Why Galway: Exploring the roots of “Of Gods and Monsters”
The first time I visited Ireland was in 2001. I went with my sister-in-law and some of her friends, and I was captivated. Even though we visited during the heart of a foot and mouth epidemic and wiped our shoes on countless disinfectant mats, we had a wonderful time. I fell in love with every place we visited and couldn't wait to return.
One of our stops was Galway, but only for a short time—one day and an overnight. When my husband and I returned in spring 2017 to search for a house because his job was taking us there, I reconnected with the place immediately. I recognized streets I'd walked before, and I remembered the energy of the pedestrian lanes in the middle of town, where shoppers and shopkeepers fill the area with a happy, welcoming buzz.
We moved to Galway in September of 2017. My daughter, Shannon, came with me a couple of weeks early. We walked those same streets in search of blankets, sheets, towels, and pots and pans for the home my husband and I would live in. We even found a television and hailed a cab to get us back.
Why were we walking, you may be wondering? Because I wasn't ready to drive on the left along streets that would barely have been a driveway at home.
Shannon and I enjoying Galway
We lived on a lovely, tree-lined street in Galway. This street and a couple of the houses along it appear in my novels. I don't claim to know much about those homes beyond their exteriors and what I imagine them to be like inside, but I have used the house where we lived as the home of Tommy Kennedy, one of my point-of-view characters.
So, why Galway? Because I'd always dreamed of living in Ireland. Ever since I walked along the beach at Inch in County Kerry and spent a couple of nights in a B & B on the Dingle Peninsula. Since I drank Guinness in pubs as we traveled across the land. Since I trudged with my sister-in-law and her friends around Inishmore, one of the Aran Islands, in what the Irish would call a lashing rain, then warmed up listening to traditional music in crowded pubs while tapping my toes in time.
My story idea came to me while I lived in Galway. While I was there, I finally dived into every book I could find about Celtic gods and goddesses and their stories. Saturated as I was in all things Irish and firmly rooted in the wonderful town of Galway, it seemed only fitting that Aisling's story would be set there.
In future blog posts, I’ll share a few of the Galway landmarks that inspired locations in my books. I’ve taken some literary license and changed the names, but I hope I’ve captured the essence of the town I feel blessed to have called home for two years.
Images of Galway
Have you ever been to Galway? I’d love to hear your experiences with Galway or Ireland if you’ve gotten to pay a visit to the lovely Eire.
Until next time!
Kelley
