Attractions

Many of Galway's top attractions are outdoors and free of charge. In the center of town, for example, on Shop Street, is Lynch's Castle, dating from 1490 and renovated in the 19th century. It's now a branch of the Allied Irish Bank, and you can walk in and look around. The stern exterior is watched over by a handful of amusing gargoyles.

Close to the city docks, you can still see the area where Spanish merchants unloaded cargo from their galleons. The Spanish Arch was one of four arches built in 1594, and the Spanish Parade is a small open square, which, like Eyre Square, is great for people-watching.

Tragic Tale of Lynch's Window -- One block away from Eyre Square on Market Street, the Lynch Memorial Window sits in a wall above a built-up Gothic doorway. It commemorates the tragic story of the 16th-century Galway mayor James Lynch FitzStephen, who condemned his own son to death for the murder of a Spanish merchant. After finding no one to carry out the deed, he executed the boy himself. The act destroyed him and he retreated into a life of seclusion.