After the funeral service in Oughterard of the late Gerard Galvin, a large number of family and friends drove across the peninsula from Oughterard to Spiddal, to share dinner together at the Connemara Coast Hotel, which sits hard by the road at Furbo.
People tell us that having dinner together after a funeral is a new tradition, and one which is quickly becoming increasingly common. It is a delightful thing and, in the cause of celebrating the life of one of Ireland's greatest, most creative chefs, it was particularly apt. The Connemara Coast is very much a Gerry Galvin hotel. It gleams like a jewel, and the staff are as good as it gets – polite; charming; assured; professional. You get a sense of welcome and warmth from the second you walk in the door, and the kitchen is meticulous: given that no one could have had any idea of just how many people would accept the Galvin family's generous offer, they must have been under unbearable pressure.
If they were, it simply never showed. And, next morning, in the calm, bright dining room, the kitchen showed that they can poach a pair of eggs and make it into a little work of art. Dinner and breakfast put a spring in our step, just like Gerry Galvin's food always did.
