The Galway International Oyster Event is an annual cuisine festival held in Galway, Ireland’s west coast, beginning the oyster season on the last Sunday of September Mason. Brian Collins, the manager of the Grand Southern Hotels (now Hotel Meyrick), started it in 1954. The Sunday Times called it “one of the 12 best concerts on earth” in 2000, while the AA Travel Guide named it one of Europe’s Top 7 Festivals in 1987.
The International Galway Oyster Festival was established to honour the Galway Native Oyster as a ‘unique quality’ of the county and city of Galway. Brian Collins, the hotel manager, had been looking for a method to bring more people to Galway during a long month of the year. The first Galway Oyster Festival was held in 1954 after Collins explored the concept with representatives from Guinness and Patrick M. Burke’s Bar in Clarinbridge, and 34 people attended this festival.
History
Since its humble beginnings in 1954, the Galway Oyster Festival has changed. Brian Collins, a hotel manager at the Great Southern Hotel Galway, was the driving force behind the festival. He planned to stretch the tourism into September by hosting an Oyster Festival Feast, which drew just 34 people the first time it was held. Since then, the festival has grown into a large enterprise, bringing in an estimated 2 million euros to the local economy and transforming into one of Ireland’s most recognised festivals with various events.
The Reason Behind the Celebration of Galway Oyster Festival
First Galway World Oyster Festival was established to honour the Galway Native Oyster as a ‘distinguished aspect’ of Galway city and state. Brian Collins, the restaurant manager, had already been looking for a method to encourage people to come to Galway during what used to be a slower time of every year. Collins talked with executives from Ireland and Patrick M. Burke’s Bar in Clarinbridge about the concept, and the very first Galway Oyster Festival was born in 1954.
Duration
The Galway Global Oyster Event seems to be a yearly cuisine event celebrated in Galway County on Ireland’s west coast. The very last holiday of September was the beginning of the oyster period.
Galway Oyster Festival 2022 Dates
The Galway Oyster Festival 2022 dates have been announced. On the 23rd of September, Friday night, at the International Galway, Oyster and Seafood Festival is sure to get your weekend off to a great start with amazing live music, delectable seafood, and the high-octane thrill of the National Oyster Opening Championship.
Events in the Galway Oyster Festival
A market day, golf competitions, boat races, art and photography exhibits, a fine wine and gourmet dinner, seminars and lectures, and the best-dressed-lady competitions are all part of the festival.
Oysters Used in the Festival
Oyster is the common term for various salt-water bivalve mollusc families that dwell in marine or brackish environments. The valves of certain species are heavily calcified, and most are irregular in shape. The superfamily Ostreidae includes many oysters, but not all.
The native or European flat oyster (Ostrea edulis), the Portuguese rock oysters (Crassostrea angulata), and the Pacific oyster (Ostrea Pacifica) are the three species of oysters cultivated and consumed in Ireland (Magallana Gigas or Crassostrea gigas).
Conclusion
The famous Oyster festival, known as the Galway Oyster Festival, is held on the west coast of Ireland. It is observed to occur at the end weekend of the month of September every year in the centre part of Galway City. It is one of the longest being festivals and the most popular and identifiable festival of Ireland. It has been celebrated since the year 1954. It is also one of the oldest festivals of oysters. People can enjoy several activities from seafood trails, oyster opening, oyster hot spots, and the oyster Olympics.