The Ardilaun — best chowder in the west

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

I was pleasantly surprised the other day when I called into The Blazers Bistro in The Ardilaun hotel. I normally think of many hotel bistros as serving food that has been cooked since early morning with the sole objective of profit without worrying about the quality. This is not always the case, but very often is.

The Ivy Hotel

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

The Ivy Hotel in Eyre Street was known as Baker’s Hotel during the Black and Tan era. Captain Baker, who had served in the war, lived there with his daughters. A number of Black and Tans, including the infamous Krumm, lived there, and others frequented the hotel. The girls were friendly with the Tans and the local IRA took a poor view of this.

The man who sank the SS Athenia

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

While Galway was caring for some of the survivors of the SS Athenia, torpedoed off the Donegal coast on September 3 1939, America, Britain and Canada unleashed a vitriolic attack on Germany for sinking a passenger ship. Included among her 1,418 passengers and crew were more than 300 Americans. A total of 117 people were killed, some unfortunately as they were being lifted from the sea by the rescue boats including the Knute Nelson (which had brought 430 survivors into Galway), and three British warships, the HMS Electra, HMS Fame and the HMS Escort, which had rushed to the scene. Among the dead were 28 American citizens.

Get Selected at Born Menswear

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Elegant with an edge, not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of menswear, but this is the ethos of successful menswear line Selected. Perhaps smart-casual is a better way of describing the collection. Born menswear, on level 1 of the Newtownsmith store, stocks a vast range of the brand with everything from smart coats and blazers to trendy jeans, James Dean print T-shirts (€24.95), and knit cardigans.

Notes for the season

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Recently packing for a trip to New York has made me take a hard look at my beauty routine. Could it possibly take that many products to get me out the door? And what about out of the country? My God, have I turned high maintenance or is this all perfectly normal?

Lobster time and Irish peanut butter tasting at The White Gables, Moycullen

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

If you are partial to a lobster main course and shrink away from ordering it because of the prohibitive price, you might want to check out the September offer at the White Gables. The White Gables is repeating a deal that it had last year, from now to the end of September 2011 it is offering a lobster main course, poached or grilled, for €25, available every night and perfect for a special treat.

The White Gables Restaurant is open Wednesday to Sunday night inclusive. Visit www.whitegables.com or telephone (091) 555744.

Deal from Brendan Loughnane butcher

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Brendan Loughnane master butcher on the Headford Road is offering a great five day meal deal. It is pretty hard to beat this for value at €20. You can buy enough meat/chicken to feed a family of five/six for five days. That works out at about 70 cents per person per meal. Add some Irish potatoes, a veg or two, and the result will feed and nourish the family for a week.

Great reductions on all old stock at McMahon’s

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

McMahon’s on the Tuam Road is having a massive clearance sale across the branch with all old stock reduced to clear.

Autumn – the natural time to plant

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

Just like the school year, the gardening year begins in autumn, which may come as a surprise to many. If 2011 has been a gardening disappointment for you due to the unfavourable weather, there is no need to wait until spring to begin improving matters. Autumn is the best time to plant.

Great reductions on all old stock at McMahon’s

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

McMahon’s on the Tuam Road is having a massive clearance sale across the branch with all old stock reduced to clear.

Putting on the style

Thu, Sep 15, 2011

“Help, I’ve nothing to wear,” is an all too common wail from women. Despite having wardrobes full to bursting point with outfits for all occasions many of us still find it near impossible to make a choice.

Galway camogie

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Experimental rules for a female stick-and-ball game were drawn up in 1903, and the first public game took place in July of that year, and so the game of camogie was officially launched. Men used to play with a ‘camán’, but the women would use a shorter stick described in the diminutive form ‘camóg’. So the game was called ‘camógaíocht’ and this was anglicised to camogie. The pitches used were shorter than standard, the game lasted 50 minutes and teams were 12-a-side, using an elliptical formation of 1-3-3-3-1. In 1999 camogie moved to the normal GAA field size, teams were 15-a-side and they adopted the standard GAA butterfly formation of 3-3-2-3-3.

Galway’s ‘splendid human spirit’

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

The people of Galway were shocked and excited by the arrival of 430 survivors who were brought ashore from the Athenia which was sunk by torpedo off the Donegal coast only hours after war was declared on September 3 1939. The town was galvanised into action. An impressive and practical plan was put into place to receive the survivors, to ensure they were comfortably accommodated, and to care for the wounded. There were 10 stretcher cases, numerous minor injuries, and distressed children. The passengers, who included Americans and Canadians, and refugees fleeing a deteriorating political situation in Europe, were bound for Montreal.

