As I went down to Galway Town..

As I went down to Galway Town
To seek for recreation
On the seventeenth of August
Me mind being elevated
There were passengers assembled
With their tickets at the station
And me eyes began to dazzle
And they off to see the races

So yeah, hell of a last weekend here. We took Friday off work and went down to the Galway Races, some of the most famous horse races in the world. It is a whole week of races, with more than 5 each day, including 7 on the day we went.

There were passengers from Limerick
And passengers from Nenagh
The boys of Connemara
And the Clare unmarried maiden
There were people from Cork City
Who were loyal, true and faithful
Who brought home the Fenian prisoners
From dying in foreign nations

We ended up missing the first two races entirely due to getting out of Dublin late, picking people up in Athlone, and getting stuck in traffic. It turns out that the Galway Races arn’t famous really because of the individual races there, the horses are mostly unknowns and up and commers and the purses are rather small, it is just famous because of the festival and the atmosphere (and the song).

And it’s there you’ll see the pipers
And the fiddlers competing
And the sporting wheel of fortune
And the four and twenty quarters
And there’s others without scruple
Pelting wattles at poor Maggie
And her father well contented
And he gazing at his daughter

We did make the last 4 races though, and with tips from Paul’s insiders, managed to come away with two winners.. I can see why people have so much fun at these sorts of things. If you go in with the right mindset, that you are just spending your money, you dont get upset if you lose and are really happy if you win.

And it’s there you’ll see the jockeys
And they mounted on so stably
The pink, the blue, the orange, and green
The colors of our nation
The time it came for starting
All the horses seemed impatient
Their feet they hardly touched the ground
The speed was so amazing!

We all soaked in the atmosphere, it was fantastic. The weather kinda sucked, so not alot of pictures, but also there was lots of action and i was busy enjoying it, so whatever.. you have to see it for yourself..

There was half a million people there
Of all denominations
The Catholic, the Protestant, the Jew, the Presbyterian
Yet there was no animosity
No matter what persuasion
But failte hospitality
Inducing fresh acquaintance

I was surprised though about the race course. There is a ruined castle in the dead center of it, and it isnt flat, there is a down hill part and the finish is an uphill straightaway, which must be hard on the horses. Apologies if they are a bit blurry, a few did turn out, but here are the pictures:

from: http://renstar.smugmug.com/gallery/1479791/82

to: http://renstar.smugmug.com/gallery/1479791/110

As it stands, im all packed up and will be going to Peter’s for tomorrow night and taking a cab to the airport. Before that I’ll head into town though and try to get some more pictures.. since thats all im doing I have plenty of time for it. Untill then, ciao