Galway – the city of rain and self-aggrandisement?

Aongus Von Bismarck

I was reading the Irish papers this morning after my 10k run, and saw that the annual Galway Racing festival is about to begin. This means a week of lazy colour pieces about the ‘craic’, and the sight of helicopters landing and taking off being compared to the Vietnam War. We will also be bombarded with photographs of overweight men with red faces, dressed in cheap suits and sunglasses, clutching plastic pint glasses and gurning at the camera.

Now I’m a Galwegian by birth myself, and retain an affection for the place. However is there any other city that has such a collectivised sense of self-importance about itself? It’s a small, parochial backwater with a 3rd rate university, a handful of mediocre pubs in the ‘Latin Quarter’, and several pretty decent restaurants in fairness. Yet you’d think you were heading to Berlin circa 1925 by the way some of the locals go on about the place. Some of them seem to think they are living in some rich melting pot of ideas where they are always on the edge of some new cultural movement. Meanwhile most of them are like Syd Barrett in 1972 without the prior success.

I don’t think anything sums up this hubris about the place better than an article I read about the place in the Independent earlier this year. Some guy called Gugai McNamara was going on about the vibe on Galway’s ‘West End’, and how he doesn’t cross the river after 6PM as there’s so much to do. The ‘West End’ is made up of about 6 pubs, and one of those dreadful stores selling used records and comic books. It’s to culture what Supermacs is to fine dining.

Does anywhere else in Ireland (or indeed Europe) have locals with such an inflated sense of importance about where they are from? I think the incessant rain and damp is doing something to their brains to be honest.

Great to crack a few tins on the Spanish Arch of a summer's evening.

kneemos

Criticism is cheap.

Tell me how

AvB talking about self-aggrandisement.

Alanis Morrissette will re-release a song to capture this.

Boom_Bap

What time did you do the 10km in though?

Salvation Tambourine

Tell me how wrote: »

AvB talking about self-aggrandisement.

Alanis Morrissette will re-release a song to capture this.

Before or after her 10k run?

Stop moaning ffs

OP has clearly never been to Cork or encountered anyone from there

gifted

Von Bismarck .......pure galway surname....

Woke Hogan

Some people in Galway City are very smug about their little town. The way they go on you'd swear they were wine drinking members of the literati, as opposed to intellectually shallow pissheads. They don't even read books.

corner of hells

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I was reading the Irish papers this morning after my 10k run, and saw that the annual Galway Racing festival is about to begin. This means a week of lazy colour pieces about the ‘craic’, and the sight of helicopters landing and taking off being compared to the Vietnam War. We will also be bombarded with photographs of overweight men with red faces, dressed in cheap suits and sunglasses, clutching plastic pint glasses and gurning at the camera.

Now I’m a Galwegian by birth myself, and retain an affection for the place. However is there any other city that has such a collectivised sense of self-importance about itself? It’s a small, parochial backwater with a 3rd rate university, a handful of mediocre pubs in the ‘Latin Quarter’, and several pretty decent restaurants in fairness. Yet you’d think you were heading to Berlin circa 1925 by the way some of the locals go on about the place. Some of them seem to think they are living in some rich melting pot of ideas where they are always on the edge of some new cultural movement. Meanwhile most of them are like Syd Barrett in 1972 without the prior success.

I don’t think anything sums up this hubris about the place better than an article I read about the place in the Independent earlier this year. Some guy called Gugai McNamara was going on about the vibe on Galway’s ‘West End’, and how he doesn’t cross the river after 6PM as there’s so much to do. The ‘West End’ is made up of about 6 pubs, and one of those dreadful stores selling used records and comic books. It’s to culture what Supermacs is to fine dining.

Does anywhere else in Ireland (or indeed Europe) have locals with such an inflated sense of importance about where they are from? I think the incessant rain and damp is doing something to their brains to be honest.

There'll because bloke called Woke Hogan who'll be along shortly , he manage to crowbar Dublin into the conversation, he does a bit of running too.

I see sheep

Galway is class. Anyone who says otherwise is jealous.