Helping men dress for success

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Some men effortlessly exude style. Everything they wear looks good on them be it denim jeans, a casual jacket and trousers combination or a sharp suit. Sartorial elegance is their middle name.

Is your metabolism stopping your weight loss?

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

There are three main keys in genuine weight loss — food, exercise and correcting your metabolism faults. Your metabolism refers to a complex series of chemical processes that convert food into energy as well as establishing the rate at which your body burns calories.

Acupuncture relieves anxiety and depression

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Acupuncture can relieve feelings of anxiety and depression, and can give a person a feeling of wellbeing and self-confidence. Acupuncture can provide a safe and effective tool for stress. It will not, of course, change the circumstances of a person's life, but it will usually produce a feeling of wellbeing. The practitioner can help restore balance and thus protect health by identifying each individual's unique energy profile to see where the weak spots are and where support is needed to restore balance. Acupuncture can open a window of opportunity. As the heavy feelings of stress are relieved, a person feels more confidence in his/her ability to cope with unpleasant aspects of his/her life situation and make necessary changes.

New venue and new ventures in yoga at the Yoga Shala

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

David and Laragh Cunningham, who run yoga schools in Galway city and Barna, are among Ireland’s most respected yoga teachers. They are now opening a third venue at Ocean Fitness in the Salthill Hotel. Their work with the Connacht rugby team and Galway footballers has encouraged more men to try yoga, and their commitment to staying at the cutting edge of yoga and health has paid dividends as the Yoga Shala is the only yoga school in Europe to teach a style of yoga called yoga synergy.

Yoga synergy is traditional hatha yoga with an understanding from modern medical science devised by physiotherapists and yoga teachers Simon Borg-Olivier and Bianca Machliss from Sydney. “We spent four months with Simon and Bianca last year, a month this year, and convinced Simon to come over here to teach his first classes in Europe last week,” David Cunningham explained. “We are excited that our seven experienced teachers are the only teachers of this style of yoga in Europe, and with 25 teachers in training, next year we’ll have quite a team of teachers to develop our yoga with sports teams, kids in schools, and regular students.”

Galway man honoured at prestigious RDS crafts competition

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Oranmore resident Fergal Costello was awarded second prize in the furniture category at the RDS crafts competition. He also received the Duff-Tisdall award for innovative design and construction, which came along with a €500 cash prize. Costello’s winning entry, Tree chair, was the product of more than 200 hours of design and craft work. The chair was exhibited in the RDS during the Dublin Horse Show, and will be travelling around the country with the exhibition for the rest of the year.

Farm tour to explore cooking and gardening in the Burren

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

Clare Farm Heritage Tours will present the fourth walk in its series of summer events on Harry Jeuken's farm on Sunday September 11. Harry Jeuken will show his own garden on the day, where most years he is able to successfully grow a wide variety of crops outdoors, and he will also explain prehistoric cooking practices with two fulachta fiadh on his land. The meeting point for this walk is Gortlecka Cross near Mullaghmore and refreshments will be available at the end of the tour.

Harry Jeuken and his family came to Ireland and took up traditional farming in the Burren in 1997. Just a year after their arrival they set up two kitchen gardens, which have since brought the family a steady supply and wide variety of vegetable crops and a lot of experience in gardening and the conditions in the Burren. “While many people may think that it is very different to garden successfully here, I believe that the principles are the same all over the world,” he said. “The most important thing is to look after the soil properly by replacing every year what you (or your plants) have taken from it. This can be done by applying manure, compost, and even seaweed in the autumn time after the harvest.” He has been very successful with this concept so far and all of his gardening is done outdoors without the use of polytunnels or greenhouses. “We have had many good outdoor crops over the years and we accept also if some years a crop fails – this is all part of nature,” he added.

Pallas Foods and a great value dinner menu in The Lady Gregory Hotel

Thu, Sep 08, 2011

I am sure many of you have seen the trucks with ‘Pallas Foods’ on the side, and if you pass the cold storage depot in Oranmore any weekend you will see 10 or 20 of them all parked together with the back doors wide open. It has more than 100 trucks on the road so that will give you some idea of how big it is.

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