The Galway Podcast

Episode 46 brings you an in depth conversation with the tourism officer of Galway City Council, Mr Ruairí Lehmann. Ruairi discusses the challenges and joys of his job, how popular Galway is as a tourist destination, how Galway County and Galway City work in tandem with each other, the importance of the tourists and students to the economy to Galway and the west of Ireland, development plans for th...

Episode 45 is a very in-depth conversation with Katharine Mac Mághnuis from the Athenry Music School where she discusses her background, the birth of Athenry Music School, the philosophy of Suzuki Education, the lessons available, her suggestions for how much practise a child should do, the school regulations, awards and partnerships, upcoming events as well as other topics. Photo by Brad Anderson...

Episode 44. A great day out in Galway with fine dignitaries and artists unveiling a plaque in Rahoon Cemetery to commemorate the relationship between James Joyce and Galway via the ex boyfriend of Nora Barnacle, Michael ‘Sonny’ Bodkin. Vocals by the esteemed Noel O'Grady.

Episode 43. This episode was initially scheduled to be published on The Galway Podcast but we published it on The Ireland Podcast first. Now we are publishing it here. Apologies to those who are subscribed to both channels. If you are not subscribed to The Ireland Podcast, please do!  This episode brings you Nicole Schwabacher, a teacher turned author at the start of her literary career where she...

Episode 42. The first episode of 2024 is a recording from the Galway Bay Cycling Club's Christmas Party in December 2023 featuring Liam Moran, Seán Hernon and Oonagh McArdle. Liam and Oonagh talk about a wide range of topics including the Galway Bay Cycling Club, its members, how to become a member, why you should consider becoming a member, the club's achievements, the barriers to entry, the futu...

Episode 41. An end of the year special brings you a conversation straight from the Christmas party of the Galway Bay Cycling Club between two people who have broken the record for cycling from Mizen to Malin.  Sean Hernon who knocked 15mins off the male record in 2021 with a time of around 17h 20m interviews this year's female record holder Karen Cassidy.  Sean actually held back on asking Karen a...

Episode 40. Discussion with Niamh Ryan who is a sex, love & relationship coach. a mentor as well as other things. Niamh empowers women to come home to their womb space. She has had a very personal health journey which she shares on this episode. Along with being a mentor Niamh even runs Sunrise Social Galway which is a coffee/swim/hiking group. She has a studio in Liosban and discusses that to...

Episode 39. This weeks guests are John Cunningham and Amelia Walker. They are here to talk about a new book released this year which is called Hardiman and Beyond. Hardiman and Beyond was edited by John along with Ciaran McDonough and it is the follow up to a famous publication released in 1820 called ‘History of the Town and County of the Town of Galway’. So Hardiman and Beyond is basically a rec...

Clíona Standun talks about how, with her sister Laragh, they run Standún in the heart of Connemara. Included in the conversation is how their grandparents met, the first shop, a long cycle, the Connemara bus, selling sweaters and bicycles etc., 700 knitters around the country, sending sweaters to Nordstrom, assembling the different parts of the sweaters, being the first company to export the Aran...

Episode 37. Conversation with our two youngest guests where they discuss what it takes to become All Ireland champions. A truly inspirational conversation covering the early inspiration which motivated the girls getting into football,, life in England, Salthill Knocknacarra GAA, Roisín's grandfather Michael Duignan who used to play with Saint Michael’s GAA, the great O’Donnell football family, bec...

Episode 36. Sinéad McKiernan in conversation talking about services offered, Yoga’s popularity in Galway and the world, Mysore, India, anxiety attacks, being true to oneself, panic disorders, agoraphobia, the health benefits of yoga, which yoga style suits which people, the pressures put upon the body by overstimulation of the brain, karma, Hinduism, intentions vs. gratitudes, Catholicism, Buddhis...

Episode 35. A celebration of one of the gems of Galway City, arguably the biggest gem: Saint Nicholas Collegiate Church. Walking us through the discussion is Ireland's first Heritage Officer, Jim O'hUiginn (Higgins) from Galway City Council.  In Episode 2 Jim cited this church as one of his favourite buildings in Galway and here he discusses why as well as the urgent reparation work which is curre...

Episode 34. Collette discusses how she got interested in sailing, her travels to Antartica, her scary experiences at sea and dealing with those crises moments, the epiphany moment when she realised that she could sail in Galway, the history of the club and its connection with Nicky Dolan, the amount of members and how amazing they are, the courses available, the different roles within the club, th...

