The Galway Races
The Galway Races at Ballybrit comprise seven days of betting-frenzied Flat and National Hunt racing. The Galway Races Summer Festival is a convivial social and cultural occasion, a chance to meet and make friends, an opportunity to create the memories that in years to come you will recall with nostalgia and the proud declaration: “I was at the Galway Races.”
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The Galway Races - A Winning Bet Every Time
The Galway Races begin in late July. To racegoers travelling along the Dublin to Galway road, the names on the signposts read like a magical incantation: Tyrrellspass, Kilbeggan, Horseleap, Moate, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Aughrim, Kilreekill, Loughrea, and Craughwell. Fields and hedgerows rush by; the distinctive stone walls begin to appear; and the pulse quickens. Oranmore at last! Devotees converge from Cork, Kerry, Tipperary, Limerick and Clare, their eyes alert for the heart-warming directional signs to the ‘Galway Races’.
Traffic Branch gardai ensure the smooth flow of traffic. You park your car and emerge to the nostalgic scent of freshly mown grass and the familiar echoing sound of the public address system. The ivied ruins of the Old Norman castle at Ballybrit and the distant prospect of the hills of Clare evoke memories of previous Galway Racing Summer Festivals. The long wait is over. You’re home! You’re at the Galway Races.
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Galway Races - Almost a Religion!
Throughout Ireland people of all ages and occupations prepare for the Galway Races with a fervour that is almost religious in its intensity. Budgets are planned, holidays are arranged and business is scheduled to conform with the sacrosanct dates of the annual week-long festival.
More significantly, perhaps, commemorative coups are prepared, often with horses that have abstained reverentially from victory for the obligatory twelve months. Horses will piously avail of the special dispensation permitting them to triumph twice in the one week at this exceptional venue.
On Monday, traditionally the opening evening, the turnstiles begin to rotate and the devotional crowds stream in regardless of prevailing economic or meteorological constraints. Mohair suits, elegant silks and clerical collars commingle spontaneously with cloth caps, braces and stout brown boots.
As the familiar strains of ‘The Galway Races’ resound from the loudspeakers, the emphasis is decidedly on camaraderie and merriment. Profit may be a significant motive; but the real profit is measured not in punts but in pints, not in coups but in craic.