Greetings from Under the Arch
This week Mikel Murfi performs both halves of his cobbler's story on consecutive nights at the Town Hall.
Frame Fest brings animators from Aardman and MacKinnon & Saunders to Stiúideo Fia in Lettermore for two free days.
A Place to Bury Strangers are at Róisín Dubh on Saturday, the Arts Centre opens late twice this week, Bierhaus hands its kitchen to two chefs for four nights, and ConTempo play a free lunchtime concert in a medieval church to start September.
This is our pick of what's on in Galway this week. As always for a full event list check out the link at the bottom of the email.
Let's dive in 👇
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK
Mikel Murfi: The Man in the Woman's Shoes and I Hear You and Rejoice
Wednesday 26 and Thursday 27 August · 20:00 · Town Hall Theatre
Wednesday is the first play, in which the cobbler Pat Farnon walks five miles into town in 1978 and Murfi becomes every neighbour he meets along the way, alone, with no set to speak of. Thursday is the sequel, which takes Pat somewhere nobody watching the first one would predict. Seeing them on consecutive nights is the whole point and turns two good pieces of theatre into something considerably better. Murfi wrote and performs both, and he is one of the very few actors in the country who can hold a stage this way without it becoming a stunt.
Frame Fest 2026
Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August · From 10:30 Saturday · Stiúideo Fia, Lettermore
Ireland's first festival built entirely around stop-motion, and it is free. Animators from Aardman, MacKinnon & Saunders and Telegael are coming, including Seamus Malone from Aardman, for screenings, artist talks, puppet demonstrations and hands-on workshops on puppet making and animation. There is a TG4-backed award for the best Irish-language stop-motion, a two-day challenge for emerging animators with cash prizes, and an optional early-morning Atlantic swim for anyone who wants to earn their breakfast. Lettermore is an hour out the coast road from the city, which is the trade, and the programme is bilingual throughout. Capacity is limited so register.
A Place to Bury Strangers
Saturday 29 August · 20:30 · Róisín Dubh
The New York trio have spent nearly twenty years being described as the loudest band in the city and have never once tried to correct the record. Oliver Ackermann builds the effects pedals himself, which explains a great deal about why nothing else sounds quite like this. The live show involves a level of controlled chaos that a recording cannot get near. Róisín Dubh is the right size for it, which is to say you will feel it in your chest.
Glory Days
Friday 28 August · 20:00 · Monroe's Live
Six players doing Springsteen, which is the minimum headcount for the job given how much of the E Street sound is the saxophone and the organ arguing. The material runs from Born in the USA through to the recent records. Monroe's on a Friday with a singalong crowd is a fair approximation of the real thing at a fraction of the price.
Powerhaus
Saturday 29 August · 23:00 · Róisín Dubh
Disco upstairs at eleven, after the noise downstairs has finished. Róisín Dubh running two entirely incompatible things in one building on the same night is very much the house style. Late licence.
Lunchtime Concert with ConTempo
Tuesday 1 September · 13:10 · St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church
The ConTempo Quartet have been Galway's resident string quartet for two decades and they still play free lunchtime concerts in a church that has been standing since 1320. Ten past one, forty minutes, no charge, presented with MusicConnects. There is no better use of a lunch hour available in this city.
Late Opening: Deviations
Thursday 27 August · 17:00 · Galway Arts Centre
John Rainey's sculpture and digital work stays open into the evening, free, with nobody hurrying you along. Deviations deals in transformation and material memory, and it rewards the kind of slow looking that a weekday afternoon visit never allows. Five o'clock, informal, walk in.
Palestine Comedy Club
Friday 28 August · 20:00 · Town Hall Theatre
A documentary following six Palestinian stand-ups touring their own country, using the form to get at daily injustice and endurance in a way that reporting cannot. Comedy as a documentary subject is usually a soft angle, and here it is the opposite. Eight o'clock at the Town Hall.
Gallery Lates: Air Mapping Drawing Workshop
Friday 28 August · 18:00 · Galway Arts Centre
Róisín Doherty walks a group through The Air We Share and then runs a collaborative drawing session responding to it, using sound and conversation as much as pencils. Making something in response to an exhibition beats standing in front of it and nodding. Six o'clock, no experience needed.
Galway Indoor Market
Saturday 29 August · 11:00 · The Cornstore
Independent makers and traders with vintage clothing, vinyl, jewellery, crafts, art and plants, plus live music while you browse. Indoors, which in Galway is a feature rather than a compromise. Eleven o'clock, free in.
Snack Week at Bierhaus
Tuesday 25 to Friday 28 August · From 16:00 · Bierhaus
Santiago Amozurrutia and Alex Bourke take over the Bierhaus kitchen for four nights with a Mediterranean menu built for sharing. Chef takeovers in a beer bar tend to produce food that is better than it needs to be, because there is no reputation to protect and no tasting menu to justify. Four o'clock onwards, four nights only.
Taste and Visit Persia
Tuesday 25 August · 19:00 · Aryan's Persian Restaurant
A welcome drink, around twelve buffet dishes and a presentation on Iranian culture and history with a question-and-answer session, which makes it a considerably more interesting evening than a set menu. Persian food is under-represented in this city and this is the best way to find out whether you like it. Seven o'clock, booking essential.
Clothes Swap at Teach Solais
Sunday 30 August · 14:00 · Top Shelf Coffee Bar, Fairgreen Road
Bring up to five clean pieces you no longer wear and take away things somebody else got bored of, run with Planet Retro Vintage. Clothes swaps only work when people bring good things rather than clearing out the bottom of the wardrobe, so be honest about it. Two o'clock, free.
Sleep Out for Simon 2026 Launch
Thursday 27 August · 18:00 · HYDE Bar
Galway Simon launch this year's Sleep Out with Tracy Bruen playing live, community speakers, storytelling and a VR film that puts you inside the situation the Essentials Fund exists to address. A launch event is usually a formality and this one is doing more work than that. Six o'clock.
For a full overview of all events on this week in Galway check out our event listings page
UNTIL NEXT WEEK
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