 Galway is a city I visited with my ex-partner during my stay in Ireland in 2022. Although I was curious about the city because it was described as beautiful and important, in the end it was essentially a visit to a place we were passing through. We departed from Dublin, and we used Galway as a stopover on the way to Portmagee, where we were supposed to stay for the night. This city was, in fact, the starting point for visiting the island of Skellig Michael, which was one of my main goals for the whole of Ireland. The journey lasted over two hours, and to be honest, my memory is blank because, except for the moment of leaving Dublin and arriving in Galway, I don't remember anything we did between the two places. We arrived in the city in the early afternoon, and during the urban part, I was struck by several structures built with large stone blocks. One of these structures was a church, while the other was a multi-story building converted into a hotel. What struck me about these two buildings was their rough construction, in fact the stone blocks were irregular, giving the impression of having been hand-made by a civilization that operated with elementary means. In the city, we parked near the harbor and, following my partner, who was already familiar with Galway, we headed down the main street, a winding street with multiple names. This street was very narrow, full of shops, and bustling with people, but they moved in an orderly fashion. Between the buildings, colorful, triangular pennants hung, giving it a festive feel. I don't know if they were a trademark of the city or if they were celebrating some special occasion, but these decorations were truly visible along the entire street. Walking along this shopping street, I was pleased to notice how the buildings alternated between brightly colored ones and those built entirely of stone, like the others I mentioned earlier. I must say, the atmosphere was joyful and lively; people were walking or, like me, exploring the old town in an orderly fashion, not in the chaos that often happens in these places. The only place where I found a bit too much confusion and disorder was around Lynch's Castle. This was a building constructed entirely of large stone blocks and was the most popular in the city. It was one of the main attractions to see, and in fact, during our exploration, my ex wanted to take me to this very building. It was on an angle and had three levels, but they were higher than normal buildings. Perhaps because of the confusion, or perhaps because the building didn't have enough space in front to be observed, to be honest, I wasn't particularly impressed by it. It was certainly a striking building because of its different proportions and materials, but probably because of the confusion, I didn't study it carefully, and even from a photographic standpoint, I didn't take any noteworthy photos. The main destination in Galway was the cathedral, located across the river northwest of the historic center but easily accessible on foot. Along the way, I continued to find interesting buildings to photograph, such as a blue building on a corner and, most importantly, a building reminiscent of a temple in design. It was constructed of large stone blocks, as was now common in Galway. This one was neoclassical in style, with four Doric columns and a triangular cornice, but the interior was empty and devoid of any decoration. I later discovered it was the Franciscan Abbey Catholic Church, a church visible only by a cross placed above the cornice, which was clearly not part of the original structure. I would have liked to see the inside of that building and study it at my leisure, but we didn't have enough time.        Lynch's Castle    Franciscan Abbey Catholic Church After crossing the river, the cathedral appeared to us from the side, beautifully imposing and built entirely of stone blocks. That structure was the final proof that Galway once had a large quantity of that element and that people knew how to work it. The cathedral was an impressive feat because, although the stones were irregularly shaped and, let's say, all different from one another, the structure nevertheless followed the logic of grand geometry. Everything was symmetrical: the two towers, the lateral rose windows, and the windows. Following a Latin cross plan, the transept also featured a large dome. The interior was, if you will, even more beautiful because the construction followed the logic of exposed stone. Upon entering, along both sides were colonnades topped by arches that reached all the way to the apse, above which was the dome. The original aspect, however, was the effect of these completely symmetrical columns and arches, constructed from irregular stone blocks. It was a unique construction where sacred geometry was achieved through irregularity. In my opinion, this cathedral, too, was a structure that originally had nothing to do with religion but rather was a place closely connected to a form of energy. The structure was highly symmetrical, and I believe that in the past, somehow, in the transition from one civilization to another, the construction technique for this particular form of geometry-energy was inherited so that even with imperfect materials, acoustic-geometric perfection could be achieved. What I believe was redone inside was the wooden roof, which nevertheless retained the checkerboard pattern, and parts of the marble flooring; these were visibly newly constructed elements. That day, there was an orchestra inside the cathedral, I believe Japanese, composed of young people rehearsing; it was interesting to watch that performance, which literally gave a different tone to the place, emphasizing the dark and mysterious side of the cathedral. After leaving the cathedral, on the opposite side of the river, I spotted a spot where I was sure there was a different perspective to photograph the structure. Once there, I took several photos, including the one that serves as the cover for this post. The walk back to our car was relaxing, where I found other original structures to photograph, including some stone ones I had missed on the outward journey. I'm sure that Galway, despite being a small city, has many other things to see; this was also emphasized by my ex-partner, who mentioned a place near the sea that was very beautiful. Considering my brief visit, albeit a very pleasant one, I have to say that Galway fell a bit short of my expectations, but I think those expectations were overstated. My idea was based on things I'd read, where the writers were probably easily enthused. Galway is certainly a beautiful city that deserves to be explored more deeply than I did, and the appearance of the stone buildings is something original and unique. There are probably other beautiful places outside the city, as I later discovered and as my ex mentioned. However, this doesn't make Galway a city worth seeing, and in future posts about Ireland, I'll talk about other places that fascinated me much more. Although not entirely vivid, I cherish that visit to Galway, a goal I wanted to achieve but which turned out to be something completely different from what I'd imagined, an idea based on overly enthusiastic writings that smack of clichés rather than real life experiences.   Galway Cathedral        A.M.
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