Our Story
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Garavan's Bar
Established by Charles Garavan Snr in 1937 it was originally a Spirit Grocery, which combined a public house with a grocery shop, serving the people of the city. Garavans are proud to be one of the few
Galway families still trading on the city’s main thoroughfare.
VIVO
VIVO was the name of an Irish grocery brand from the 1960s, but, given their thriving wholesale and grocery business, both Garavan’s staff and customers claimed it meant ‘Van In, Van Out’, as deliveries with our vans took place all day!!
Nicholas Killoury
The legendary Bar Man, who possessed ‘unfailing good humour and a lively wit’ and was a lover of Shakespeare, Dickens, The Irish Times and opera, elevated the pub to that of a forum for debate and discourse, and captivated visiting patrons from all over
the world. His ‘Superlative’ pint of Guinness and learned pontifications inspired journalist and friend Jeff O’Connell to write a hugely popular weekly column in The Galway Advertiser, and a subsequent bestselling book of the same title, Days and Nights in Garavan’s.
The Galway Cathedral
Charles Garavan Snr played an active role in the campaign to rebuild the Cathedral in Galway after it had burned down. He used his business connections with breweries and suppliers to gain significant donations towards the fund.
Our Famous Tea
After supplying tea wholesale, Garavans decided to develop their own range of individually packed tea. It was an extremely popular tea at the time and an entire generation of Galwegians began their day with a cup of Garavan’s famous tea and finished it off in Garavan’s pub with a creamy pint of Guinness or accompanied by a few Irish Whiskeys.