Galway in the west of Ireland is kind of special in two ways for me; firstly, it holds arguably the best wild brown trout fishing anywhere in Europe and, secondly, it hosts the annual Galway Film Fleadh (festival).
While I try to get each May to Connemara, the region to the west of Galway city amassed with mountains and lakes and incredible scenery, July is the turn of the city and its arty folk to put on one of the most genuine festivals I've had the pleasure to attend for a number of years now. Like the Edinburgh International Film Festival I visited last month, the Galway Film Fleadh is the other main sources of new independent films to screen at Luxembourg's British & Irish Film Season (BIFS) each autumn, this year from 21 September to 2 October. And, like the Edinburgh event, the Galway Film Fleadh was borne out of the city's main arts festival which still continues in its own right.
And yes, the weather in Galway is not the same as Luxembourg - we left the Grand Duchy when it was 38C and arrived to 17C in the west of Ireland. Rain was threatened, but it stayed away apart from one day. The idiom that in Ireland it is either already raining or about to rain did not hold true that week, the temperatures were mainly in the low 20s and it was short sleeved shirts every day.
By staying at the central Jury's In hotel we got a delightful room at the back; instead of overlooking the end of the strip of bars and restaurants, we had the serene view of the tidal stretch of the River Corrib as it flowed the short distance from the lake to the sea. Daily we heard the screech of the seagulls - something completely absent from land-locked Luxembourg - and marvelled in the sight of the swans, their cygnets, the ducks and the herons, all going about their daily business on the river.
And it was walking along the river path and riverbank that made the Fleadh attendance even more enjoyable and soothing. Listening to the gurgle of the water and watching the fishermen tempt a salmon to their line, for the few minutes it took to reach the festival venue, the old Town Hall Theatre, opposite the courthouse. The upper stretch of the "Galway Weir" stretch is reserved for fly fishermen, most using two-handed salmon rods, and they use chest waders and sticks to make their way downstream as they cover the water in the deeper channel towards the far side. And then, downstream and closer to the hotel, it was the turn of the local residents who have free access to fish that stretch of the river, from the high bank using long spinning rods with shrimp as bait. On two successive days I managed to see salmon, each around 4-5lbs, being caught. Interestingly, a second person needs to descend a metal ladder in the wall, armed with a net, to lift the fish up to safety.
I also got the opportunity to fish Lough Corrib from Oughterard one afternoon; while it was very different from fishing it during the Mayfly season, it was great to get out on the water and pit my wits against the aquatic life just under the surface. I'm delighted to report that I was triumphant on no less than three occasions that afternoon, with all three returned safely and alive to live and fight another day.
With one part of my brain keeping reminding me of the time by which I must stop fishing so as to be able to return to the city in time for the evening's screenings, I ensured I was able to fit in this favourite pastime of mine between the strict timings of the festival. But there are plenty of other things to do in Galway too - lots of shopping, restaurants and cafés, nightlife and access to the Burren (an hour's drive to the south) and Connemara (half an hour's drive to the west)...
Overall I managed to watch no less than 14 feature films in the 6 days and attend a number of industry events too, including the annual get-together of organisers of Irish film festivals abroad - with representatives from Australasia, across the US and also Europe. With the centenary of 1916 and the Easter Rising - one of Ireland's most important dates in history - to come next year, I took in a couple of documentaries (in Irish, sub-titled in English) set around the time of the Irish Civil War in the early 20s and another about the sustainable energy project engineered at the end of the 1920s on the River Shannon. An Klondike was set in Alaska in the late 19th century but filmed in Galway, with other dramas and comedies also having their premiers at Galway.
The awards were numerous, with My Name is Emily and You're Ugly Too jointly receiving Best Irish Feature Film, with Song of the Sea (a Luxembourg-Ireland co-production) also among the winners, with An Klondike picking up the annual Galway Hooker Award (named after a type of boat, not a type of person...).
The week-long stay had come to an end, so back in the hire car and the 2.5 hour drive back to Dublin and the airport, most of which was along motorways. A quick drop at the car hire returns and an even quicker check-in at the airport. Strangely, one we took our seats on the Luxair plane it was as we were back in Luxembourg. A quick nap, a read and a snack on board and the two-hour flight was over, and back to mid 30s and the Luxembourg summer.
How to get there: fly-drive with Luxair (www.luxair.lu).
