Galway - Gaillimh: Stony, as in Stony River
JohnCalderwood said:
...I would thoroughly recommend Galway City then, I have been a few times for the rugby and there is great craic there. Not as busy as Dublin, but busy and lively enough for a few beers etc and singing - mind you, wearing the kilt probably helped get us in with the locals...
Galway City is a great spot for tourists. It's name means "Stony" after the stony River Corrib which runs from Lake Corrib out to the Atlantic Sea. It traces it origins back to 1124 when a small Fort was built there by an Irish High King. (Incidentally the 1100's is when Irish Monks first started distilling Whiskey!). It was held in Irish rule for over one hundred years until the Norman invasion. The Norman settlers eventually became Gaelicised and formed a band of merchant families known as the "Tribes of Galway". They retained power over Galway, a thriving trade port to Spain and France, for several centuries while holding off many a would be usurper up until the end of the 17th century, when, having aligned themselves to the Catholic King James II's "Jacobites", they eventually fell to the Protestant Dutch Prince William of Orange's "Williamites" during the "Williamite–Jacobite War". Thus securing British and Protestant rule over the entire island of Ireland for the following two centuries. The rest is history, as they say. The 14 merchant family crests of the Tribes of Galway can be seen in the City centre on upright flag poles.
The famous "ceann an bhalla" (the head of the wall), later known as the "Spanish Arch", was built in 1519 by the Tribes to extend the town's walls to protect the busy merchant quays from would be attackers. Part of the Arches are still standing today and have proven to be a favourite among tourists. Galway City, like many parts of Ireland, is steeped in a long and colourful history.
We try to stay in Galway City a couple of weekends each year and usually stay in Jury's Inn Hotel, which is a very nice and central Hotel. The "Spanish Arch Bar" is just next door and was always a favourite of ours. Always good craic, beer and music. "Riff Raff" are an excellent rock cover band that we usually hope to catch when we're over that way. If not them, there was usually a good traditional session on or something lively. But alas, the Bar since changed ownership and it's more DJ's and Daiquiri's now on the weekends, catering for the young and trendy types. You've got to be staying during the week now to catch the "good stuff".
Another good spot is "Tigh Neactain" (translation: House of Naughton) which has a great "Old Ireland" atmosphere to it without being too "touristy cheesy flavoured". They also have the "Kasbah Wine Bar" next door.
Then there is Munroe's for live bands. Drink is "OK" but the music is usually excellent.
Roisin Dubh (translation: Black Rose) is thee top spot for live music in the City and you are always sure to be entertained. It opens until 2am 7 nights a week and beats going to a night club any day, in my book.
For restaurants, "Cava Bodega" is an excellent and unassuming Spanish Tapas restaurant which is always busy. "Il Folletto" is good for Italian and "Neo" for Asian Food. Oh and "Oscar's" is award winning for Seafood.
Yeah, it's a great spot to visit.
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Did you know? - In the early middle Ages, Irish Monks had traveled throughout Europe. They would have seen the Muslims using Alembic stills to make perfumes and medicinal potions and would eventually adapt these methods for their own production of "medicinal" Whiskey.
The Whiskey that Irish Monks first started making in the 1100's was known as "Uisce Beatha" in Irish, which means "Water of Life". The Monks also Christened it "Aqua Vitae" from the same term in Latin. "Uisce" would sound like "isshhka" when said in Irish. The English word "Whisky" is a corruption of the original word "Uisce" but became popular among English speakers as an alternative to the more difficult to pronounce Irish word. It would later become "Whiskey" with an "e" to distinguish the original Irish "Whiskey" from Scotch "Whisky".
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By the time King Henry VIII came to the throne in 1509, thanks to the Monks, the people of Ireland had long been enjoying the effect that Uisce Beatha was having on them but in 1541 Henry ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and the confiscation of all their properties. With the Monks now gone, the population of Ireland took distilling their favorite drink into their own hands.
Although the English government banned private distillation in 1781, this didn’t stop the determined Irish Whiskey makers. By the end of the 18th century there were over 2000 illicit stills operating in Ireland. By the 1800's a "Shebeen" (Irish for unlicensed pub)
could be found in every town and village in Ireland...
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By 1880 over 400 different brands of Irish Whiskey were on sale around the world, and by 1900 the volume of Whiskey being distilled in Ireland had quadrupled to keep up with demand. Dublin was the acknowledged Whiskey capital of the world...
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Due to various circumstances that affected Whiskey production, including World War 1 and Prohibition in America, by 1966 out of the hundreds of famous Irish brands that had once existed, only five Irish Whiskies had survived (they merged to form Irish Distillers Ltd)
The recent success of Cooley Distillery encouraged an explosion of new distillery startups including new sites for historic brands like Tullamore Dew, as well as distilleries in Dingle, Slane, Carlow (close to me)
and once again in the heart of Dublin City in "The Liberties" (historic inner City working class neighbourhood famous for Whiskey distilling)...
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Today Irish Whiskey is the fastest growing spirit brand in the world...
This is also an interesting and concise timeline of the
History of Irish Whiskey on the Walsh Whiskey Distillery's website, which is just down the road from me.
We're back! Hard to keep a thirsty, starving and perpetually oppressed nation down! As we often say..."
That's the Spirit!"...
Getting late here now - time for home as I've just made myself absolutely mouth-wateringly ravenous, not to mention the hangin' thirst I've whetted me lips for.
G.