The Galway International Oyster Festival has now been voted one of the 12 greatest shows on earth! A weekend of non-stop entertainment which features top-class national and international artists, cabaret and dancing from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th September.

Galway City will come alive as thousands of people travel from the four corners of the world to enjoy a remarkable festival celebrating the oyster, a food known for it’s mysterious luxury and passion. A feast of live entertainment, gourmet food, fine wine and of course Oysters and Guinness are enjoyed by some 10,000 people with guests and luminaries from all over the world.

Anyone can eat oysters but they must first be opened, or shucked (oyster shucking as our friends in the US would say), and oyster opening or shucking can be a difficult task. Come and witness it for yourself. Each year hundreds of competitors from around the world vie for a place in this prestigious World Oyster Opening Championship competition. The winners from each country, with enthusiastic supporters in tow, travel to the city of Galway, in the West of Ireland to compete for the world title. The current reigning champion is Xavier Caille of Belgium who will be defending his title this year. Irelands Willie Morans opens 30 oysters in 1 min 31 seconds - still a world record to this day!

Come join us for this amazing weekend of entertainment and sample some oysters for yourselves along with a few pints of Guinness of course!