What's on in Galway, Ireland through the year

Busy — Christmas break in Ireland, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in January.

Busy — February mid-term break in Ireland, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Busy — Easter break in Ireland, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Busy — Easter break in Ireland, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Busy — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, one of its best months for weather

Nothing new starts in May.

Busy — Summer holidays in Ireland, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in June.

Peak crowds — Galway International Arts Festival, Galway Races

• Festival

  Galway Film Fleadh

  6–14 Jul · usuallyFilm festival

  Ireland's main film festival runs for six days in early July, with premieres at the Town Hall Theatre and a market alongside it. It lands the week before the arts festival, so July gets busy early. Source ↗

• Festival

  Galway International Arts Festival

  13–27 Jul · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Two weeks of theatre, big-tent gigs and street spectacle that turn the whole city into the venue. Accommodation is gone months ahead and the campsites out at Salthill fill with it. Source ↗

• Festival

  Galway Races

  25 Jul – 4 Aug · usuallyMajor festivalCrowdedBook early

  Seven days at Ballybrit from the last Monday of July, and the city runs on it: shuttle buses, hats, and hotel rates that treble. Ladies' Day on the Thursday is the one that fills the trains. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Galway Races, Summer holidays in Ireland

Nothing new starts in August.

Still on: Galway Races (25 Jul – 4 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Festival

  Galway Oyster Festival

  24–30 Sep · usuallyForaging seasonBook early

  The last weekend of September, the first weekend of the native oyster season, and a shucking championship on the Claddagh. Running since 1954, and it still empties the bars of the Latin Quarter into a marquee. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Macnas Halloween parade, October mid-term break in Ireland

• Festival

  Macnas Halloween parade

  25 Oct – 1 Nov · usuallyMajor festivalCrowded

  Giant puppets and drums through the dark streets on the Halloween weekend, drawing crowds in the tens of thousands. It is free, it is one night, and the route is packed an hour beforehand. Source ↗

Peak crowds — Macnas Halloween parade, Galway Christmas Market

• Opening

  Galway Christmas Market

  14 Nov – 22 Dec · usuallyChristmas & New YearCrowded

  Eyre Square is boarded over with chalets and a big wheel from mid-November until just before Christmas. It is the busiest the city gets outside July, and it is dark by half four. Source ↗

Still on: Macnas Halloween parade (25 Oct – 1 Nov (usually))

Peak crowds — Galway Christmas Market, Christmas break in Ireland

Nothing new starts in December.

Still on: Galway Christmas Market (14 Nov – 22 Dec (usually))