Galway Races- people with "that" attitude

ben.schlomo

beagle001 wrote: »

Had to pick up some friends on Thursday night around the spanish arch,I have never seen such chaos in all my time in Galway.
Women urinating in the shop doorways,fellas getting sick and kicking cars,an African taxi driver doing an illegal u turn and hitting a pedestrian sending him into the bus shelter at the arch,poor guy was rattled and taxi fled the scene.
Litter and takeaway cartons everywhere,it was so busy hundreds of people at 2:30am walking in the middle of the street,I had a real fear I would hit one of them as the lads were pushing eachother into the road.
I think any sensible Galwegian will not venture out that night,its known as a messy night but nothing prepared me for the spectacle of Ladies day drunks.
Its a pity they have to drink so much and make a donkey of themselves and you cannot say the women are worse from what I saw it was equally balanced shennanigans.

I'm a sensible Galwegian and i've gone out Ladies Day for the last ten years. Its busy everywhere and wedged everywhere, lots of people get too drunk and do stupid things. Doesn't mean the rest of us can't enjoy it.

beagle001

ben.schlomo wrote: »

I'm a sensible Galwegian and i've gone out Ladies Day for the last ten years. Its busy everywhere and wedged everywhere, lots of people get too drunk and do stupid things. Doesn't mean the rest of us can't enjoy it.

To each their own but I personally prefer not stepping over excessive amounts of broken glass and vomit in a bar,having to queue for 30 mins min for a drink and being pushed and shoved even more so than a regular weekend in Galway.
I am sure many had a great night but its just not for me anymore,still that does not take away from the carry on I witnessed at the Spanish arch and I have been to many a busy capital city this was well out of control.
Cannot blame the police either as its the persons responsibility to act with a bit of dignity,I find a young lady squatting to relieve herself in a door way a bit on the low side for our tourist image and groups of lads pushing eachother infront of incoming traffic just stupid carry on with no need for.
As with any night out in Galway you will get violence,its the same for any city in Ireland unfortunately over consumption of booze is a huge part in this,walk down the Champs Elysee with 100000 people on it and you would never see the sort of violence that is common in Irish small and large towns.
We have an obsession with booze that causes all this antisocial behaviour.

ben.schlomo

beagle001 wrote: »

To each their own but I personally prefer not stepping over excessive amounts of broken glass and vomit in a bar,having to queue for 30 mins min for a drink and being pushed and shoved even more so than a regular weekend in Galway.
I am sure many had a great night but its just not for me anymore,still that does not take away from the carry on I witnessed at the Spanish arch and I have been to many a busy capital city this was well out of control.
Cannot blame the police either as its the persons responsibility to act with a bit of dignity,I find a young lady squatting to relieve herself in a door way a bit on the low side for our tourist image and groups of lads pushing eachother infront of incoming traffic just stupid carry on with no need for.
As with any night out in Galway you will get violence,its the same for any city in Ireland unfortunately over consumption of booze is a huge part in this,walk down the Champs Elysee with 100000 people on it and you would never see the sort of violence that is common in Irish small and large towns.
We have an obsession with booze that causes all this antisocial behaviour.

Completely agree with the underlined part.

As for the 30 min queues. I havent waited longer than 2mins in any pub all week, find room on the street, find the quickest serving pub and use their toilets. Worked a treatThurs night and lastnight again. People go way overboard on the negative side, it happens all year round everywhere in this country but is increased with the crowds this week. Get over it and dont go into town if you dont want, i dont see there being a cultural shift in this country so its not going to go away anytime soon.

Not having a specific go at you by the way.;)

JONJO THE MISER

Well i for one had a great week was out on the piss from Monday to Friday, i think some of ye guys are actually residents of the county home the way ye are going on.

inisboffin

JONJO THE MISER wrote: »

Well i for one had a great week was out on the piss from Monday to Friday, i think some of ye guys are actually residents of the county home the way ye are going on.

Possibly. The County Home doesn't Even have enough funds to pay for five days of 'on the piss' drinking for some of us!

