Galway by Tony Small: “dedicated to music and song all his life”

Words by Padraig Stevens

I spent a summer living in Lower Salthill, near the Cottage bar. I was kept awake every weekend by the sound of young revellers walking back to town from the seaside nightclubs, so loud. 

A line from my favourite Galway song always reminds me of that procession. 

“Walk with a row of laughing girls from Salthill to Eyre Square”

A poem by Oliver St. John Gogarty was set to music beautifully by Tony Small from Ballinfoyle. It’s the title track of an album of songs about Galway, and well worth a listen if you get the chance. 

More famous for his treatment of “My own dear Galway Bay”, made famous by Delores Keane, Tony was dedicated to music and song all his life, he died in 2013. 

Gogarty himself was quite famous for a few reasons.

Read what the Galway Advertiser had to say. 

Music from the west of Ireland