New autumn stock and offers at La Maison Chic

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

The new autumn stock has arrived at La Maison Chic, with silk flowers, new furniture, and lighting in gorgeous seasonal colours such as auburn and aubergine.

Connemara home featured in new Irish interiors book

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

A Galway home is featured in a new hardback, glossy Irish interiors book entitled The Irish At Home.

The one storey modern house known as Stream End is located not far from Clifden and is owned by Jim and Jan Shore.

The Book Shelf...

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Cooking Through the Year
100 Recipes Season by Season

On the Wine Shelf...

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Domaine Horgelus Côtes de Gascogne IGP 2011 (Wines Direct, €9.50)

On the Wine Shelf...

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Arrigo Bidoli Friuli Merlot DOC 2010 (Independents, €14.79)

Tesco has announced a new sticker promotion scheme offering customers savings of up to 85 per cent off its Italian-designed Alessi cutlery range. Customers will receive one sticker for every €20 they spent in store and having collected five stickers can chose from five differently designed Alessi cutlery ranges with the discount. The offer runs until December 30, 2012.

Autumn at Basilico

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Those clever chaps at Basilico Italian restaurant in Oranmore are ahead of the game, again, with their new free range and organic autumn menu. Basilico offers proper seasonal local food, and organic with a capital O; vegetables that have spent their lives knee deep in trillion-microbes-per-teaspoon loamy humus, not drip fed a Lance Armstrong cocktail of who knows what in some climate controlled polytunnel in deepest Alicante, or chickens which never saw sunlight in their life.

This is something that Basilico partners Paolo Sabatini and Fabiano Mulas are passionate about. Both Irish and Italian cuisine is essentially peasant food, in the best sense of the word, ie, based on recipes that have evolved over generations but firmly planted in the soil. Bacon and cabbage or spaghetti Bolognese are staples of our respective diets.

Galway farmer honoured at inaugural Sustainable Quality Beef Producer Awards

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Eyrecourt farmer Richard Bournes won a Sustainable Quality Beef Producer Award at the National Ploughing Championships, in New Ross, Co Wexford last week.

Asian Tea House - a world of difference

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

The Asian Tea House on Mary Street is a popular spot and for good reason. Connacht’s Best Restaurant at the RAI Irish Restaurant Awards 2011 still maintains the same high standard, certainly a cut above your average Chinese restaurant.

So Aniar, and yet so far

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

Aniar is the third best restaurant in Galway. If we are to believe the TripAdvisor rankings, that is. Yes, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the whole of Galway currently takes the bronze behind the “consistently good” Gourmet Tart Company and the “excellent little gem” that is Oscar’s Seafood Bistro. With The Galleon and Kirwan’s Lane restaurant completing the top five, you may or may not agree with this analysis of the current state of dining in Galway.

But a quick look at the reviews for the newly-starred Aniar will show that there is something not quite right with the system. While the contributors are in general fair and honest, now and again an isolated bad experience skews the numbers, often leaving fine dining restaurants like The West in Barna out-ranked by cute, popular, little cafes like Cupán Tae on Spanish Arch. Like is not compared with like.

Lady Gregory’s Secret, and other frailties...

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

If anyone thought that academics sharing their enthusiasm for the landscape, writers and artists associated with Coole Park, Co Galway, would be boring and stuffy, they had a surprise last weekend. There were some jaw-dropping moments when Lady Augusta Gregory’s secret love affair was revealed; and when WB Yeats went off the rails in the years following her death, and had a series of love affairs.

One hundred years of St Bridget’s Terrace

Thu, Oct 04, 2012

There can be few streets in this country that are as well documented as St Bridget’s Terrace. It was built 100 years ago on St Bridget’s Hill. The hill overlooked the town and was of great strategic and military importance. Both the Cromwellian and Williamite armies camped there when attacking Galway. During the 17th century, the hill was known as ‘Gottyganavy’. In 1710 the name had evolved to ‘Knocknegany’ and on Logan’s 1818 map of the city, it is depicted as Cnoc na Gainimhe (the Hill of Sand, or Sandpit Hill).

Understanding the fats of life

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

It is the “f” word with the bad reputation. Mention “fat” or “fats” and warning bells immediately ring in people’s heads.

Galway Thai-Kickboxing Club

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

The Galway Thai-Kickboxing club is based in the boxing club in Westside and in GMIT Galway. It has been in existence since 1997. This club has produced 76 Irish champions in Thai boxing, kickboxing, and boxing. It is the only club in Ireland to have achieved Irish champions in all three disciplines.

The club trains five times a week, Monday and Wednesday 8pm to 10pm, Tuesday 5pm to 7pm, Friday 7.30pm to 9pm, and Saturday 10am to 12 noon. It trains all age groups, both male and female, and levels from those who just want to get fit and lose weight to those who want to compete in the ring.

Hair, beauty, and sports massage courses at Anne Tobin Beauty College

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

The Anne Tobin Beauty college is Connacht’s number one hair, beauty, and sports massage college.

Curves Galway wins European award

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

The hard work of staff and members of Curves Galway has paid off with a European fitness award for this popular fitness facility. Why not be a part of this dynamic club and avail of all Curves has to offer.

Treat stress, anxiety, and depression with Chinese acupuncture

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

The internal imbalance caused by the exposure to external stress can lead to what is called an energy blockage, resulting in difficulty sleeping, fatigue, anxiety, and depression. Acupuncture treats the root cause of this condition.

Lose two stone in ten weeks with diet, exercise, and metabolism correction

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

System 10 is a step by step individualised plan of normal food, precise exercise, and nutrition designed to give you a great metabolism and your best weight loss and body shape ever. It was created by dietician, fitness trainer, and lecturer David McDonagh.

Clare Rooney — body transformation specialist

Thu, Sep 27, 2012

Clare Rooney is a personal trainer, nutrition and lifestyle coach based in Oranmore. Her company Quantum Fitness was set up in 2003 to address the need for a more scientific approach to training.

Clare Rooney has completed a degree in physical education with the University of Limerick, seven internships with the world renowned Paul Chek, and eight years of intensive internships with the world’s most famous strength coach, Charles Poliquin. She is now ranked as his most highly qualified female strength coach in Europe.