Woke Hogan

corner of hells wrote: »

There'll because bloke called Woke Hogan who'll be along shortly , he manage to crowbar Dublin into the conversation, he does a bit of running too.

Too slow, buddy. You should try a bit of running yourself.

Welcome back AvB. Will you be getting home this summer?

Stop moaning ffs

I’m a dub born and bred and dragged up and can happily say Galway is a brilliant town.

I hold no truck with crystals and vibes maaaan but Galway just has a great energy and lovely atmosphere all times of the day and night all year round.

Lived there for two years and would move back in a heartbeat.

fergiesfolly

There'll be as many anti-Galway threads as anti-traveller threads soon.

AvB, you're missed down here in Ireland's capital of culture.
Drop down come time and we'll schmooze the Latin Quarter, quaff a few craft ales and listen to some beatnik jazz funk poetry, man.
Then we'll saunter up to Supermacs for a shnackbox, lay a few bets on the nags up in Ballybrit and take in some knacker fighting in Eyre Square

Galway...something for everyone.

Stop moaning ffs

fergiesfolly wrote: »

There'll be as many anti-Galway threads as anti-traveller threads soon.

AvB, you're missed down here in Ireland's capital of culture.
Drop down come time and we'll schmooze the Latin Quarter, quaff a few craft ales and listen to some beatnik jazz funk poetry, man.
Then we'll saunter up to Supermacs for a shnackbox, lay a few bets on the nags up in Ballybrit and take in some knacker fighting in Eyre Square

Galway...something for everyone.

Supermacs..not mcdonaghs?

Are you even from Galway?

JohnnyFlash

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

Supermacs..not mcdonaghs?

Are you even from Galway?

McDonaghs is the most overrated fish and chip shop in Ireland. Been trading on its reputation for 20 years now.

JohnnyFlash

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

McDonaghs is the most overrated fish and chip shop in Ireland. Been trading on its reputation for 20 years now.

Hark! The final judgement has been passed.

Lovely feed whenever I stop in.

Stop moaning ffs

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

McDonaghs is the most overrated fish and chip shop in Ireland. Been trading on its reputation for 20 years now.

Are you not in Beijing or something?

Or is it cos mcdonaghs had a FF poster in the window last GE?

Stevieluvsye

I'm from Dublin and personally i think Galway is the nicest and most welcoming county in Ireland. The OP only dreams of being from D4 who is obviously more intellectually astute than their other Galwegians

El Tarangu

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

McDonaghs is the most overrated fish and chip shop in Ireland. Been trading on its reputation for 20 years now.

I've been to Galway a few times, and always have a nice time when I'm there - but indeed, this fish & chop left me non-plussed, completely unremarkable, like any other sit-down fish and chips place I have been to.

Also the Spanish Arch - I wasn't expecting the Brandenburg gate or the Arc de Cinquantainaire, but this was a not-that-old piece of wall attached to some sheds...

Arghus

I like living in Galway.

Though I could do without the galway races.

And McDonagh's is definitely overrated.

Mr.Maroon

The only problem Galway has now is it's being overrun with Mayogrants.

Ush1

Good town for a p*ss-up, wouldn't live there myself though.

JohnnyFlash

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

Are you not in Beijing or something?

Or is it cos mcdonaghs had a FF poster in the window last GE?

What are you on about? The place serves greasy undercooked chips and overpriced fish. Hooked serves way better fish and chips. McDonaghs is a tourist trap.

CrankyHaus

Easily one of the nicest cities and counties in Ireland. A bit of a victim of its own success in terms of how jammers it can get at this time of year, I'd probably stay away until it's quieter.

AVB is kind of right that its self-appointed spokespeople can overegg the pudding about its cultural laurels. No really significant music, literature or other form of art has emerged from Galway City in my lifetime, it's just relied on its inherited cultural heritage as a marketing tool to get more and more tourists in for piss-ups.

