'Round the Salthill Prom with a Galway Girl

Lucie Jung
5 juin 2015
2 min de lecture

Do you know the song "Galway Girl"? Have you ever heard that Steve Earle makes a reference to Salthill in his famous song?

The Promenade of Salthill is 2km long, along the seaside area of Galway. This is really quiet area. During the Prom you can go on a little bridge or even walk along the rocks. At the half of the promenade there are some benches where you can simply sit and watch the sea, read a book or be with friends. This is really quiet and the perfect place if you need to be alone or some calm except the sound of the wind and the waves.

Also, at the end of the Prom you can find the BlackRock Diving Tower and the tradition is that you have to jump from this tower directly into the sea... every Christmas Day.

Now, it had become a record-breaking event in Galway and a fundraiser for local charity.

There are two jumps to do, one bigger than another, and... I have to admit that I only jumped the little one but when you are standing on it, looking down in the sea.. it's really hard to find the courage. I barely jumped into the sea that I already had some red marks on my arms and some scratches...NO, let me stop you there, I didn't miss the water :), it's a long story.

I didn't have any swimsuit or any diving suit in Galway, because let's be honest I never thought I will ever go in the sea in Ireland when it's barely 13 degrees outside.

Anyway, I just wore a short and a t-shirt to jump and this explains why my arms were in this condition.

But, the second time I jumped one week later to found my courage and jumped the big one, I can assure you that I took a diving suit with me, I am not yet totally crazy. So, I went to jumped the big one but before I re-did the little one.

And, as you can imagine at the end, I stayed on the little one and never jumed the big one... My twin sister and my friend did it, but I didn't find the courage to do so.

Maybe now I am only a half of a real Galway girl then... Anyway, let's forget this part !

However, if you are too afraid to jump in the sea when it's 3° degrees outside, you can simply jump from BlackRock anytime of the year. But, even if you jump in July by 15° (the weather was not really good in Ireland this summer...), at the end it's all the same, you won't feel your toes.

So, if you go to Galway, you can't leave before having jumped from BlackRock. This is the key to become a real Galway Girl/ or Boy.

Thankyou for reading :)