St Nicholas’ Market, a Hidden Gem in Galway City

By Molly McDaid

Spend your weekend exploring the artisanal treats and handmade crafts at St. Nicholas’ Market, located on Churchyard St every Saturday and Sunday. This is a long standing tradition in Galway, dating back to the 14th century. We at Galway Pulse headed down to let you know everything this bustling market has to offer.

When you walk into this cozy street, you’re greeted by an array of stalls selling everything from jewellery and knitted goods to handmade paintings. Every stall is staffed by a friendly seller, ready to talk to you and answer any questions you may have. The atmosphere in the market is busy but welcoming and is the perfect start to a Saturday or Sunday morning.

We talked to some of the sellers to get an insight into what their business is about. One of the stalls that stood out in its unique creations was Lugh Glass run by Oisin Roth. He sells handmade glass art in the form of marbles, paperweights and jewellery, perfect for those looking for high quality decorations for their house or looking to be adorned in stunning glass jewels.

When you walk further into the market, you’ll spot Susi McCusker selling her dried flowers and air plants. These flowers are hand dried and the air plants will add a distinct touch to your house. She has been at the market for eight years now, and also sells online under the name Dried Flowers and Air Plants Ireland.

For those looking for an intricate art piece to hang up or gift, Scenes of Galway offers stunning hand painted scenery from iconic landmarks around this county. The seller and maker has a hoard of experience in the art scene and says that he’s “always drawn back to the market”. He spent time making jewellery and wooden toys before he found his passion for making Galway scenes into art.

After you’ve fulfilled all your shopping needs, you’ll be hit by the mouth-watering aromas of the many food stalls in the market. The hardest choice you’ll make is narrowing down which cuisine or food type you’ll enjoy on your trip. With options like sushi from Kappa-ya Sushi, crepes from Yummy Crepes, and vegan and vegetarian meals from The Bean Tree, it will definitely be a hard decision.

Brave the lines at the popular Galway Bay Bakery and try one of their famous bagels. Choose from a pre-made list of bagels including the cream cheese and smoked salmon, cranberry and rosemary turkey, pesto melt, and salt beef. Alternatively you can choose to take their bagels home with the options of plain, poppy seed, sesame seed, cinnamon andraisin and pizza bagel.

We picked up one of their salt beef bagels to see if the hype was really worth it. We chose to put it on the poppy seed bagel which was warm and soft and paired perfectly with the tender and flavourful beef, fresh pickles, and delicious mustard. It is safe to say the lines for this stall do not lie, you shouldn’t miss out on trying one of these bagels.

Round off your meal with the perfect sweet treat at The Cookie Counter by Full of Beans. Pick from their delicious array of stuffed cookies with options like bueno, pistachio, crunchie and many more. They even make a trendy Labubu cookie, perfect for children. “They’re all homemade,” the seller states. “This is our second year here and I’ve been making them for four years.”

After eating your fill of the artisanal food, make sure to check out the baked goods to take home. The Happy Loaf is a bakery that specialises in spelt cakes and breads. After talking to the seller at the stall, we found out that they’re all made with spelt as opposed to regular flour which has the benefit of it being better for digestion. This is a family run business that has been going on for decades and definitely a staple of the market.