Galway city Ireland is one of my favorite places on the planet to visit and if full of surprises. Most people associate Galway with a vibrant night life, the Cliffs of Moher or the Aran Islands but if you take time to look at the little things you will find Galway has a lot more to offer.
The swans of Galway City to me are one of the things that comes to mind when I recall my time spent exploring the city. The swans are literally everywhere and they can be fairly friendly, that is if you feed them. I would advise not getting close to them if you do not have food as they will and do attack. On one of my trips to Ireland while in Dublin, as there are many swans there as well, I actual saw a young boy approach a swan to try and pet it. The parents did not seem to think this a threat but let me tell you that the swan almost bit off the child’s finger. I was actually taking a video at the time and you can see this pic from the screenshot seen below.If you are parent DO NOT let your child approach the swans, that is unless you want to gain a fear for birds.
A swan ready to Strike a young boy
As you can see from that pic the swan has it babies close and was obviously a little more on the defensive because of this. I just cannot wrap my head around how a parent could think it is a good idea to let your child approach a swan like that. But as long as you are respectful and don’t over step your boundaries you will be able to get fairly close to the swans and if you are lucky will get to feed one as this young girl did:
Girl Feeding a Swan
The first time I saw a swan I immediately began to take a video and also decided to do some self commentary. Because I am from Canada and I had a bit of a hangover from the night before I first made them mistake of calling them white geese and then realize in that time they are swans. In Canada we have Canadian Geese everywhere and I was so used to seeing them I made the mistake of calling them white geese. Take a look at my first encounter with a swan below:
After some more exploration I began to realize that the swans are all over Galway City and very much part of the culture. The best place to go in the city to see the swans would be down by the Spanish Arch as they are all over the place around there. The only thing is that the river is much quicker around there so getting close to them can be much more dangerous. If you go up the St. Joseph’s Church on Henry street you will find a little canal system where you are bound to find a couple just lounging in the calmer waters. They also tend to just relax around this area so you can really take your time to take the experience and not be just watching them float by.
If you ever get the chance to visit Galway City Ireland please for me be sure to go check out these beautiful birds and just be respectful. Also if you are ever in Dublin you can go to Saint Stephens Green at the end of Graffton Street to also take in some swans. I would just make sure you do not enter the park to late as it can be dangerous.
Author Biography – Kevin Lydon
Kevin is a passionate traveler who just recently began blogging about his experiences. Being a web developer it one day clicked for him that he could do his work from anywhere in the world and be able see all it has to offer in the prime of his life. To read more and follow Kevin you can visit his blog Guess This City or follow the facebook page