FROM the 14th century Galway was ruled by 14 merchant families and when Cromwell invaded 300 years later his forces insultingly dubbed it the ‘City of the Tribes’, referring to the families. The locals adopted the name in defiance, and it stuck.

Galway grew powerful on seaborne trade, notably wine from Spain, and the Armada is one fleet that has stopped-over in the port. Another fleet is soon to arrive...

Today Galway is known for being a party city, with bands in the numerous bars and hotels. If you catch one of the many festivals through the year you’ll see that it has a ‘vibe’ of its own. I arrived in time to catch Lunasa, an acclaimed Irish band who were playing the finale to the Arts Festival.

Celtic rhythms, a couple of ‘glasses’, a relaxed and smiley atmosphere and I was already in the Galway groove.

The ‘craic’ is legendary, but also a reality, the atmosphere warmly friendly, people just getting on with people.

Communication not presentation. I found myself wondering why isn’t it the same everywhere?

Walking back to the House Hotel everywhere I looked people were chatting and laughing. Having a good time.

With a population of about 75,000 the city has a human scale.

You’re not swamped by the place.

The Galway Racing Festival which I also trotted along to is a seven-day mecca for lovers of ‘the sport of kings’. Judging by the number of helicopters bobbing in and out of the infield, plenty of the great and the good pay a visit. You never know who you’ll bump into.

Across the mouth of the famous Galway Bay are the Aran Islands, defiantly standing at the edge of the Atlantic they can be reached by ferry or Aer Arann flights.

I landed on Inishmore, the largest of the three islands and visited Dun Aonghasa, a pre-historic cliff-top fort you may have seen on the BBC’s Coast programme.

Impressive as it is on TV, standing inside the stone walls, at the cliff edge, it is breathtaking. Mind yourself though, particularly in the wet, that first step is a big one. Three hundred feet, straight down, into the foaming Atlantic.

Travelling the short distance back down to the Aran Islands Hotel for lunch, PJ the driver described how during winter Atlantic storms it is impossible to walk up to the cliff edge, “you’d have to crawl on your belly”, so fierce is the wind!

The hotel bar’s roaring open fire and the live harp music were a warm welcome, and PJ reappeared helping to serve local seafood, and was soon pulling out a guitar, and singing along with the band, fireside! He tells me that music is in the blood of the island people, “In through the ears and out through the fingers”.

And the seafood? I tend to prefer my fish battered, with a pile of chips. ‘Philistine’, I know. Here I get crab, prawns, squid, mackerel, oysters and lobster. Freshly caught around the islands. No fuss. No ceremony. Just superb, gourmet-standard flavours.

Back on the mainland, west of Galway City lies Connemara, a stunning rugged landscape of lakes, rivers, streams, rolling hills and mountains, and an idyllic unspoilt coastline.

John Wayne’s classic film The Quiet Man was set here and some of the locations can be visited today.

One of Europe’s most westerly points, the Clifden area majors in outdoor pursuits, with stunning beaches, pony trekking, cycling, golf, fishing, diving and, of course, sailing.

It’s also rapidly growing as a surfing destination. The tail end of Atlantic storms can push Hawaii-esque walls of water in to this coast! Most of the time it’s a little calmer...

There are fantastic coastal and island walks here and Connemara Safari, among others, can organise these for you, relaxation and gourmet dining en route included.

Now about that Dragon...

The Volvo Ocean Race is the world’s premier event for professional yachtsmen, the ‘Mount Everest of sailing’.

Literally a global event it takes the competitors right around the planet and in 2005/06 the race attracted a TV audience of 1.8 billion viewers in 200 countries!

Nine months and 37,000 nautical miles of exertion and sleep deprivation around four continents, ocean storms, mountainous seas, searing heat and petrifying cold.

Ireland and Galway have pulled off a major coup. Around May 23rd this international fleet will arrive in the port for a two-week stopover that will be the biggest festival in Ireland this year.

