Galway Independent Column - August 4th 2010

We’ve come a long way from the first racing festival held in Ballybrit on Tuesday, 17th August 1869 when the two-day event heralded what would become the modern phenomenon that is The Galway Racing Festival.
Last week saw a city alive with people, with fun, with colour, with good humour and was truly an advertisement for what Galway does really well. Yet again, congratulations to John Maloney, to his team in Ballybrit and to the Race Committee.

But congratulations also to the Galway business community, to the hospitality industry, to the shopkeepers, to each and every employee who made it such a good week for the visitors and Galwegians alike. Each smile, each courtesy made the week better for someone. We’re now into the final month of voting for ‘Galway’s Best Awards’ winners, the new customer service excellence awards supported by Failte Ireland and Galway Chamber, sponsored by the Central Park Group and in association with Heineken. The aim of the awards is to find the best Hotel, Café, Restaurant, Pub, Fashion Retailer, and Festival/Event as voted by the public. Last week was a great opportunity for businesses to make their mark with the public.

We would like to commend those establishments that stuck to their normal prices…we still purchased our takeout coffee at €2, we enjoyed a great lunch with enormous choice, for €10 including excellent coffee and there was lots more. Yes, we were asked to comment on ‘rip-off Galway’, as we are every year and we replied by talking about ‘Choice’. The Oxford Dictionary definition of the word ‘Choice’ is …an act of choosing between two or more possibilities. We all have choice. When we go to a new place as a visitor we have choice. We check out the various possibilities and then we make our (informed) choice. We choose what we do, we choose where to eat, sleep, drink, socialise, shop etc.

There was value to be had in Galway last week in terms of accommodation. There were also some very expensive options available…we have choice. Some chose the expensive options, some didn’t but there was a choice. There is a ‘supply and demand’ situation going on here. If people will pay the higher rates and are happy to do so, then why wouldn’t the provider charge them? There is a competitive element, prices must compete at the lower and the higher ends of the scale. There are also many extra overheads in the hospitality sector that feed into the racegoer’s overall experience, extra staff, late bars, entertainment etc.

Eating out offered many possibilities last week, from takeout ‘on the hoof’ to pub grub, to a gourmet experience (which is not to say that a gourmet experience can’t happen in a pub, because it can!), the choice was there. The race course roast beef sandwich has made many a punter very happy over the years and long may it continue.

Essentially the Galway Racing Festival is a festival for everyone. That’s what has made it unique. You never know who you’re going to meet at the racecourse or around the town. There’s room for everybody and a welcome for everybody. There’s loads of entertainment, most of it free and an atmosphere that you just couldn’t buy. The Galway Racing Festival gets it right. It was a great idea back in 1869 and it was great last week. Well done to everyone involved.