not get bored.  Entertainment options include policemen moving tramps on by name in the friendliest manner you can imagine and top quality buskers playing songs that are guaranteed to be on your iPod.

The Quays - In the Thick of It

This is a typical Galwegian pub.  There is more to it than meets the eye.  Behind the traditional exterior lies a deep and complex interior, where you can spend a good 15 minutes investigating.

Inside the Quays

We would have eaten here.  But Sonia had done research on Tripadvisor and suggested the Dail was a better bet.

Dail Bar, Middle Street

First Meal in Galway

This isn't on my top 10 list but we do find a leaflet describing the Irish Whiskey Trail.  Now that sounds like a challenge - for very rich people.  God damn Brexit, the crashing pound and my inability to afford 8 Euro measures of Mountain Dew.

Nice pub, good food and good service.


Tig Coili. Mainguard Street

This is a must visit for tourist who want the whole Irish Pub "Fiddly Dee Music" Experience.  A tiny pub festooned with pictures of famous patrons.  Ian Rush and Shane McGowan both spotted on the walls.

It quite amazing how many people can be stacked into such a small place.  Too claustrophobic for Mrs Mappiman, she takes a seat outside leaving me with the chance to carry a pint and a glass through a collection of ladies who have started Irish Dancing.  Their non moving upper torsos belies the velocity of their lower halves.

I manage to get outside, drinks in tact.

Much Quieter in the Day

Quite amusing to peer through the windows and see who was having a bash at dancing next.

Decorum prevents me from describing what was going on in the middle window, top floor of the building opposite.

We came back again later in the week to check if we had imagined it.

An Pucan, Forster Street

Day Time Snapping

Another on the Whiskey Trail.  This one has 200 different options.  Having sat there for 30 minutes, I succumbed to the electronic board advertising and asked for the menu.

I won't forget my first Connemara 12 year old.

A high quality solo singer/guitarist sparks up and we stay for a few numbers.  In another town, this would have been enough to persuade us to stay all night.

The Front Door, Cross Street

The pub with two names.  On Cross Street, its the Front Door.  On Day 3, I almost walked into Sonnys Bar on the High street before my advanced state of spacial awareness made me realise it was one of the same place.

This is a cavern.

Inside the Front Door

The sort of place where you can go to the loos and get lost.  Shouting won't help, as the walls are that thick that your voice will not carry.

An excellent covers band were belting out Jam hits.  This, and the fact they did a very decent Mojito, meant that Mrs Mappiman was happy to stay.

I did talk her into a nightcap in the Quays.  It was on the way back to the hotel.