Galway and its Races 



" From The Devilish O'Dalys, Good Lord Defend Us" 



While that on the Eastern Gate was : 



" From the Cut-Throat O' Kelly s, Good Lord Save and 

 Keep Us." 



Obviously, the gentlemen living in the suburbs must 

 have been rather playful fellows ! 



During Race Week, however, Galway forgets that it 

 is one of the oldest cities of these islands : it flings 

 tradition, ancient dignity and such-like restraining 

 influences to the wind and behaves like a care-free 

 youngster. Its heart must still be young, for its very 

 heart, Eyre Square, retains the joyous thrills so 

 cherished by youngsters : hobby-horses and the elabo- 

 rate fun-fair that accompanies them. 



During Race Week Eyre Square never sleeps : though 

 several of its visitors manage to do so on its park seats. 

 Enjoyment rules the night, and anyone who can play 

 a musical instrument has only to strike up a tune to 

 convert a streetful of strollers into a revelry of dancers. 



In the park opposite, Padraic O'Conaire, the Con- 

 naught Poet, sits pensively in sculptured limestone with 

 pencil and paper in hand as though writing another 

 poem to the Immortals, telling them that his light- 

 hearted Galway is still being true to tradition. 



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