Attend all the best events in Galway at no cost to your pocket.. get ready for the This is Galway ultimate budget-friendly Galway Events Guide.
Please note: This article will be updated as events take place meaning that this article can be your go-to no matter the day of week or time of year.
SPLANC!
Galway Funk are bringing the Good Times back to Salthill, with a night of funk, soul, disco and reggae in The Office Bar. This May, join them for the free launch night of Splanc! Splanc! (pronounced Splonk!), meaning “spark” of “flash” in Irish. A night of Funk, Soul, Disco, Reggae and fun in a venue with a wooden floor made for dancing. Come on down and boogie the night away!
May 17th, from 8pm / The Office Bar / get your free tickets here
STUPID SON
Ever since releasing their debut single ‘Bread’ in January 2019 to warm reception, Stupid Son have been jittering around the kitchen sink and honing in on their unique blend of melodic art punk. Following a pandemic-induced hiatus, Stupid Son returned in Autumn 2023. Their debut EP, Comedy, recorded with Darragh Hansard in Orc’s Lair Studio in June 2023, was released on February 29th, 2024. Comedy is a concept EP detailing one sleepless night, and has been preceded by three blistering singles each month at the end of 2023. 2024 sees Stupid Son go from strength to strength with a busy start to the year and now a performance in Róisín Dubh on May 17th.
May 17th, from midnight / Róisín Dubh / get your free ticket here
NATIONAL DRAWING DAY
An initiative of the National Gallery of Ireland, National Drawing Day is an annual celebration of drawing and creativity. This Drawing Day, pop into Galway City Museum, be inspired by the objects and their surrounds and avail of our multiple sketching stations throughout the galleries. Visitors of all backgrounds, ages and abilities are welcome to visit the Museum and get creative. Materials are provided for sketching and a lightweight folding artist’s stool which can be collected at the front desk. There are lots of inspiring galleries to choose from including the Keepers of the Gael on the First Floor and the landing area overlooking the Claddagh and Galway Bay on the Second Floor. Not to mention the many objects on display throughout the Museum – choose your muse and draw it your way.
May 18th, from 10am / Galway City Museum / more information here
GALWAY INDOOR MARKET
The next edition of the Galway Indoor Market will and feature up to 20 stalls that showcase the best of Vintage, Retro, Second Hand & Hand Made from Independent business and creative individuals from Galway and beyond. Expect to discover new and old Clothing, Jewelry, Furniture, Crafts, Original Art, Botany & much much more including music all day with live DJ sets supplied by resident selectors Yawlag Collective.
May 18th, + June 15th from 11am / Cornstore outside Outset Gallery
OPEN DAY OF CELT
Join Slieve Aughty Centre for a Free Open Day of Celt and celebrate Biodiversity week with them to find out the Benefits of Trees & Biodiversity For All. The first of this year’s Open Days will have a special focus on Forestry Promotion with a variety of specialist guests and speakers along side a number of Demonstration Stalls.. Highlighting and celebrating the multifunctional role and benefits of trees, including their role in tackling climate change & biodiversity loss, and to our everyday health and wellbeing! They have a super exciting line-up of talks, walks, demos and masterclasses with a number of wonderful and knowledgeable experts for you.
May 19th, from 10am / Slieve Aughty Centre / register here
WHISTLEBLAST QUARTET: TURN IT AROUND
The Whistleblast Quartet is delighted to return to schools and youth orchestras nationwide. Multiple participants will join WhistleBlast in composing a brand new 2024 work through several workshops culminating in final performances in local venues, with a finale performance, which will include up to 200 participating students. This finale will take place in the Black Box Theatre on May 21st. Each participating group and other school students will also have an opportunity to enjoy multiple WhistleBlast live and innovative multimedia performances in their own locations.