Around the old port, in the city centre, a three-acre Race Village will host the world’s fastest yachts. Up to 250,000 visitors will have the chance to see them up close and enjoy concerts, fairs and festivals. Thousands will line the prom at Salthill to get a great view of three days of ‘inport’ racing.

I caught up with Ireland’s race entry training in Galway Bay, and skipper Ian Walker showed me around the Green Dragon...

Spartan. That’s the word. Made for speed and no room for comfort.

A ‘Volvo Open 70’ yacht is a large boat, 70.5ft long, with a mast 103ft high, to hold sails the biggest of which is equal to two tennis courts in area.

Below the waterline the keel, a 14ft blade with a lead bulb on the end. More than 6,ooolbs of weight keeping the boat upright, it can be ‘canted’ left or right to reduce the tilt of the boat and the ‘spilling’ of wind off the top of the sails.

The boat’s primary purpose is to travel through/across the water as quickly as possible. Everything is functional and minimal. Designed to be strong enough to withstand an elemental battering, but as light as possible. A critical balance.

‘Open 70s’ can touch 40+ knots and already this race ‘Ericsson 4’ has smashed the monohull world record, covering 594 miles in 24 hours.

Like the other boats Green Dragon has suffered a list damage in some tempestuous conditions: broken boom, broken forestay, broken wheel, damaged keel, and structural hull damage that the crew repaired during the race.Three boats suffered so severely in the upwind run to China that they did not start the most recent leg. All the boats should now be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, having completed the epic run from Qingdao, China. At 12,800 miles and 40+ days this is the longest leg the race has seen since it began in 1973, as The Whitbread Round the World.

Green Dragon’s crew is made up of internationally recognised yachtsmen, many based around the Solent.

Skipper Ian Walker, a double Olympic silver medallist lives at Warsash and occasionally visits the Bell Inn, Pokesdown, when seeing friends. Bournemouth’s own Freddie Shanks has crewed with Ian many times and is bowman on board. He’s done a lot of nautical miles since first trying out a scow on the Beaulieu river.

Two of the Irishmen aboard are Damian Foxall and Justin Slattery. Justin was on the winning boat in 2006 and Damian, recently voted Irish Sailor of the Year, won the Barcelona Round the World in 2008. Both were on Cheyenne for the late Steve Fossett’s Round the World record run.

Talking to these people you can sense the focus and commitment they have for their sport. Decisions 100s of miles from land need focus.

They recalled racing in the Southern Ocean in 2006, watching radar to see which boat had gone and stayed furthest south, balancing the shortest route with the threat of encountering icebergs.

Justin, who was on the most southerly boat, ABN AMRO 1, described how, at night, an iceberg was spotted off to starboard, then another to port. At speed and under sail, nowhere else to go but between. Another crew member asked, to himself, ‘What if they’re joined below the water?’ Nobody answered.

They passed safely through the gap, and eventually went on to win the race outright.

I wish all the boats and crews in this year’s VOR luck and fair wind ...with just a little extra to the Dragon and crew.

My stay in Galway was all too brief but, whilst very active, it left me rejuvenated and relaxed.

I met some great people, saw beautiful landscapes and enjoyed fine food – the beef and seafood were exceptional. The welcome I felt everywhere I went has stayed with me.

If you are thinking about going to Ireland, go. If you go, take in the Galway area.

If you enjoy a festival buzz go during the Volvo Ocean Race stopover, looks like the party will be huge!

I will certainly return, hopefully soon, and maybe next time I’ll get to... ‘sit and watch the moon rise over Claddagh and see the sun go down on Galway Bay’ (from Galway Bay by Arthur Colahan).

I had a very comfortable stay at the House Hotel and enjoyed meals at the Artisan Restaurant, the Aran Islands Hotel, the Abalone Restaurant, Martine’s Restaurant and the Abbeyglen Castle Hotel.

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