Ringing in 2026 in Galway, Ireland

 Day Twelve - Wednesday, December 31, 2025

I can't believe it but I have finally caught up with the blog. For the first time since I started this journal the date and actual entry match. We have been on the go with such a vengeance it's been tough to keep up. But last night when the group turned in before 10 pm I had the chance to wake up early and write. Plus the room I share with Ben and Gary has a sweet little desk light that I can type by. This was met with fierce criticism from Ben who shared with Gary and I. It woke him up too early.

Sun in Galway doesn't rise fully until 8:51 am. but streaks of daylight could be seen outside my hotel window by the river at around 8 am. Madelyn and I did a loop walk out of the Latin quarter, to the waste treatment plant, along the ocean and back to our hotel. Galway is a very quaint town with multicolored houses facing the bay. It was cold and cloudy but not rainy.

We made the decision not to drive today. Getting our car out of the parking garage by the hotel was heroic and I worried we wouldn't be successful if we pulled it out again. So we opted for a day of walking around the city. We ate a huge breakfast of pancakes (Gary and Jack ate lighter fare as neither one was feeling great.) We went off to check out the Galway Museum which closed at 1 pm. We missed it, so we walked to the Galway Cathedral the largest stone cathedral in Europe, completed in 1965, and it looked very new and modern on the inside. We actually saw a wedding taking place where the bride outside was telling the wedding party to get moving up the aisle since they were already 30 minutes late for the grand entrance.

We wandered back into city center streets of Galway, (the most famous was Quay where our hotel was located) which were starting to fill up with New Year's Eve revelers. Gary went back to rest while we shopped a bit and stopped at Murphy's pub for Bailey's coffees and beers. We played a round of euchre and Uno before taking off the the Christmas market to show Jack the Ferris wheel and the booths set up as part of the annual winter carnival. It was starting to get late so we made a stop at SPAR which is like a 7Eleven and picked up crackers and cheese and champagne to ring in the new year before we walked to dinner. 

The walk to dinner took us along Upper Salt Hill which runs along the sea and we stopped by O'Connor's Famous Pub to confirm we could come back after dinner to celebrate New Year's. It was only 7:30 pm but they said the pub was full and over capacity and likely no one would leave and there wasn't room for us. Our restaurant The Black Rock Cottage was situated right on the sea. We dined on a pre fix menu typical of Irish cuisine -- featuring very little vegetables unless you count potatoes. One dish even featured a side of potatoes with a side of frites! The food was good but the waitstaff grumpy. Likely they wanted to be somewhere else on New Years Eve. They send us off with a glass of rose bubbly and some New Year's Eve hats and blowers. 

A quick cab ride back to town and we found Quay Streets mobbed. Midnight was about 40 minutes away and the pub lines were huge. Even more surprising were the short skirts and modest clothing the girls were wearing despite the temps falling in the teens. We stumbled upon a group of girls who were celebrating and loved our NYE hats and asked where we got them. We gave them to the group and they squealed with glee. It was the perfect act to do on New Year's Eve.

We decided to watch the ball drop from our hotel bar which was filled with a Spanish family all celebrating together. After a quick cheers and hugs all around we all headed to bed exhausted and prepped for a 8:30 am departure to the Cliffs of Mohr.