Is there any better place for an EU-subsidised arts festival than Galway?

I was still digesting my delicious breakfast (kippers, poached eggs and soda bread — all local) when the sad news reached our party of freeloaders (sorry, I mean distinguished international journalists): a force ten gale was blowing in, so tonight’s opening ceremony on the headland by the harbour had been cancelled. ‘Ah well, let’s go and get drunk,’ said my new friend Shane. So we did.

Galway is this year’s European Capital of Culture and, while Brexiteers may welcome their liberation from this perennial EU shindig, if you’re going to stage a state–subsidised arts festival anywhere then Ireland’s liveliest little city is probably the best place, despite the frequently filthy weather. There are all kinds of arty events all through the year, but the main attraction is Galway itself and the joyful people who inhabit it.