Ireland – Oysterfestival
Ireland covers an area of 70,285 km² (of which 1390 km² is water) and has a population of 3.8 million. The capital is Dublin. The average life expectancy is 73.5 years. The racial makeup of the city is 93.1% Catholic, 2.4% Anglican, Presbyterian, and Jewish.
Gaelic and English (as the lingua franca) are spoken. Ireland has a cool, temperate climate. One seventh of the country (about 10000km²) is covered with bogs. Large areas of the coastal areas are covered with heathland, marshland and marshland. Only 4.9% of the country is forested. The national drink is Guinnes.
We had received the tip that every year in September there is an oyster festival in Galway on the west coast of Ireland. On the spur of the moment, we booked a flight to the island. With the pre-booked rental car we drove from the airport to the city of Galway in a few minutes. The hotel directly in the city center was also pre-booked, which is mandatory for the festival, as everything is fully booked here at this time.
Galway is a vibrant city of 60,000 people and is the gateway to Connemara. The city centre of Galway is medieval with its winding cobblestone streets. It is a colorful crowd of jugglers, artists, locals and tourists for the Oyster Festival in the city. In addition, the city is full of young people because of the university located here. The cafes and pubs are already packed in the late afternoon. The Oyster Festival is “the attraction of the year”. During the festival, parades and vintage parades take place.
People show themselves and want to be seen, are exuberant and celebrate. Music bands parade through the streets in a colourful sequence and encourage people to join in the celebrations. The mayor has the honour of opening the first oyster of the season.
After that, the festival will be opened. In a giant tent outside the city, thousands of oysters are offered. Plenty of champagne and, of course, Guinness flows. The country’s television stations film all the activities and in the evening the spectacle is then broadcast on national television. Parties take place in all larger hotels, but you have to register in advance. The festival starts on Friday and ends on Sunday. On Saturday evening, an international competition will be launched to determine the participant who needs the shortest time to open oysters. 100 oysters must be opened per participant.
The field of participants is international. The winner will be presented with a title and a lot of honour at the end of the event. Guests are obliged to eat the oysters opened in this way afterwards, of course against payment of an entrance fee. But you can slurp as many oysters as you can tolerate. It is not uncommon for some people to be spotted with a protein shock late in the evening. The event will be accompanied by music and dance groups. The whole thing is great fun and an experience of a special kind.
