Galway was a chill town with an active medieval quarter we wanted to check out along the way. We had planned for a little time to putz around and check out the shops in the area. I know Janet got her money’s worth in slammin’ dresses and there was a pretty cool Army Surplus store in the area. The quarter got pretty busy with performers and I think a major Irish (euro) soccer team was there kicking a ball around and taking pictures.
Parking was a bit of a nightmare and at one point between arrival and lunch I had to run back to the car to move it and put more time in. It’s a pretty busy place and if you’re not there early or at the right time, I’m not sure how you’d really find parking.
All around there were kids and adults setting up with instruments and singing. Once of the nicest places to eat turned out to be here. There was a small bistro at one end of the quarter where a young girl had set up shop across the street. We picked out this restaurant because the menu sounded good and it was a beautiful day.
We spent probably a good two hours there, listening to traditional irish folk music from a variety of instruments (she cycled through bagpipes and a flute). Sitting in the open-air restaurant and reading a book on the Kindle turned out to be one of my clearest memories of my time there.
Knappogue Castle Banquet - ***
To start the experience you drive in from an entrance far from the castle to a verdant green lawn lined with trees. Your first glimpse of the castle through the trees and the grounds are beautiful, I remember turning to the girlfriend and flashing her a shit-eating grin, proud of my ingenuity in finding the site. Once you’re squared away and parked you get to tour the gardens right outside of the castle. There’s also a separate garden you can check out early on any night the banquet is open so I’d suggest getting there early to check it out, we were told only good things.
Unfortunately we missed the other garden because we got there late but I had a great time just taking pictures outside and checking out the area. We were decked out for the experience in our Sunday bests (Janet wore one of the dresses she got in Galway and I had on the best sweater in existence).
We were ushered into a small room shared by every other tourist in County Galway. The show begins in this first room where you’re handed a complimentary cup of mead and given a little time to talk. We had a great time chatting about the Cliffs which we had so recently conquered and hearing about all the other things the people around us had been doing. They opened up with a choral piece about the show and the castle then moved us on to the main banquet room.The food was delicious and they keep you placated with a never-ending supply of red or white wine for the duration of your visit. Throughout the meal right as you get tired of talking with people they start the show which involved more singing, dancing and folklore. Janet and I agreed that though the show bordered on goofy sometimes, it was fun overall. I liked it enough that I’d trust Shannon Heritage sites with a night of my vacation again.
Unfortunately at Knappogue we also had our car hit by someone. We didn’t catch them and had to call the Gardai to get a police report. They were prompt despite the obvious fact that we were tourists, did the normal ‘ask them questions to see how drunk they are’ thing and were generally pleasant. The Gardai get ***!
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