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The Kings Head Wins Family Run Business of the Year

June 14, 2023

Outstanding Woman, Mary Grealish Honoured at the 3rd Irish Women’s Awards 2023

The King’s Head has won Family Run Business of the Year at the 2023 Irish Women’s Awards. This event is dedicated to celebrating the extraordinary accomplishments of women in Ireland, and Mary Grealish was honoured at the 3rd edition of the Awards held on June 2nd in Dublin.

The gala ceremony brought together women from various fields, highlighting their exceptional contributions and inspiring stories of success.

The Irish Women’s Awards serves as a platform to recognise and honour the outstanding achievements of women who have made a significant impact in their respective industries. The event aims to inspire and empower women, encouraging them to reach new heights of success and leadership.

Each winner has displayed exceptional talent, expertise, and dedication in their field. Their achievements not only serve as an inspiration to others but also contribute to the advancement of gender equality and diversity in Ireland.

The 800-year-old Kings Head pub has been owned and operated by the Grealish family since the late 80s, and it has long been one of the most beloved spots in the city. Mary’s influence, her creativity, work ethic and warmth can be found everywhere in the Kings Head, from her eye for interiors evident in recent decor upgrades, to her management of HR for 75 employees.

“It’s wonderful to win this award and to be recognised for The Kings Head and all that it offers in terms of food, drinks, live music. We have a team of 75 in house and we work with local suppliers, musicians, and artists.  WE are embedded into Galway and love to champion this wonderful city through our partnerships with Galway International Arts Festival, Druid Theatre Company, Connacht Rugby and the rebuilt Galway Hooker ‘Meaircín Joe’. We are gearing up for the summer of fun in Galway and this win is setting the tone for what will be a fantastic year ahead,” explained Mary.

A Spokesperson for the Irish Women’s Awards 2023 said: “We would like to extend heartfelt congratulations to all the winners and finalists for their outstanding accomplishments and their positive influence within their industries and communities. Their achievements are a testament to their hard work, passion, and unwavering commitment to excellence.”

Pop into The Kings Head on High Street 7 days a week for food, drinks and live music. Get social online at www.thekingshead.ie.

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Father’s Day- Eating, whiskey, walking and a few laughs

June 14, 2023

Experience is the best gift, so why not do just that this Father’s Day?

Every year the dilemma of what to do or get for Dad comes into play, so the team at Galway Food Tours have put together a food and whiskey tour that will tick all the boxes for you the giver and your dad this year.

Spend time together and enjoy a three-hour whiskey pairing tour with beautiful plates of food at some of Galway best food spots. Tickets €90 pp available online at  www.galwayfoodtours.com.

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Exploring the illusion of separation

June 14, 2023

An immersive sculpture installation engaging all senses

Self taught , professional Irish artist and teacher of wire sculpture. Glenn Gibson’s work, spanning two decades, explores themes of mysticism, consciousness and the natural world. For the last six years Glenn has been the Creative Director for Art in Mind, Galway’s artist led non-profit organisation that is dedicated to promoting mental wellbeing through creative practice. Now Glenn is launching One, an immersive sculpture installation engaging all senses which will launch in September 2024.

What started as a hobby became a vital therapeutic tool to combat life’s more difficult times. Combined with a meditation practice Glenn discovered that this focused activity began to untie all the knots in his mind, giving clear and calm periods where creativity poured from him. “It was the only time in my day where the chatter of my brain would abate, my stress and anxiety would fade and time dilate. I had accidentally stepped into a flow state, and have been fascinated with it ever since,” said Glenn.

Introducing One The project:
This work explores the illusion of separation in three parts. “In an ever ‘connected’ world we find more and more people experiencing loneliness and feelings of isolation. The first part explores the sensation of being surrounded by people and still feeling alone, while at the same time offering a perspective shift to realise that everything is interconnected and that we all participate in the creation of our experience,” explained Glenn.

Why 108? In many cultures 108 is a sacred number. According to the mathematician Leonardo Fibonacci, who was born around A.D. 1170 and after whom the Fibonacci sequence is (nick)named, it is believed that the number 108 has a way of representing the wholeness of existence. This subject will be explored more throughout the installation.

Join The 108

The reason I chose to use this number is an entire rabbit hole in itself but suffice to say, 108 is a sacred number, According to Vedic cosmology, 108 is the basis of creation, represents the universe and all our existence. In yoga, the number 108 refers to spiritual completion. That’s the reason why malas used for japa (silent repetition of a mantra) are composed of 108 beads.

The 108 are the core supporters of this project. For more information, to get involved and or to support check out https://108.ie/.

