Kinvara Overview

Across the bay from the tourist hordes of Galway, this small harbor town of floating swans and passing hookers (the boat type) gets surprisingly lively on weekends. Dunguaire Castle, 5min. from town on the Galway Rd., is actually a tower house—a popular type of dwelling for 16th-century country gentlemen. The narrow, winding staircase leads past rooms decorated in the style of each era of occupation to expansive lookouts over sea and countryside. (☎637 108. Open daily May-Sept. 9:30am-4:30pm. €5, students €3.10.) Tour groups regularly convene in the castle for the nightly medieval-style feast. The first weekend in May, Kinvarans go crazy at the Cuckoo Fleadh. Traditional musicians from around the country bring live music to all 11 of the town’s pubs. (See www.kinvara.com for more information.) The second weekend of August is the Cruinniú na mBád (“the gathering of the boats”) during which the town recreates the arrival of hooker sailboats from Connemara into Kinvara Bay and comes together for live music. Galway Hooker Trips (☎087 231 1779) gathers boats all year; set sail with skipper Mehall on the An Traonach. Alongside Kinvara, Doorus Peninsula stretches out into Galway Bay. For hikers, bikers, or families with cars, Doorus is a worthwhile trip; Tracht beach is just steps away from the Doorus House Youth Hostel.

At Fallon’s B&B , in the center of town on Main St., lovely Maura Fallon and family offer rooms ranging from spacious singles to doubles and family rooms. (☎638 988 or 637 483. www.kinvara.com/fallons. All rooms with bath, TV, and tea. Singles €50; doubles €75; quads €110.) Located on the harbor, Cois Cuain B&B , across from Fallon’s, has 32 rooms, each with a bath, TV, and phone. Two rooms accommodate disabled travelers, and the hotel has its own restaurant, The Quilty Room (3-course meal €35), and a cheaper bar, M’Asal Beag Dubh, to boot. (☎638 222; www.merrimanhotel.com. B&B July-Aug. singles €85, doubles €130; Apr.-June and Sept.-Oct. €75/110; Nov.-Mar.; €70/100.) The Doorus House Youth Hostel , on the Doorus Peninsula, 6km from Kinvara and several hundred meters from Tracht Beach, offers a spacious and peaceful vacation spot for beach-goers and a relaxed base for tourists. Manager Brent Bishon provides room and board to short-term hostel employees. (☎637 512; www.kinvara.com/doorushouse. €16; under 17 €14).

Londis grocery store is on the main road. (☎637 250. Open daily 8am-10pm.) Murphy Store, in a 200-year-old building on the Quay, offers coffee beverages and delicious cakes in a shop filled with locally made crafts and jewelry. (☎637 760; www.murphystore.com. Open M-Sa 10am-6pm, Su noon-6pm.) Pizza Cafe , on the quay, offers free Internet access to patrons and serves assorted sandwiches (€5.50-7.50), salads (€6.50-12), pizza (€9.50-12.50), and breakfast. (☎638 129. Open daily 10am-4pm and 5-9pm.) Inside Keogh’s , a restaurant/bar, a sage sign requests: “If you’re drinking to forget, please pay in advance.” (☎637 145. Breakfast €5-6.50, sandwiches €7-10, entrees €16-23.) Kinvara’s pub scene is the most active thing in town—all are located within seconds of each other on Main St., making it possible to literally crawl from one to the next. A twenty something crowd flocks to The Ould Plaid Shawl, named after the Frances Fahy poem (Fahy was born in this building in 1854). Tuesday nights are devoted to dart competitions (€2 to enter), but patrons can take advantage of the jukebox and pool table anytime. (Th trad. Open M-W 5-11:30pm, Th-Sa 5pm-12:30am, Su 5-11pm.) Locals head to Green’s for spontaneous trad sessions. Reportedly the place to be for music on Monday nights, tiny Green’s has been passed down through generations of daughters and remains one of the few Irish bars owned and run by females. (☎637 110. Open M-W 11am-midnight, Th-Sa 11am-1am, Su 11am-11:30pm.)

Buses connect Kinvara to Galway City (€6, students €4.70) and nearby Doolin (€8.80/7) three times per day on weekdays, with additional service in the summer. The bus stop is in the small square by Keogh’s. There are two ATMs in town: at the Londis Supermarket on Main St. (☎637 250; open daily 8am-10pm) and inside MacMahon’s at the Esso Gas Station at the top of Main St. (Open daily 8am-11pm.) There are no laundry facilities in town. Postscripts, Main St. sells area maps and guides (Ramblers Guide, €3.50), and has three computers with Internet access. (☎637 657. Open daily 9am-7pm. €2.50 per 15min.) The post office, off Main St., changes currency. (☎637 101; open M-F 9:30am-1pm and 2-5:30pm, Sa 9am-1pm.)