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St. Patrick's Day in Galway
I love Ireland, I think it might even be my favourite country so far, but I've never really been too big a fan of Dublin.
My first ever working abroad experience was in Galway for 3 months in 2000 and I completely fell in love with the place. I hadn't been
back since so when I had the chance to go to Ireland for Paddy's Day this year the choice seemed obvious - street clear of crappy Dublin and
head west to Galway.
Accommodation
Getting a hostel bed in Galway is slightly easier than finding one in Dublin, but things still fill up fast. I needed three dorms beds but started
my search in November so I was pretty confident I'd have my pick of places. Wrong! Many of the larger hostels sell huge amounts of their beds to Irish
tour companies or to tours that come over from London specifically for St. Patrick's Day. This means that loads of beds are taken before the tours
are even sold and limits the amount of beds available to us independent travellers.
At first I wasn't totally sure about heading to Galway for Paddy's Day so my plan was to book 3 beds in both Galway and Dublin and then cancel
once I knew exactly what our plan was. This worked great! The notice period for cancellation for most hostels is 24 hours which allowed us to hang on
to our beds in both places until we knew the plan. We decided on Galway a couple weeks before Paddy's Day and our reservation with Jacob's Hostel
in Dublin was cancelled with no hassles or charges. One thing you do have to keep in mind though when booking over St. Patrick's Day is that some hostels
(Jacob's included) have a minimum booking period. This means that if you want to stay for Paddy's Day, you'll have to book a minimum of 3
nights and can't just pop down for a night or two.
Booking in November you would've thought we would have had our pick of hostels but Dublin was pretty much full up by then. In Galway we had more of a choice and
decided on Sleepzone which is a really nice place with free friendly staff.
Events and Parade
Ok I have to be honest here. I am crap. It was pouring with rain, I was wet, miserable, had a good spot cornered in the pub, and didn't want to leave my pint so I
missed the parade. My brother and his girlfriend braved the elements though and said it was good.
Getting There
In 2007 Paddy's Day fell on a Saturday which meant that loads of Dubliners fled the city which also meant that the roads were pretty clogged up.
We drove to Galway and left at noon and got caught in the gridlock at certain points. All up we made it in under 5 hours. A bus ticket is 16 euro
return but keep traffic in mind and try not to leave it too late the night before to head to Galway. Trains are a bit more expensive but will get there
in around 3 hours.
The Pubs...
...are PACKED! The whole town was bustling and each and every pub was packed to the rafters which is what it's all about, really! It didn't help
that it was pissing down with rain outside and that Ireland was playing to win 6 Nations Rugby. We watched the rugby match at The King's Head, had a feed
at Supermac's (an Irish institution!), grabbed another pub at the place across the road, and then finished our night off at the Front Door. Some friends
carried on to Halo and we ducked into some dodgy place just across the river. I had been attempting to take my brother and his girlfriend to The Crane which
is a great wee pub across the river (on Dominick Street I think) with traditional music upstairs. I tried to take them there all weekend, actually, but
was driven back by the rain!
All up it was a great weekend except for the crappy weather... but who goes to Ireland for the weather anyways? The whole point is for it to rain to give you
an excuse to head to the pub!
By: Kirsty Henderson
March 2007
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