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With cheese please
Meet the Maker series with Galway Food Tours gets cheesy

May 15, 2023

The award-winning Galway Food Tours who guide people through the food scene of Galway have added to their offering this spring/summer with a new program that will introduce the people behind the food. The Meet the Maker tour will combine food and the unique characters in Galway who bring the best of what is on offer to life.

Bringing in the cheese is Teresa Roche, the woman behind the award winning Kylemore FarmHouse Cheese – produced on Teresa’s family farm at the foothills of the Slieve Aughty mountains in Co Galway.

On Thursday 18 May she will share her journey on becoming a fourth generation dairy farmer and talk you through what is involved in getting her premium cheese from farm to table…while sampling her delicious cheese.

After meeting Teresa, you will take a short walk to one of Galway Food Tours special restaurants for a dinner and wine pairing…finishing the evening off with a nightcap in a very special local bar.

Tickets are €100 and are available from www.galwayfoodtours.com.

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West of Ireland Digital Marketing Agency become Google Premier Partner

May 4, 2023

Adhere Digital Nominated for three international marketing awards

Data driven Digital Marketing Agency, Adhere Digital located in Galway Westend have secured the only west of Ireland Premier Partner Agency with Google, further cementing its position as one of the top digital marketing agencies in Ireland & UK.

Adhere Digital, the Galway-London outfit, are a fast-growing digital marketing agency with an impressive rise in the last few years, specialising in Search Engine Marketing and now The European Search Awards have nominated Adhere Digital for three Awards. The nominations include Best Small PPC Agency, Best Use of Search – Retail/E-commerce (PPC) (Small), and a Rising Star Award for Gráinne Harte. Founded four and a half years ago, Adhere Digital has quickly established itself as a leading player in the digital marketing space for Ecommerce and lead generation clients.

The company has managed over €5 million worth of media Spending across Google, Meta & Tik Tok and generated over €23 Million in revenue for their Ecommerce clients alone. They are well versed in where to spend their client money to get a positive Rate of Investment. The European Search Awards are among the most respected awards in the industry, recognising excellence in digital marketing across Europe.

The European Search Awards will announce winners at a gala ceremony in Lisbon on May 25th, “We’re excited to be in the running for these awards,” said Paul Walsh Managing Director at Adhere Digital. “It’s great to see our team’s hard work and commitment to delivering results being recognised on a European stage. We’re looking forward to the awards ceremony in June and wish all the other nominees the best of luck.”

The agency’s focus on results-driven strategies and exceptional customer service has earned them a reputation as a top performer in the industry. “We’re thrilled to have been nominated for these awards; I think it’s a testament to our team, who had always embraced the data-first approach, which was our mission when we started in 2018. We all have opinions in advertising of what works and does not work, but we always let the data do the talking. When you take modern digital marketing strategies using data and machine learning and apply age-old human behavioural biases, the results can be incredible. We are very grateful for the type of clients we have, and putting their trust in us, means a great deal to us.” said Paul.

For more information check out https://adheredigital.com/.

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SALT

May 4, 2023

An exploration of our connection to the sea, through the power of personal story, collective song, poetry, and light art

Over 2,000 people attended two multidisciplinary ritual beach performances that celebrated our ocean took place in Kinvara on Trácht Beach and Ladies Beach in Salthill, Galway City on April 30th and May 1st as part of Galway Theatre Festival 2023.

A Community Choir of 60 voluntary participants sung alongside a performing ensemble cast made up of professional performers Daniel Guinnane, Johanne Webb, and Sophie Hutchinson who performed with artist and vocalist Ceara Conway. 

The Salt Community Choir consists of members of the community in Kinvara and its surroundings, most of them sea swimmers themselves. Over an extended period of three months, the choir rehearsed with composer Robbie Blake and Vanessa Earl exploring together soundscapes of the sea and Ode. 

An exploration of our connection to the sea, through the power of personal story, collective song, poetry, and light art.

SALT, a collaboration between a community of sea-swimmers based in Kinvara, composer Robbie Blake, poet Mary Madec, and marine scientists, led and directed by theatre-maker Vanessa Earl and produced by Culture Works will celebrate our connection to the sea as a coastal community.

SALT, inspired by the powerful personal stories of local swimmers gathered during the pandemic, is about belonging, authentic connection, healing and empowerment. To belong, to be part of, and to be connected with ourselves, each other and the sea.  These themes have informed the creation of a 30-minute site-responsive, outdoor performance. 