Any place that presents a post-pub chipper as one of its foremost attractions can hardly pretend to be on a par with Florence under the Medici. A pity as Galway has lots of good restaurants, even for fast food, I found Dough Bros excellent.

Berserker

Stop moaning ffs wrote: »

OP has clearly never been to Cork or encountered anyone from there

Cork people are great. I'd happily move to Cork. Wild horses wouldn't drag me to Galway or Mayo. Both places are overpriced and over-hyped. Stayed in a hotel in Westport for a wedding a few years ago and the cheeky gits were charging €7 for a cheese sandwich. Can't fathom what attracts people to Galway.

Stop moaning ffs

JohnnyFlash wrote: »

What are you on about? The place serves greasy undercooked chips and overpriced fish. Hooked serves way better fish and chips. McDonaghs is a tourist trap.

They’re installing a swing I hear. You will no doubt visit just for that. And the claim when you fall off it cos you were reaching for the vinegar but you were holding your chips and garlic mayo

NabyLadistheman

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Gugai McNamara

Is this person a fairy form Galway?

cgcsb

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I was reading the Irish papers this morning after my 10k run, and saw that the annual Galway Racing festival is about to begin. This means a week of lazy colour pieces about the ‘craic’, and the sight of helicopters landing and taking off being compared to the Vietnam War. We will also be bombarded with photographs of overweight men with red faces, dressed in cheap suits and sunglasses, clutching plastic pint glasses and gurning at the camera.

Now I’m a Galwegian by birth myself, and retain an affection for the place. However is there any other city that has such a collectivised sense of self-importance about itself? It’s a small, parochial backwater with a 3rd rate university, a handful of mediocre pubs in the ‘Latin Quarter’, and several pretty decent restaurants in fairness. Yet you’d think you were heading to Berlin circa 1925 by the way some of the locals go on about the place. Some of them seem to think they are living in some rich melting pot of ideas where they are always on the edge of some new cultural movement. Meanwhile most of them are like Syd Barrett in 1972 without the prior success.

I don’t think anything sums up this hubris about the place better than an article I read about the place in the Independent earlier this year. Some guy called Gugai McNamara was going on about the vibe on Galway’s ‘West End’, and how he doesn’t cross the river after 6PM as there’s so much to do. The ‘West End’ is made up of about 6 pubs, and one of those dreadful stores selling used records and comic books. It’s to culture what Supermacs is to fine dining.

I loved how you were doing your worst in terms of negativity, but then had to relent when it came to restaurants.

Maybe get out for some fresh air and perspective. It doesn't have to be negative all the time. People talking trash in the paper about the 'west end' is a global phenomenon, led by estate agents and the like. You had the 'central park' thing in suburban Sandyford a few years ago. In Belfast 'Tribeca' is the new loan word from NYC.

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

Does anywhere else in Ireland (or indeed Europe) have locals with such an inflated sense of importance about where they are from? I think the incessant rain and damp is doing something to their brains to be honest.

In France pretty much every town has a similar view of self.

Berserker

cgcsb wrote: »

In France pretty much every town has a similar view of self.

Northern Italy is like that also. Wild horses would drag be back to Milan.

irishguitarlad

cgcsb wrote: »

I loved how you were doing your worst in terms of negativity, but then had to relent when it came to restaurants.

Maybe get out for some fresh air and perspective. It doesn't have to be negative all the time. People talking trash in the paper about the 'west end' is a global phenomenon, led by estate agents and the like. You had the 'central park' thing in suburban Sandyford a few years ago. In Belfast 'Tribeca' is the new loan word from NYC.



In France pretty much every town has a similar view of self.

Galway is a city though and should be judged on those terms.

Utter Consternation

It's a great drinking city. That's about the size of it.

cgcsb

irishguitarlad wrote: »

Galway is a city though and should be judged on those terms.

In Lyon the native french population genuinely believe they have the world's best cuisine. A few stringy bland stews later you'll realise the best food to be found there is in the french-arab kebab shops, and even then you'd be better off going to zaytoons. The same attitude is pervasive in all French towns and cities. In Paris the native French consider themselves the most enlightened people of the world, despite being DOG ignorant on most issues.

cgcsb

Berserker wrote: »

Northern Italy is like that also. Wild horses would drag be back to Milan.

