PICS: ‘There’s Only Two Places I Want To Be When The Sun Is Shining In Ireland’

Sickened. 

That’s the only word to describe how I was feeling last week when I was working and all my friends were heading to ‘The Barge’ in Dublin to soak up the sunshine while scoffing on some cans.

Thursday evening was blazin’ and on Friday, I was heading in the opposite direction for the weekend, across west to Galway to see herself and have a night out with a few mates.

As I suffered a torturous bus journey in the blistering heat (the only time I choose not to drive down, I have nobody to blame but myself), I began to think in hope.

‘Please let it be sunny again tomorrow because – feck The Barge, there’s only two places I want to be when the sun is shining in Ireland’.

For two and a half hours, I concocted my ultimate summer playlist, starting strongly with ‘Sun Is Shining’ the remix of the Bob Marley classic, rocking out the middle bit with ‘Here Comes The Summer’ by The Undertones, before finishing off with ‘Waterfall’ by The Stone Roses.

Before I had hit Athlone, my stupid phone was dead so I decided to spend the remainder of the journey thinking about all the red-hot summers we had in Ireland.

That took me all of 30 seconds so instead I just fell asleep. 

I love an auld lie-in on a weekend morning but that wasn’t the case this Saturday. Up at 10 O’Clock, a quick omelette was thrown into the belly and we packed a Frisbee and some sandwiches and headed for Salthill. 

Salthill looking amazing today! ???????? #LoveGalway pic.twitter.com/hXnOVxsG85

— Sleepzone Hostels (@Sleepzone) April 21, 2018

The endless summer continues as the sun bathes Salthill, Galway pic.twitter.com/YCHbaPEXf1

— Galway Tourism (@galwaytourism) August 4, 2014

Rio. #World Cup No! It’s beautiful Galway Bay! #GIAF14 RT @GalwayBayHotel: #salthill #wildatlanticway #summer #galway pic.twitter.com/mMWWKxOgpD

— Galway Int Arts Fest (@GalwayIntArts) July 6, 2014

Once you walk past the leisure centre and the two hotels and watch the cars scramble through the car park looking for a space, you can understand why the place is so busy.

It’s literally heaven on earth on a place like today. It’s a cheaper tourist version of Dingle. A place filled with queues for Ed Sheeran when he recorded Galway Girl.

Speaking of songs named Galway Girl, much like you can’t go to mass without blessing yourself, you cannot the a stroll down the Salthill Prom without kicking the wall at the end. 

And it’s this extremely noticeable beauty on this sunny day that makes it even tens time harder to believe that something so stunning can be so scary at another time of the year.

If you don’t believe us, ask Teresa Mannion. 

We sunbathed for a while in between watching people run in and out of the sea and young ones building sandcastles and crying about getting an ice-cream (or not).

The Frisbee was a fecking disaster, my aim was so terrible that you’d think I’d have had a few pints already.

So we scrapped that idea and went up town to get a beach ball. But on the way we couldn’t resist stopping into The Creamery Cafe for a scoop.

Their ice-cream is the business. Scrap the cone, a big oreo scoop in a tub with a spoon, job done.

We felt bad getting anymore because we had just had breakfast and had sandwiches packed for a picnic. 

But, deep down, we were both waiting for just one of us to say ‘fancy another?’