One short visit and Tori Mayo is hooked for life on good old-fashioned Irish craic

IN THE historic port of Galway, where ships of the Spanish Armada ran aground four centuries ago, flags flew high in bright sunlight to celebrate the gathering of another impressive fleet – the sleek, streamlined vessels which had completed an Atlantic crossing in the Volvo Ocean Race.

How they party in this corner of western Ireland! We walked through narrow streets to the waterfront, where the locals offered a keenly-anticipated míle fáilte (a hundred-thousand welcomes) and good old-fashioned Irish “craic” (fun and frivolity) to sailors wearied by the challenges of the ocean.

The welcome was especially warm for the crew of Green Dragon, Ireland's entry in the race.

On a crowded quayside, there were lively musical concerts, local food stalls exuding a rich aroma of flavours, water sports demos and unscripted snatches of street theatre.

The previous day, we had arrived at Galway's rudimentary airport, hoping to experience the great outdoors while exploring this windswept, sometimes desolate, western region of Ireland.

First up was a quick trip north to the southern tip of neighbouring County Mayo, my namesake. Galway folk-rock band The Saw Doctors sang of its “craggy bogland” in their song The Green And Red Of Mayo.

Driving along the east side of the vast Lough Corrib and its inky-blue water, we were in awe of the unspoiled, wild landscape – not the green and red of that song, but an array of heather covered in vivid yellow blooms and near-neon pink wild rhododendrons.

Clusters of isolated cottages mingled with rocky pastures and rugged stone walls. On lush green hills, cattle grazed freely with their young.

Our first stop, Lisloughrey Lodge, was a luxurious, modern boutique hotel within a traditional country house facing the lake, offering fine food and a luxury spa.

The lodge is in the grounds of the Ashford Estate, which was home to the Guinness family until the early 1900s.

Its Salt restaurant is a showcase for the talents of award-winning chef Wade Murphy, a serious pioneer with local produce. His cookery courses, open to the public, are based on top-quality Irish ingredients.

In the evening, we took a pleasant stroll through the grounds of Ashford Castle hotel – which enjoyed a rare moment of fame when actor Pierce Brosnan held his wedding reception there in 2001 – to the little village of Cong.

Scenes from Hollywood film The Quiet Man, starring John Wayne, were shot in Cong, and the cottage setting is now a museum.

Cong, which borders Mayo and Galway, also boasts the welcoming Lydon's Lodge Hotel & Restaurant. We were drawn there by the sight of a fresh catch of brown trout, proudly laid out front by a keen angler who was rewarding herself with a hot toddy or two.

She had come to Lough Corrib during the three-week dapping season, when mayflies – which hatch and die only in that period – are used as bait to bring the fish to the surface.

Our appetites whetted by her well-earned haul and friendly banter, we were beckoned inside. Seated by an open fire, we were surrounded by avid anglers, some still in waders, sharing stories of a day spent by the rich waters.

We tucked into sea bass and lamb shanks cooked in Guinness, while quaffing cider and pints of the black stuff.

Next morning, we headed west, beyond the top of Lough Corrib (which is reputed to have 365 islands within it), through the Maamturk Mountains, to join with the Atlantic coast road south to Galway Bay.