The Galway International Oyster Festival is a

food festival A food festival is a festival, that uses food, often produce, as its central theme. These festivals have always been a means of uniting communities through celebrations of harvests and giving thanks for a plentiful growing season. History Food ...

held annually in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

on the west coast of Ireland on the last weekend of September, the first month of the

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

season. Inaugurated in 1954, it was the brainchild of the Great Southern Hotel (now Hotel Meyrick) manager, Brian Collins. In 2000 was described by the

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

as "one of the 12 greatest shows on earth" and was listed in the 1987 AA Travel Guide as one of Europe's Seven Best Festivals. The Galway International Oyster Festival was created to celebrate the Galway Native Oyster as a "unique feature" of Galway city and county. Hotel manager Brian Collins had been searching for something to attract more visitors to Galway, in what was then a quieter month of the year. Collins discussed the idea with representatives of Guinness and of Patrick M. Burke's Bar in Clarenbridge and the first Galway Oyster Festival was created in 1954. It had 34 attendees. The festival was originally held in Clarenbridge village during the day and the Great Southern Hotel in Galway City at night until the mid-1980s, when all of the activities were held in the city centre of Galway. There was a red and white striped marquee at Spanish Arch and then at Nimmo's Pier by the Claddagh. In order to reduce ticket prices, the festival changed location to The Radisson Hotel Galway in 2009 but due to demand, the marquee was brought back in 2011, located in the Docks and the festival was renamed as the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival. In 2014, the 60th anniversary of the event, it returned to its original Galway City Fishmarket at the Spanish Arch. The festival's events include two Oyster Opening Championships, the Irish Oyster Opening Championship and the World Oyster Opening Championship. Clarinbridge, the original location of the Galway Oyster Festival, is running a separate Clarenbridge Oyster Festival . The organisers state it was also incepted in 1954.

References

External links

Galway International Oyster Festival website
Animal festival or ritual Annual events in Ireland International Oyster Festival Oyster festivals Festivals in Ireland September events Tourist attractions in Galway (city) Autumn events in the Republic of Ireland {{food-festival-stub