The Quays, one of Galway city's most popular bars and live music venues, has won the IMRO Best Venue Connacht Award 2016 at the IMRO Live Music Venue of the Year Awards which were held recently in Dublin.
Singer-songwriter Eleanor McEvoy presented the award to Seamus McGettigan, general manager of The Quays, and Stephen Tabb of the Fitzgerald Group, at the Irish Music Rights Organisation Headquarters in Baggot Street Lower.
The venue has long held a reputation for live music, being popular as a venue for trad sessions. Louis Fitzgerald purchased The Quays in 1992 and the venue's interior was developed, with the lounge featuring a mix of Gothic church pews, stained glass, a ships hull, and even a country cottage, while the upstairs music hall features a split level stage with an organ pipe backdrop.
Seamus McGettigan has been manager of the venue for the last 24 years, and throughout that time The Quays has hosted concerts by Mary Black, Aslan, Altan, Nathan Carter, and Cara Dillion, while also developing a relationship with Gael Media, which have been producing the Glor Tíre series, now in its 14th season. It also hosts shows by Galway cover bands and new aspiring bands through the student realm.
