But even without the students, Galway would have a distinct character of its own.

Long before Ireland went multicultural, Galway was a haven for the exotic, and, as the principal port for France and Spain in the Middle Ages, it was dealing with its fair share of foreigners while Dublin remained an insular little backwater. Indeed, one of those foreigners, Christopher Columbus, had a little experience of the city before setting out on a little Atlantic cruise of his own.

But, while present day Galway still owes something of a debt to those French, Spanish and occasionally Moorish influences, it is the Celtic and Irish traditions that are most evident through the narrow streets, the traditional pubs and the traditional music that permeates the city. That is not to say that Galway is not a cosmopolitan place . . .

the existence of the Arts Festival since 1978 points to the fact that the city is, en masse, prepared to embrace some of the more unusual elements of national and international performances . . . but there is something deeply Irish about the city, something that has been lost in many of the other sprawling conurbations of our modern nation.

A uniquely Irish festival (which is becoming more international year on year) is the Galway Sessions festival which will take place in June.

Under the stewardship of musical director Mick Crehan (proprietor of The Crane pub), it remains a predominantly traditional festival . . .

but it is not strictly trad, and, for example, performers such as Maria Doyle Kennedy, Freddie White and Two Time Polka will be performing across about 10 venues throughout the town.

"We like to use the pubs that promote this sort of music year-round, " said Crehan.

"But we also use the festival as a sort of showcase for Galway, with the message that you can hear quality traditional and other types of music every night of the year."

Indeed, his own pub is a signal example of this sort of commitment to entertainment, and the sort of endeavour that has made Galway synonymous with music and craic. The Crane has two bars on two levels, with the downstairs bar a home to traditional seisiuns (occasionally featuring such luminaries as Sharon Shannon, Dessie O'Halloran and Frankie Gavin). Upstairs is more of a "venue" venue, with paying gigs featuring traditional, roots (including blues and bluegrass) and singer/songwriters.

But there is more to Galway than simply listening to music, although many people might wonder why you would want to do any more than that. The city centre itself is a marvel of tightly packed commerce, its medieval streets buzzing more than most urban centres could even dream of.

There are some fine examples of medieval architecture in Galway . . . it is no mere Georgian city . . . with, for example, Lynch's Castle and St Nicholas' Church striking examples of this form of building. But it is perhaps for a more modern style of architecture that Galway has become better known recently . . . the long delayed revamping of Eyre Square, which reopened last year, is winning awards for urban design, and is, thankfully, a far more pleasant urban space than simply being a car park overlooked by a fast food outlet.