Simarillion

I was out for 3 nights this week mainly on Cross St and Quay St and I thought there was a really good atmosphere this year. I think if you branched off those areas into Eyre Sq or the Spanish Arch it got worse but I think a mixture of under-age drinkers down at the Spanish aRch and people who got straight off the bus from the races and walked into the nearest pub on the square accounted for that.

Two of my friends from my university in England came over to visit and both of them really enjoyed both nights I brought them out during the week, and none of us were particularly drunk on any of the nights.

As regards incidents I ended up helping with two people who had to be put into ambulances. Didn't know either, but as a medic I feel bad leaving them. One was a drunk at the train station and the other was a girl who was just trashed out of her mind. But they were the only incidents I witnessed all week.

Lapin

skelliser wrote: »

What is with these people that come to the races?
You know the type; suits, shoes and wads of cash.
For the ladies; dolled up to the max with huge heels.
They both have one think in common, a stuck up nasty attitude.

Now this rant will only resonate with the galwegians and blow-ins to galway. Ye all know who im talking about.

OP, I think the guy you're looking for is here.

Its another thread on Boards. Second photo - man with phone.

SparKing

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Was standing on the Cross St/High St junction from about 8pm and the ambulance came around 1130pm and was outside Buskers area for about twenty minutes so i'd question just how reliable your info was

Question away, Ambulances were going from the bottom of Mainguard st. so you wouldn't have been able to see from there unless you're 7 ft. tall, source was a bouncer.

hyperbaby

I went to the races on Friday and I wore something casual because I didn't have time or couldn't be bothered dressing up.
Everyone seemed to be dressed to the nines.
The races used to never be that, when did it turn into a fashion show?
Also some lads shouldn't even bother because they can't pull off wearing a suit.

beagle001

Its not to everyones taste I agree but whatever happens that week whether its something in the water that turns ordinary decent people into complete idiots I do not know,its like rag week an excuse to be an ass they think.
Its great for the businesses and a headache for the staff I am sure,without countless incidents of this nature happening every night the races takes place it does not appeal to every local or tourist to be bombarded with drunks on the street creating chaos.
The amount of litter tossed around the city after each night is just disgusting,fair play to the workers who clear it up before the general public are up.I had a run through toen on Thursday morning round 5:30 and the place looked like a dump,now the race course and the major fast food outlets are making a fortune from this week they should foot the full bill of the clean up.

ben.schlomo

SparKing wrote: »

Question away, Ambulances were going from the bottom of Mainguard st. so you wouldn't have been able to see from there unless you're 7 ft. tall, source was a bouncer.

I would have seen the auld blue flashing lights though, they tend to catch the eye. No matter anyway tis all over until next year.

snubbleste

The amount of illegally abandoned vehicles was appalling. Just left there nonchantly on top of the poor double yellow lines, causing long-suffering footpaths to bear the brunt of careless motorists hour after painstaking hour.

Caliden

Out of the country for it this year and really glad I didn't have to experience any of it after reading this thread. Sounds similar to the past few years though.

Dressing up seems to change people's mentality and they do things they wouldn't normally do if they weren't surrounded by their friends or big crowds

Sponge Bob

Wed - Fri of race week has always been crap. Can we lock this thread so that someone else can start a thread this time next year.

snubbleste

We have to bítch about something..it's what the Galway forum is about

celty

Now these people can go back to wearing their suits for what they bought them for in the first place ... their Court appearances.

I thought it was such a Race Week story that the two lads being sought for throwing the guy off the ESB substation at 3.15 am were both wearing shirts and ties. Only on Race Week!

Not to trivialise what happened to the victim and I hope he is o.k. I believe he's making a recovery.

What a week! Racing 7 days and drinking from wednesday to last night in town. Brilliant craic around the streets and in the pubs of Galway yet again, every year it amazes me again and again what a fantastic week race week is.

Depression has well and truly kicked in , wish it was last monday and the week was just starting! Roll on next year!

inisboffin

Blaze Flaky Snake wrote: »

drinking from wednesday to last night in town.

Depression has well and truly kicked in

Yep. Drink can do that to ya!