May 21st, from 6pm / Black Box Theatre / get your free ticket here
ONION BOYS
Onion Boys are an artistic and musical collective from Dublin Ireland. Bringing the light hearted and satirical Irish wit to the stage. They bring a heavy punch of flamboyant punk rock n roll to the stage, creating an immersive and undeniable presence. Drawing inspiration from 50s rock and bands such as ‘The Cramps’, ‘Birthday Party’, ’Jonathan Richman’, ‘Amyl and the Sniffers’, ‘Richard Hell’ through satirical lyrics that explore the joys of being an Irish scallywag. With a 5 song E.P set to release in April. Having secured radio plays from the well known Irish DJ legends BBC 6 Deb Grant and John Barker on Dublin City FM. Onion Boys have put boots on the ground and carved their own legacy out of the Irish music scene amassing a strong cult following. Irish artists have always had a reputation for breaking boundaries with Onion Boys at the forefront.
May 23rd, from midnight / Róisín Dubh / get your free ticket here
ANIMATION IRELAND MEITHEAL
Meitheal is an Irish word, meaning a team, a working group, or a gathering of people who meet to share their knowledge and skills in a collective effort, to ensure that all succeed in achieving their goals. The word’s origins lie in the ancient rural Irish tradition of neighbours gathering together to collaborate on tasks, to save the harvests, and to work together for the greater good of the community. All animation industry professionals are welcome to join in an array of talks, panels, and demonstrations of some of the best new technologies in the industry. The primary goal of Animation Ireland Meitheal is to inform and inspire professionals about the current developments in the animation industry, both in Ireland and internationally. This annual get-together in May will be full of great content, great networking, creative and practical information on how to help businesses survive and thrive – plus opportunities to meet buyers, potential business partners or clients.
May 25th, from 10am / Galway Bay Hotel / get your free ticket here
GALWAY VINTAGE KILO SALE
Catch Kilogram at The Harbour Hotel for another episode of vintage fashion by weight. The summer inventory promises to dazzle the onlookers. Be ready to shop 5000 unique vintage and preloved garms and pay by weight for only €35 per Kilo! You can buy as much or as little as you want. No restrictions!
May 26th, from 10am / The Harbour Hotel / get your free ticket here
KEVIN BARRY IN CONVERSATION WITH TOMÁS KENNY
Join bestselling and award winning Irish author Kevin Barry at Kennys Bookshop on May 30th, as he joins Tomás Kenny in conversation about his new book, The Heart in Winter. His new novel The Heart in Winter is a tale of young lovers, Tom and Polly, set in 1890s Montana. Tom Rourke is a young poet and ballad-maker, but also a doper, a drinker, and a fearsome degenerate. As he feels his life is heading nowhere fast, Polly Gillespie arrives in town as the new bride of the extremely devout mine captain Long Anthony Harrington. A love affair takes spark between Tom and Polly and they strike out west on a stolen horse, through the badlands of Montana and Idaho. But a posse of deranged Cornish gunmen are soon in hot pursuit of them.
May 30th, from 6pm / Kennys Bookshop / get your free ticket here
BURY ME WITH MY MONEY
Emerging from the west of Ireland, alt-synth-rock outfit Bury Me With My Money (BMWMM) carve a unique niche within dense synth sounds, dancey beats, vocal experimentation, and unusual song structures. With the subtle, but steadfast support of Umbrella Records, BMWMM has modestly etched their place in the realm of unusual and catchy alt-rock bands. See them live for free this May.
May 30th, from midnight / Róisín Dubh / get your free ticket here
SALTHILL FIVES 2024
As usual alongside the phenomenal sports, there will be loads for food and drink trucks lining the area to keep spectators fueled for all the spectating! A fun family day out in the gorgeous seaside Salthill, the Salthill Fives is not a weekend to miss in Galway. Returning this June for their biggest event to date, this year they welcome men’s teams, u13 boys, and u13 girls cup! The Salthill Fives is sponsored by; Ground & Co. Seapoint Leisure, Seven Bar, The Dough Bros, Curry’s Fun Park, Applegreen, and Sound to Light.
