Building work on Christmas Market ahead of schedule

BY ENDA CUNNINGHAM

Construction work on the Continental Christmas Market in Eyre Square is set to finish ahead of schedule today, despite the stormy weather conditions in recent days.

Traders from Belarus, Germany, Spain, Italy, France and Lapland have already started to arrive to fit-out the 70-plus Alpine-style chalets in the market.

Up to 300,000 visitors are expected to visit the winter village between after it opens next Friday (November 19), while more than 100 foreign traders and their staff will also be in situ for the month.

“All of the structures will be finished [today], slightly ahead of schedule, and a few of the local traders are putting up their own chalets. The bad weather hasn’t really affected things, we just stop working during the big gusts,” Project Manager Allan Hartwell told the Galway City Tribune.

Among the traders will be nuns from St Elizabeth’s Convent in Belarus, who make crafts and gifts to fund an orphanage; a German salami house and schwenkgrille (similar to a barbecue); a Breton baker; and Lapps selling items such as deerskin rugs and jewellery made from reindeer bone.

Thirty percent of the chalets and stalls in the market will be made up of local traders, while it is also planned to promote the existing Saturday market on Lombard Street.

Mr Hartwell said his company, Market Place (Europe) Ltd plans to run the market in Galway for five years. “We’ve invested £120,000 in the chalets. They will be stored here this year. We’re actually running at a massive loss this year, which is why we have made a commitment for five years,” he said.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.