“THE TOWN is well bulte, and walled, with an excellent good haven and is replenished with welthie merchants.”
When Sir William Pelham made his observations on Galway in 1579, he noted that the “townes-men and wemmen present a more civil show of life than other towns in Ireland do” and “maie be compared in any judgement next to Dublin and Waterford, the only towne . . .”.
Four centuries and a few decades later, and its citizens wouldn’t argue with that as they embrace two arts festivals over the next 10 days.
Macnas street theatre troupe’s Boy Explorer and showband maestro Brendan Bowyer were among the guests of honour at the opening of the city’s refurbished museum yesterday by mayor Hildegarde Naughton (FG).
It marks the first time that the museum has undergone redevelopment since its official opening five years ago, with much material on the ground floor relating to the city’s prehistoric and medieval period on long-term loan from the National Museum of Ireland.
Contemporary events – if not quite history – are also reflected in a "People's History of Galway", and the role of the Seapoint and Hangar ballrooms in a " Dancehall Days" exhibition. The county's Hollywood connection is recalled in the director's chair used by John Ford for The Quiet Man, as part of a section on cinema in Galway.
An exhibition of art by the renowned Irish impressionist painter Charles Lamb has been mounted as part of the visual arts section of the arts festival. Lamb spent much of his life in An Cheathrú Rua from the 1930s to the 1960s. Present for the opening were members of the artist’s family – actor Peadar Lamb and film-maker Cian de Buitléar – while the curator of the original city museum by the Spanish Arch, Bill Scanlan, also attended.
City manager Joe O’Neill said the local authority was “delighted with the redevelopment of Galway City Museum and proud to announce that we have brought hundreds of artefacts that relate to Galway back from Dublin, with the kind permission and assistance of the National Museum of Ireland”.
He paid tribute to the museum staff and to members of the public who participated in the People’s History project.
The museum notes that the statue of writer Pádraic Ó Conaire still occupies pride of place, but “in greater context”.
The “Galway and the Wars of Empire” exhibition – which looks at the impact that Galway men had on the many wars fought on foreign soil, from the Napoleonic era, through to the first World War – is still on display.