LAST UPDATE | 20 Oct 2025

THE ANNUAL GALWAY Christmas Market beer tent is coming back – but it won’t have its classic one litre steins from Monday to Thursday. 

It’ll also be coming back a week into the market rather than commencing business at the same time.

A signature part of Galway’s Christmas festivities, the beer tent will be opening in Eyre Square on Friday 14 November, running through to Wednesday 31 December. 

In a post to social media, it said that due to licensing restrictions “following objections from a small cohort of local publicans, the Christmas Market beer tent will not be allowed to open for the first week of the market”.

“Due to the restrictions imposed we will be unable to serve the traditional 1 litre steins from Monday to Thursday,” it added.

It named the four pubs it said was behind the restrictions: Taylor’s, Busker Browne’s, Monroe’s, and McGinn’s Hop House. The Journal has contacted the four venues for comment.

Fergus McGinn of McGinn’s Hop House confirmed that his bar among others had intervened.

“[The] majority, if not all the pubs in the city have concerns with the Christmas tent and what it has become,” he told The Journal. He said despite numerous attempts at mediation, “the organisers refused to negotiate regarding the issues and concerns of fellow publicans”.

“It’s unfortunate it had to go to court,” he added.

The beer tent had finished its post: “Be assured that going forward we will continue to fight for the right for all our customers to be treated as equals and for everyone to equally enjoy the Christmas Market beer tent.”

Eoghan McNamara, also known as Gugai, is a promoter and co-owner of Róisín Dubh in Galway. The bar operates the beer tent.

He said that the owners of two neighbouring bars had objected to the market’s bar license on the grounds that it would negatively impact their businesses.

One of the named owners responded on social media, saying: “We must ensure it [the beer tent] doesn’t go ahead next year as we could have this year, but didn’t.”