‘Good things come to those who wait,’ runs the ongoing slogan for some stout or other – I don’t remember which. Galway rewards the traveller for a journey that might not quite reach odyssean distances, but still requires a bit of persistence. The flight from London is pleasantly brief – you’ve barely time to strap yourself in at Heathrow before landing at Shannon, County Clare, an hour later. The next step, however, is an hour-and-three-quarter coach journey (or a taxi, if you’re flush) through the province of Connacht and the town of Ennis. It’s not the most rapid transfer, but the feeling upon entering the city of Galway is one of arriving somewhere worth travelling to.
During the short walk to my hotel I heard about ten languages spoken – the fact that the Galway Arts Festival was in town had a lot to do with the cosmopolitan crowds, but the city has international representation year-round (20,000 students study here). This port town on the Atlantic coast of Ireland has long been a stop-off for those emigrating to the US, and in turn receives a good number of American tourists back. There’s also a gentle sort of bohemianism in evidence: it feels like the sort of place people might wash up when they can’t drift any further west. It’s one of those ‘cities’ that doesn’t quite deserve the title on population alone (around 75,000), but outward-looking attitude and many attractions means no one’s complaining.
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