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 the future, the different festivals - big and small, the tourism season of Galway, how Galway is a MedTech capital globally, balancing Galway's heritage with its developing future, public consultations, the challenges o...

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.

Relevant Links

https://athenrymusicschool.com

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 discusses her first novel: Inyo's Ring. As it is described on her website:

"A young sailor’s quest for survival turns into an epic battle for love, freedom, and...

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 future for the club, the need for someone to take on a social media role, safety in cycling as well as other topics.

Seán also talks about his Mizen to...

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 any questions in advance of this conversation so what you have here is a genuine deep dive into the prep work Karen underwent, the challenges she faced, wh...

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 too. Niamh also discusses her experience in the corporate and legal world as well as other topics. WARNING: This episode discusses some adult themes.

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 recap of Galway since then. And excellent it is too.

We walk through the history of how the book came into existence, all the different contributors as well...

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 sweater, dealing with mail orders, when they first started selling online, working as a teenager in the shop, November and December being the busiest months, the shop being a great environment to grow up in...

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, becoming All Ireland Winners, playing for Club and County, the different positions on the field, self-motivation, the Leaving Cert, composing music, choosing a university, University of Limerick, Boston Scientific, Christopher Reeve, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, radiography, Galway being a big wee town...