Where are the best oysters in Ireland?

Moran's Oyster Cottage at Kilcolgan for the native Galway flat between September and April, Linnane's at New Quay for Kelly oysters at the end of a pier, and PJ O'Hare's in Carlingford for the cleanest, most underrated oyster on the island. One of those three, not all three.

When is the Irish oyster season?

The native Galway flat runs September to April, the months with an R, because the natives spawn in summer. Pacific rock oysters, which are most of what you will eat in Carlingford, Clare, Donegal and Down, are good all year.

Is the Galway Oyster Festival worth planning a trip around?

Clarinbridge, in the second week of September, is the friendlier one and the traditional opening of the native season. The bigger Galway city festival in late September is louder and books out earlier. If you mainly want to eat well, come any week from late September to April and take a quiet table instead.

The Irish Oyster Hub

Irish Oysters: The Bays, The Rooms And The Season Worth Travelling For

Ireland grows two oysters: the native flat that made Galway famous, in season only from September to April, and the Pacific rock that is good all year. This is the hub we give American friends: which bay, which room, which month, and how to book the table before you fly.

The places we recommend to friends.

Start here

Read the essay

Moran's Oyster Cottage, the seventh-generation thatch on Galway Bay, and what to order when you get there.

Book the table

Every oyster room we rate, with the reservation link and what six actually cost. Or plan the whole week at /book.

Search the edit

Press / or ⌘K and type an oyster, a bay or a county. Results carry booking links.

Flights, the season month by month, driving between the bays and what an oyster lunch costs: the oyster travel guide. Shucking, safety, allergies and how to eat one properly: the oyster questions page.

The oyster houses

Six rooms, one page each

The oysters themselves

What you are actually ordering

Oyster	Where	Season	Why
Native Galway flatOstrea edulis	Inner Galway Bay, Clarinbridge and Kilcolgan	September to April	Round, coppery, mineral, and the reason Galway is on the oyster map. Slow growing, small crop, and worth planning a month around.
Kelly oysterCrassostrea gigas	Aughinish Bay, north Burren coast	All year	Farmed by the Kelly family since 1962 and graded by size. Clean, briny, easy. The house oyster at Linnane's.
Carlingford Lough rockCrassostrea gigas	Carlingford Lough, between Louth and Down	All year	Brackish water, sea in and mountain rivers down, giving a light cucumber finish. The most underrated oyster in Ireland.
Dundrum Bay rockCrassostrea gigas	County Down, under the Mournes	All year	Fuller and saltier than Carlingford. Grown by the people who serve them at Mourne Seafood in Belfast.
Donegal rockCrassostrea gigas	Lough Swilly and Mulroy Bay	All year	Cold water, slow growth, firm meat. Most of it is exported to France, which tells you what the French think of it.

The season opens in September

The festivals worth timing a trip around

Clarinbridge Oyster Festival
Clarinbridge, County Galway · Second weekend of September
Running since 1954. The traditional opening of the native season, and the friendlier of the two Galway festivals.
Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival
Galway city · Late September
The bigger, louder one, with the World Oyster Opening Championship. Book the hotel by June.
Carlingford Oyster Festival
Carlingford, County Louth · August bank holiday weekend
A village festival rather than a marquee event. Pearl of the Lough, a regatta, and oysters on the street.
Hillsborough Oyster Festival
Hillsborough, County Down · Early September
Northern Ireland's own, with the All Ireland Oyster Shucking Championship and a good deal of stout.

Where to finish

The pint after the plate

Tigh Neachtain
Galway
The Galway pub that never modernised. Oysters at Moran's, then here.
Gus O'Connor's
Doolin
Music from nine, forty minutes from Linnane's pier.
PJ O'Hare's
Carlingford
Both the oyster room and the pub. Front table, pint of stout.
Kelly's Cellars
Belfast
1720, low ceilings, ten minutes from Mourne Seafood.

More rooms in the Dublin pubs we actually drink in, and the whiskey to order in them in the Irish whiskey hub.

How to eat one

Loosen it from the shell with the fork, then put the fork down. Tip it into your mouth with the liquor, chew twice, swallow. Chewing is the part Americans are taught not to do, and it is where the flavour is.

Lemon if you want it, nothing else. Mignonette and Tabasco are for oysters that need help, and none of these do. Brown bread and butter between each one, and a glass of something cold and dry: Muscadet, Picpoul, or a half of stout, which works better than it sounds.

Before you book

The questions Americans actually ask

Build the week around the season

Oysters are a month as much as a place. Tell us your dates and we will say honestly whether the native flat will be on the table, and whether Galway, Clare or Carlingford is the week you want.

Plan your oyster trip