BESman

Wednesday to Friday of Race Week is a bit too much for me. Went on the Saturday for the first time this year and it was really refreshing. Nowhere near as busy, a nice older crowd and just much more enjoyable.

Pick your days right and it ain't so bad. Obviously if you're working in town you're a bit screwed.

TobyZiegler

I enjoyed the week a lot - mostly because of the new system of closing off the Dominick Street outside the Roisin Dubh. Could still drink on the street but there was far more room and it was all far less messy than the Quay Street / Cross Street area. There were even picnic tables for those who wanted to sit down.

Didnt witness any unsavoury incidents really besides the usual drunkeness. I agree that it was more laid back for the VOR but overall I enjoyed the week.

Dan_Solo

LimGal wrote: »

maybe it isnt true but no smoke without fire.

:rolleyes:

Dan_Solo

I honestly can't see what the problem is. If the city is full of a-holes pestering all and sundry why not just stay at home or go to your local? Why would you want to mix with them at all?

inisboffin

Dan_Solo wrote: »

I honestly can't see what the problem is. If the city is full of a-holes pestering all and sundry why not just stay at home or go to your local? Why would you want to mix with them at all?

I think people do try to do that. But sadly, some people's job/home/local IS in the middle of it.

LimGal

Dan_Solo wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Doubt you would be doin that sarcastic smiley face if it had happened to someone you knew.But fairplay good contribution to the thread:rolleyes:

Davyhal

I was out over the last week in Galway, and I must admit that I did wear a suit and tie out on Thursday and Saturday night, as I had been at the races those days. On Wednesday, Friday and Sunday I wore my normal clothes that I'd wear out, and I must say that I encountered a**holes who were dressed in all types of attire. Put that many people together, add alcohol, and you are bound to come across more undesireables than normal. The one thing I was disgusted at was the underage drinking, especially at the races on Thursday. I am no prude, in fact I would have split a few cans with some mates in some field somewhere when I was a young lad, but nothing on the scale I saw on Thursday. These young lads were no more than 13-14, absolutely blocked, as in lying on the ground on the steps of the old stand vomiting, at 5 in the day. Thing is, they were dressed in better suits than a lot of adults, had better watches, certainly seemed to be flush with cash, and had plenty of drink. The girls were as bad, but you wouldnt have been able to guess they were so young if it wasn't for the male company they were keeping.... How could these children afford a day out at the races in such style when many people 20 years older than them couldn't?!

FatherTed

What's it like during the Arts Festival? Planning to go back there with the wife and kids next year around July 20-25ish. I hope it's not as bad as this.

Mrs OBumble

Arts fest is fine. It's just race week (horses festival) and rag week (drinks festival) that are messy.

Dan_Solo

LimGal wrote: »

Dan_Solo wrote: »

:rolleyes:

Doubt you would be doin that sarcastic smiley face if it had happened to someone you knew.But fairplay good contribution to the thread:rolleyes:

If what happened? All I heard was some he said she said Chinese whispers waffle. Can I call you a pedophile and add "there's no smoke without fire"? Same thing.

FlashD

FatherTed wrote: »

What's it like during the Arts Festival? Planning to go back there with the wife and kids next year around July 20-25ish. I hope it's not as bad as this.

Arts Festival week in Galway is fantastic for families, there's a fun, laidback feel about the city that week.

Galway Races used to be a good week but the boom changed all that.

.... anyways it's a knacker festival now, a week when the tracksuit brigade swap over for suits. You spot them mile off, buzzcuts and farmer tans for the lads and dangly earrings & oompa loompa makeup for the girls.

Guess race week makes them feel like 'somebody' then come Monday its back to the dole for the other 51 weeks of the year.

Regards

LimGal

Dan_Solo wrote: »

If what happened? All I heard was some he said she said Chinese whispers waffle. Can I call you a pedophile and add "there's no smoke without fire"? Same thing.

Think there is a difference between several different sources saying they had heard something similiar occur at the Arch(which sounds very plausible going by what other posters having been saying what was goin on down there) and some tw*t sitting behind his computer making something up about somebody being a pedophile.