Wednesday, June 3rd, 2015

Dear Folks,

Well, I left Kinsale on Monday and drove up through Cork to Galway.  Driving through Cork City was a bit of a hassle, they were having a marathon race so traffic was terrible and I got re-routed several times before getting out of the city.  In addition, Monday we had a real downpour, but all in all I made good time on my way to Dunmore where I had dinner with Sean and Della McGarry and their son Peter.  Their daughter Maire was also visiting and it was great seeing all of them.  After dinner I drove back to Galway City, to Knocknacarra where I'm staying for a couple of days with Kay Harty (nee McGarry).

Yesterday morning was sunny but cold, more like March than June and the wind was whipping.  I was going to meet up with cousin Anne Cullina in Tuam and she was going to drive us over to Irishtown, Mayo to spend some time with her mom, my mom's aunt Joan.

Before meeting Anne, I went into Galway City, but stopped first in Salthill, the beachfront area just to the west of the City Centre.  Galway bay is rough most of the time, yesterday there were gale force winds in effect.

The Spanish Arch, part of the old city wall built in 1584.

A view of the River Corrib which empties into Galway Bay, on the left is the Spanish Arch and further along, the Claddagh, which was the fishing village outside the walls of the old city.

Looking east towards the foot of Shop Street in the Latin Quarter.  Galway really is a great city, in some ways more like a big town than a little city.  The Latin Quarter has many bars and restaurants, and lots of stores, that run from the very fancy to the very touristy.

It's also probably the best place in Ireland to enjoy street musicians (buskers), there are a lot of them and almost all of them are very good.

When I was here last year I was in Galway a lot and I saw this guy all the time.  Terrific singing voice, sounds kind of like Luke Kelly from the Dubliners.  I saw him again yesterday, singing Weile Waile, check out the lyrics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_River_Saile.

The National Irish Language Theater on Middle Street.  Last year they were performing Shakespeare's MacBeth in Gaelic.  I would have loved to have seen it, but I was in Dublin when it ran.

Last but not least, Charlie Byrne's new and used books, great place to browse.

Of course there's lots more to see in Galway, I was just there for less than two hours yesterday.  After spending some time with Aunt Joan, Anne and I had dinner together and then I was back to Kay's for the night.  Her boys Dan and Edward are here also and her other son David stopped by to say hello with his girlfriend Roisin.  Kay is off to see her daughter Leonora in Dublin today.  I'll probably spend the day in Galway, or maybe go out to the country before heading east to Dublin tomorrow where I will meet my host family and make a few arrangements for my stay.

I'll be in touch, Luke