I'd go through Milan again, in a heavily armored vehicle with a surface to air missle launcher mounted on top, that'd be about the extent of it.

People in Ireland who don't travel genuinely haven't a clue how good they have it.

irishguitarlad

cgcsb wrote: »

I'd go through Milan again, in a heavily armored vehicle with a surface to air missle launcher mounted on top, that'd be about the extent of it.

People in Ireland who don't travel genuinely haven't a clue how good they have it.

I haven't been to Milan but heard similar. I have however spent a week in Tuscany, now that's a place with culture.

Obvious Desperate Breakfasts

Deleted User wrote: »

Hark! The final judgement has been passed.

Lovely feed whenever I stop in.

I was disappointed when I went there for the first time. Very greasy chips. I know people might say “Well duh, it’s a chipper, of course it’s greasy” but if the oil is the right temperature, the chips won’t be impregnated with grease. By that stage of my life, I guess I’d had better fish and chips than McDonagh’s.

On Galway city overall... it’s grand. I don’t get the fuss really. Though it is near some gorgeous scenic areas so that’s a plus.

Tony EH

It's grand if you're a student or just out on a weekend lash.

But, I'd be bored stupid if I had to live there.

Conor Bourke

Marry me, Aonghus

biko

Galway doesn't need a racing festival to go on and on about how fecking great we are.

Glebee

I was done there last week for a few days before the race week madness, Is it just me that thinks Galway City is full of nutters...

topper75

Utter Consternation wrote: »

It's a great drinking city. That's about the size of it.

Well a lot of drinking goes on there, if that is what you are implying.
There are not many nice pubs. I'd struggle to recommend 3.

The city is chiefly a focal point around which young hippy types assemble. To them, cultural thirst is often satisfied by merely dyeing their hair blue and piercing their nose whilst watching a parade of papier-mache heads go by. There is little enough for normal people.

And the traffic is cat. Even on foot, there are blockages to negotiate as some trust fund wannabe circus kid draws a circle of time-rich spectators.

I can't imagine there will be many hippy types going to the races. Not their scene.
They'd be in the pubs on Dominic Street complaining about the yahoos uptown.

Plumbthedepths

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote:

Does anywhere else in Ireland (or indeed Europe) have locals with such an inflated sense of importance about where they are from? I think the incessant rain and damp is doing something to their brains to be honest.

Oddly most of the race goers are not local.

biko

Glebee wrote: »

I was done there last week for a few days before the race week madness, Is it just me that thinks Galway City is full of nutters...

That depends, do you mean "nutters" as a good or bad thing? :P

rossie1977

Galway was voted best city on the island on this very forum so that's where the smugness started https://touch.boards.ie/thread/2056197193

NUIG ranked 259th in the world last year or third in Ireland after Trinity and UCD.

Tell me how

cgcsb wrote: »

I'd go through Milan again, in a heavily armored vehicle with a surface to air missle launcher mounted on top, that'd be about the extent of it.

People in Ireland who don't travel genuinely haven't a clue how good they have it.

I enjoyed Milan. Wouldn't move there but liked a lot about it.
They've a decent park in City centre with beautiful mature trees which is just a tad ahead of Eyre Square

d8491prj5boyvg

Suarezistheman wrote: »

Is this person a fairy form Galway?

Presumably the gugai referred to is yer man who was (is?) in charge of the roisin dubh. A pub in the west end providing all the "craic" he's referring to

fonecrusher1

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I was reading the Irish papers this morning after my 10k run,

Thinly veiled I can run 10km thread.

Anyway Galway is a great place.

Utter Consternation

Don't bother trying to cycle there either.

Or step foot in Eyre Square anytime after midnight as you'll be liable to get the living sh1te bet out of you.

kneemos

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Thinly veiled I can run 10km thread.

Anyway Galway is a great place.

Kilo-metre or kilom-meter?