The Kings Head Pub and a Stray Tenor

To the right is a photo of the King's Head. If you look closely you'll notice that it was established in 1649. It's not just the original midieval fireplaces and windows that are the attraction, but the history itself. It seems that when the opposition in England wanted King Charles I removed from the throne, they couldn't find a man in all of England to do the job. But they did find one in Galway City, Ireland. In January, 1649 a single swing of the sword separated the head of the
King from the rest of the King leaving him unfit to rule.




As a reward for his dark deed, the masked executioner was given a piece of property near the center of Galway City. The name of the pub is self-explanatory.

From a practical standpoint, there is always a peat fire glowing in the front fireplace which is a welcome find on the cold February days. We generally hike the mile and a half from Salthill to City Centre every day and by the time we arrive we are ready to have a seat in the two chairs, almost always empty, beside the fireplace. Peat is an interesting fuel source. It produces no sparks and is relatively safe for what it provides.

We also like the pub because you can always get a great bowl of soup and a knot of brown bread for just over four euros. It's not only tasty, it's healthy.

Now on Shop Street, you can always count on seeing and hearing these two minstrels on the left. On this particular day we passed them gutting out the Johnny Cash song I hear the train a comin.... But on the way back we noticed a different sound. A bow-tied tenor had joined them, clearly a performer at a different level of the musical food chain. There they were, the three of them, different ages, different styles, different attires belting out some shared tune that I have now forgotten. We could hear them for several blocks as we started our long walk back to Salthill warmed on the outside by a soothing peat fire and warmed on the inside by mushroom soup and the magic of music.