Oh my god. I love Galway. The evening started a bit rough, with me getting us completely lost trying to find some food, drink, and music.

I failed horribly, so we settled for the food while I got my bearings. Being a male, I’m genetically predisposed to avoiding asking for directions. However, iPhone to the rescue — Google maps showed me the way while we enjoyed some great food (and Guinness #4) at Finnegan’s. That name holds special meaning for any of my Canadian chums who grew up with Mr. Dressup, however I did not see any mute dogs there. Ah well.

We made our way to the area with the great pubs. We first heard the most wonderful music coming from Tig Coili, but the place was packed solid. Instead, we hung out at Taafe’s pub awaiting the 9:30 session, while watching England lose to Croatia in a football match (much to the delight of the patrons). All this while enjoying pints #1,2, and 3 of my favorite Irish beer, Kilkenny. Oh my. They should have sent a poet. It was… amazing.

Alas, the band who took the stage weren’t leading a session, instead performing with a couple of guitars and a keyboard for accordion and percussion. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t what I came for, so we headed back to Tig Coili’s.

Guinness #5 and Murphy’s #1 (yum!) preceded some wonderful trad. It was simply marvelous to hear this great music in its home country and in such a great setting… well, I’ll post a movie I took with my camera upon my return, but it won’t do it any justice. It has made me rethink our schedule, and I think we’re likely to spend another night here in Galway, and either one less night in Dublin, or skip Dingle.

Truly, this is why I came here — the music, the culture, the beer, and I’m getting it all here. I can see where so much of Newfoundland’s culture originated. The music, the accent, the attitude — it reminds me so much of home. I feel really at home here.