Well, what do you know, the sun does shine in Ireland! It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you had better take advantage of it! Yesterday was one of these sunshine days; it started off drizzling per usual, but then a miracle happened! The clouds broke and there was sun! For an entire 6 hours it was sunny and beautiful in Galway!
I started off exploring where NUIG all began. Pictured here is the Quadrangle and it is the original building on the campus. When the university first opened its doors for teaching in 1849, it was called Queens College, Galway with sister colleges in Cork and Belfast. There were only 37 professors and 91 students whom comprised the college’s 3 faculties, the Arts (including Science and Literature), Law, and Medicine as well as a school of Engineering and Architecture. The story goes that this architecture was nearly used as the building for the Queens College in Belfast, but good thing it wasn’t because this building and it’s beauty was one of the main reasons I wanted to come study at NUIG! There are also some very notable alumni who have walked these very halls . First, there is Alexander Anderson who is credited as the first person to announce the existence of black holes; class of 1881. Then, there was Professor George Johnstone Stoney who is known as the scientist to first coin the term ‘electron’ which led to the particle’s discovery 40 years later! In the sports world, NUIG sent more athletes to the Beijing Olympics than any other Irish University! And to think that I am walking the same halls today as these incredible men and women; it is quite an honor.
From here, some friends and I traveled the river walk which travels the length of the city’s famous river, the River Corrib. It is one of the shortest rivers in Europe, but in terms of water flow, it is actually the second largest in Ireland. Trust me, do not go jumping into that current! Old architecture can be found all along the sides of the river, and it is so beautiful to travel down toward the village of Claddagh, where you find the famous Spanish Arch and The Long Walk, a promenade which overlooks the harbour.
The Spanish Arch, locally called the Sparch, was built in 1584 and was built as an extension to the town wall in order to protect the city’s merchant ships from looting. I’ve been trying to find the reason why the arch is called the Spanish arch, however, from what I can tell, there is no actual association between the arch and Spain other than some Spanish merchant ships using the wall extension as protection. The Spanish Arch was the home of the Galway city museum, but it has recently moved to a brand new building right down the road, and it’s FREE!
I would definitely call the colorful houses (the ones pictured at the top of this blog!) one of the most photographed locations in Galway. The houses are located on The Long Walk and can be seen from the village of Claddagh which was known as the fishing village of Galway. There are many boats floating in the harbor as well as many pulled up onto the shore. My favorite was the one called the Kingfisher because that is actually the name of my street back home! It was a nice little reminder that despite how far away I am, home is always nearby. There is another beautiful trail called NimmO’s Pier that follows the city’s coast and hosts a number of rugby, hurling, and Gaelic football fields. The Long Walk was once a place where Claddagh women sold the fish that their husband’s had caught that morning in the park where the fields now stand.
It was a beautiful walk on a very beautiful day and lots of pictures can be taken here! My friends and I have vowed to return on another sunny day and bring a picnic and watch the sun set over the same Atlantic ocean I can see from back home.
