I was out and about in Galway during the afternoon. I was actually in the University doing a bit of study but eventually gave up and just went walking into town down along the river. It was unusually sunny especially for St. Patrick’s day and needless to say, the glorious weather brought many people out onto the streets. The atmosphere was great although I’d hate to be a cop once nightfall arrives. If you ever walk out to the very end of the pier, you will see the poem by Louis MacNiece displayed in a brass memorial. The poem is a record the experience of hearing the news of the German advance into Poland while on holiday in the west of Ireland in 1939.

Galway
========
O the crossbones of Galway
The hollow grey houses,
The rubbish and sewage,
The grass-grown pier,
And the dredger grumbling
All night in the harbour:
The war came down on us here.

Salmon in the Corrib
Gently swaying
And the water combed out
Over the weir
And a hundred swans
Dreaming on the harbour:
The war came down on us here.

The night was gay
with the moon’s music
But Mars was angry
On the hills of Clare
And September dawned
Upon Willows and ruins
The war came down upon us here