June 1st+2nd / Salthill Park (next to Leisureland) / more here
LIVE HISTORY DEMO: TRADITIONAL WOOL-SPINNING AND WEAVING IN IRELAND
Humans have been spinning fibre into yarn and weaving yarn into cloth not just for centuries but for millennia. The cloth was made into clothing, bedding, tents and other such items, which were essential for the survival and comfort of humans. Without spinning and weaving, their world would have been a cold and comfortless place. Join living-history weaver Seamus Kirwan as he discusses wool fibre and its various uses and demonstrates the Irish tradition of wool spinning and hand-weaving.Come along and try your hand at it, you’ll really enjoy this hands-on experience.
June 8th, from 12pm / Galway City Museum / more information here
ILLUSTRATED TALK: PAISLEY AND GALWAY SHAWLS
Many tourists, writers, artists, and photographers who visited Galway in the late 1800s and early 1900s were struck by the shawls worn by the women of Galway and the West. Though they were widely worn across Ireland, they became synonymous with Galway – a connection no doubt reinforced by the popular folk song – but many of these shawls were, in fact, imports from Scotland. Join Dr Dan Coughlan, Curator of Textiles at Paisley Museum and Art Gallery, as he discusses the design, manufacture and popularity of Paisley Shawls and Galway Shawls. Originally from Co. Carlow, Dan Coughlan trained as a handloom weaver in Co. Wicklow before studying textile design at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin and completing a PhD on textiles at the University of the West of Scotland.
June 22nd, from 12pm / Galway City Museum / get your free ticket here
MARY O'MALLEY IN CONVERSATION WITH MARINA CARR
Celebrating the launch of her new poetry collection The Shark Nursery, Mary O’Malley will be in conversation with playwright Marina Carr at Kennys Bookshop. Mary O’Malley was born in Connamara and launched her poetry career in 1990 with her collection A Consideration of Silk. She has since published six other books including a New and Selected. Her poems have been translated into several languages. The poems of The Shark Nursery respond to a disturbed world – the experience of lockdown, of lives lived in an online reality, and of the animal world are the interlocking parts of the poems’ world. The animal poems draw on the tradition of animals in Irish poetry and myth. From the wolf’s touch to the rat’s tweet, animals and fish refuse the roles human beings impose on them. O’Malley’s animals find new language in the face of contemporary perils.
July 4th, from 6pm / Kennys Bookshop / get your free ticket here
FIZZY ORANGE
Fizzy Orange are a six-piece indie/alternative rock group from Dublin city whose soundscape is an analogue-only amalgamation of 60s songwriting, 70s studio techniques, and the 80s home recording revolution, with influences ranging from rock & roll to rocksteady, wielding a bevy of exuberant melodies with soul jazz flair. With a can-do DIY approach, Fizzy Orange have become a consistent sell-out act at home in Ireland. In early 2024, Fizzy Orange sold out their first London headline in Two Palms, Hackney. Grassroots, independent, fiercely up-and-coming, Fizzy Orange are bringing Dublin City Soul with them wherever they go! See them live in Galway this August 8th.
August 8th, from midnight / Róisín Dubh / get your free ticket here
JOB EXPO 2024
If you’re eager for new career opportunities this spring you’ll be happy to hear that Jobs Expo Galway will be returning to Leisureland’s Events Centre on September 28th. It will be an day for recruitment, networking, career coaching and live seminars at the West’s largest careers fair. Meet employers face-to-face and hand in your CV. In addition to the line-up of exhibitors and guest speakers, Jobs Expo will also feature the Career Clinic. Here professional career coaches will offer free career guidance, CV evaluations and interview tips. Jobs Expo is the leading jobs and careers event in Ireland and is free-of-charge to the public. Jobs Expo is run by Careers Unlimited, an online and events company, and organised by Recruit.ie.
September 28th, from 10am / Leisureland / get your free ticket here
Feature photo by @chaoshengzhang
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