CO GALWAY HighLIGHTS

1 Architecture on the Edge (AE) in October. A guest at this year’s festival is Richard Murphy, OBE, whose Edinburgh house won the RIBA/ Grand Designs House of the Year in 2016. His work on Killeenaran in Galway will feature.

2 The AE festival invites everyone to explore the built fabric of Galway’s town and county. Free guided tours of the former Convent of Mercy in Ballinasloe, now conserved and incorporated into the library, can be taken.

3 Make sure to visit the well-kept thatched house at Cloosh, Kinvara.

4 Take a guided tour of Ballinderry Park, a fivestar B&B in Ballinasloe, “an example of a middle-sized house conserved, using carefully chosen materials and colours.”

5 View the stunning panorama of Galway Bay from the roof of Oranmore Castle (pictured above).

6 At Woodville Walled Garden, there are expert guided tours of the restored kitchen garden and dovecote every day, from April-September.

7 Galway’s Gastronomic Heritage project will have a big gathering during the year. Until that is given a time and date, check out the interactive website, where you can access lots of food related items, such as a lovely description of fair days in Killimore; a wonderfully clear recipe for making black puddings and sowen, (a “very nice” sweet cake that uses chopped sugar beet instead of fruit and sugar) and perfectly detailed instructions, in Irish, on when and how to grow potatoes using seaweed or manure. http://bit.ly/2rOflpP

8 Literature on the Move – Galway’s Big Read will focus on the life and works of Pádraic Ó Conaire (Mo Asal Beag Dubh). Events are still being scheduled.

9 Culture Night is on Friday September 22, and there will be many interesting events around the county – and free to all. Details of the programme will be available in the coming weeks.

10 Check out the bilingual brochure for details of events. It will soon be available in libraries and villages and will also be listed on local radio and in print media.