In this collective positive action of celebration, we will foster an understanding of our common humanity; reconnect to our natural home, foster conscious living through our love and respect for our ocean. This is Positive Intrinsic Cultural Activism. (PICA)

The long-term ambition for SALT is to perform on beaches at all four cardinal points in Ireland and ultimately, to share the ode and music with community choirs in coastal communities across the world to raise awareness of our intrinsic relationship to the ocean and the vital need to protect it and take positive action in order to do so.

SALT champions the work of FairSeas who are working to fully protect 30% of Ireland’s ocean territory by 2030, thus making Ireland a world leader in marine protection. Galway Bay has been identified as an area of special interest due to its’ high density of bottlenose dolphins, harbour porpoise and the 65,000 birds who breed here every year.

This project is funded by The Arts Council’s Arts Participation Project Award, Creative Ireland, Galway County Arts Office, Galway and City Council. 

SALT champions the work of FairSeas who are working to fully protect 30% of Ireland’s ocean territory by 2030, thus making Ireland a world leader in marine protection. Galway Bay has been identified as an area of special interest due to its’ high density of bottlenose dolphins, harbour porpoise and the 65,000 birds who breed here every year.

For more information get social on Instagram @saltprojectgalway and @cultureworks.ie 

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Going back in time to give comfort in the now

May 4, 2023

Award winning podcast returns with stories to “bury into your heart”

The award winning critically acclaimed Promenade which was released in November 2022 returns for its second season.  Reviewed as “Stories that will burrow their way into your heart”, Season One heard stories from around the world dealing with memory and the stories they trigger from the sound of the sea reminding of an old romance, a smell that can make one yearn for home – these memories can be triggered by the oddest of things. Created and concepted by Andy Gaffney, Promenade was born “from both love and curiosity of nostalgia and a love of hearing a person’s story. Memories and the stories they trigger can be actual real life time travel.”

Promenade Season Two features fourteen stories from around the world dealing with memory and the stories they trigger from the sound of bookshops reminding, you of childhood, a perfume maker trying to create the scent of her life to a piece of music in World War two being a lifelong companion to a man hidden from the nazis.

Season two is built around the idea of searching through old video tapes looking for a recorded memory and those moments late at night when you wake up to a static lit room after falling asleep.

Talking on his own trips down memory lane, Andy commented, “A memory I hold dear and one I used in my own Promenade story in Season One is being in my childhood room with my parents old Bush TV, retired Betamax and a box of tapes. As much as I loved watching those liberated local video shop tapes like Ice Station Zebra and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, I also loved the old recorded over a thousand times from the TV videos featuring ads from an era, a random Christmas Special before cutting to a home video that nobody remembers recording. Those tapes feel packed with Ghosts.”

A theme that emerges throughout these fourteen stories is people remembering fathers, mothers and grandparents. Both in the things they did for you as carers when you were child but also what tthat now means when you think back when you remember someone not as a parent but as a

person. When you listen to this series as a whole it becomes clear, nobody does it alone.

Promenade Season Two is available on all platforms including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Also available on www.theshift.ie

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Let us Dance- Where Dance Meets Street in Wexford

May 4, 2023

The Irish Street Art, Circus and Spectacle Network – ISACS – Ireland’s leading support and advocacy organisation for the development of street arts, circus and spectacle art forms and SpringMoves Dance Festival will host Where Dance Meets Street at the National Opera House, High St, Wexford on May 6th, and 7th.

This year Where Dance Meets Street explores collaborative practice and presentation between the art forms of Street and Dance. As part of this two-day event Prodigal UPG will perform Zoo Humans for the whole community and deliver a Masterclass for artists interested in presenting Dance in public places.

ZOO HUMANS is a free performance-parkour/dance/physical-theatre show for the whole family – at 3pm on Saturday 6th of May, at Selskar. Accompanied by an original electronic soundtrack by Chris Umney, featuring Sir David Attenborough’s classic narration (with the blessing of the man himself). No booking is required.

The Masterclass for dance, street and circus artists will take place on Sunday the 7th at the National Opera House. It will explore the practice, creation, and presentation of work in public spaces and the democratic nature of Street Arts. The first session – starting at 10:30am, will introduce participants to a diversity of movement vocabulary, and then a final 2-hour session in the afternoon, will explore outdoor spaces in connection with Dance movement.

The Urban Playground Team is the original performance-parkour (2PK) company, coining that term to describe their unique blend of dance, street theatre and parkour. The company specialises in pioneering engagement models with at-risk communities of young people and has worked with participants aged 3 – 95.

The event is supported by Wexford County Council and the Arts Council of Ireland. For more information check out https://isacs.ie/event/where-dance-meets-street-2023/ .