Episode 33. A wide ranging interview with the Tournament Director of Galway Bridge Club: Gay Keaveney.  Gay discusses his achievements in competitive bridge, his role as tournament director, the challenges and achievements, how bridge is misrepresented as an older people's sport, how and why people of all ages could and should get involved in bridge, the history of the bridge centre and the ingeni...

Episode 32. A wide ranging interview with the General Manager of Galway Golf Club: Niall McGahon. Discussion includes how Niall got the position, his mentor Michael Moss, peer assists, the club’s size, managing the wishes of 1400 adult members, Justin Rose, modernising a golf club with so much history, Niall's first gold club aged 4, Sammy Hempel, Alan Hunter, the mid-Atlantic accent, Ricky Elliot...

Second half of a conversation with Sharon Shannon covering all manners of things, most of which centre around Galway including performing for ‘The Hostage’ by Brendan Behan in the Druid Theatre in Galway and beyond, Alec Finn, Frankie Gavin, Seán Smyth, The Quays, Brendan Regan, Kevin Hough, composing, Steve Earle, Gerry Hanley, life in Doolin, life in Cork, Páraic Mac Donnchadha, Andrew McNamara,...

The second half of a conversation with Donegal's James Gallagher who has been living in Galway for quite a few years. James talks us through what it is like to make a living as a musician, straddling the world of busking as well as playing in one of Ireland's most popular tribute bands: The Dubliners Experience. See if you can spot the difference in James' singing voice and that of Luke Kelly!   F...

A conversation with Donegal's James Gallagher who has been living in Galway for quite a few years. James talks us through what it is like to make a living as a musician, straddling the world of busking as well as playing in one of Ireland's most popular tribute bands: The Dubliners Experience. See if you can spot the difference in James' singing voice and that of Luke Kelly! For more information p...

Salthill Media is proud to announce the launch of another podcast: The Ireland Podcast. Be sure to subscribe on your favourite podcast player or go to salthillmedia.com to hear episodes. Thanks.

Episode 27. Second half of a highly amusing conversation with Bam Artiste, who can often be seen on Shop Street selling his paintings or playing his drum and singing and entertaining the passers-by. Bam has been a fixture on the streets of Galway for almost 20 years. He tells his story of how he came from Jamaica where he received his education in engineering, to travelling to Scotland and then to...

Episode 26. A conversation with musician, journalist and, in this case, author John Robb. John is currently on tour in Ireland promoting his new book 'The Art of Darkness: The History of Goth'.  John discusses the early days of the internet, the early days of punk, the ethos of punk,  the misconceptions and nuances of punk and goth, the influences and key players of goth music including Jim Morris...

Episode 25. A highly amusing conversation with Bam Artiste, who can often be seen on Shop Street selling his paintings or playing his drum and singing and entertaining the passers-by. Bam has been a fixture on the streets of Galway for almost 20 years. He tells his story of how he came from Jamaica where he received his education in engineering, to travelling to Scotland and then to Ireland. Hear...

Episode 24.  The second half of the conversation with Séamus Finneran about his adventures in music promotion. Discussion includes the merchant navy, getting a resident visa in Australia, setting up a tour, Seamus Eagan - Sufferin’ Gales, Willie Creedan, Martin Hayes, Michael Flatley,  Helen Bommarito, Davy Spillane, San Francisco Celtic Festival, Eddie Stack, Peter O’Neill, The Plough & Stars...

Episode 23.  A conversation with Séamus Finneran about his adventures in music promotion. Discussion includes the merchant navy, getting a resident visa in Australia, setting up a tour, Seamus Eagan - Sufferin’ Gales, Willie Creedan, Martin Hayes, Michael Flatley,  Helen Bommarito, Davy Spillane, San Francisco Celtic Festival, Eddie Stack, Peter O’Neill, The Plough & Stars, Randall Bays,  Port...

Episode 22. A conversation with Prof Thomas Ritter who, with his team in University of Galway, is embarking on a journey of advancing treatments for rare eye diseases in Europe. Restore Vision is a project funded by the European Commission aiming to develop and test new treatments for 7 rare eye diseases (REDs). The consortium joins 10 European key players on rare eye diseases and is led by Univer...