Charlie Byrne's Bookshop

Charlie Byrne’s Bookshop is a work of art of itself and great to look at – we try to purchase books here rather than by Amazon. There is a one-way traffic system since the pandemic, with entrance at front door (hand sanitiser available) and exit by the side, leading directly to the Cornstore, an interesting, shopping mall with alternative specialised shops and a very good coffee shop, the Café Temple. The wall in the public passageway in the Corn Store is lined with books, many bargains and and around the corner are yet more books on the wall at right angles.

We were looking specifically for the original Irish masterpiece, Cré na Cille, by the late Máirtín Ó Cadhain, having purchased the translation in English (The Dirty Dust) a few weeks previously. The shop is large with a number of rooms and on 2-3 levels – having located the masterpiece, it was put in a nice shopping bag, with tasteful sign “as Gaeilge (in Irish)” we made our exit into the marble hall of the Corn Store. A wonderful break from the grind of COVID-19.

We ended up in the outside of this bookstore by chance. Looking around the outside exposition we went inside to look for a great Irish history book.

They have all types of books, first and second hand. The shop is divided quite well by style, themes and different languages too. There was a good amount of customers at the time and the sale assistants looked quite busy, but the service was good.

We finally ended up very satisfied with our purchase and finding what we were looking for, which took us a few bunches of shops to find. I would have liked that the books only had their real price in it since there were 3 different prices in the one I looked at.

What caught our attention was stacks of books piled against the public walkway- hundreds of paperbacks for few euro each! While the majority wasn’t exactly the top-notch books, one is able to find something interesting there for literally three euro. But the true sesame awaits inside, where we spent one and half hour just wandering and looking around at the titles. The place mixes the new and the second hand books together on the same shelves which I don’t mind, as the quality of the latter ones us pretty decent. And the price reflects it as well, as the used ones are cheap as dirt.
Went there just to look around, and left with our arms full of books. A must go for a book worm!

This is quite possibly my favourite bookstore in Ireland. It is an enticing maze of interconnecting rooms waiting to be discovered all filled floor to ceiling with every type of book imaginable on every possible subject both second hand and new. There is a lovely gentle background noise of quiet conversation between people who really do love their books. The stock is well displayed and laid out and their window display when I visited was lovely especially the Christmas tree made out of green hard backed books. Lots of interesting gift ideas and unusual titles you wouldn’t see anywhere else and they also run lots of events and book clubs too. I find it impossible to leave empty handed and was delighted to pick up one or two titles I have been searching for as well as a few impulse buys. It is easy to get lost in the shelves for an hour or two there is just so much to dive in and look at. Staff happy to help too and very knowledgeable. A wonderful place to immerse yourself in and other bookshops should take heed of this place. A real treasure trove for anyone who loves their books and certainly not to be missed if you’re in Galway.

Impossible just to pop in for a quick look.
A must visit in when in Galway.
A book lovers paradise.
How all book shops should be.

A super bookshop. I come here each time I visit Galway and can’t help but leave with a collection of books (and a lovely little bookmark!) each time! Great range of books and a lovely environment to take your time and browse.

An absolute must see. Even if you only you read a newspaper take a look at this shop. Well done to the owner. Books of every kind everywhere. Really unusual shop and what every book shop should inspire to.

A visit to this bookshop is always a fantastic experience either for visitors and residents of this great city. The vast amount of books never ceases to amaze me, the smell of books, the different areas in a book shop that seems to go on for ever. You can always bag a bargain, there a great range of value and there is the option to collect tokens to get a free book when you get 10 tokens, easy to coillect in this amazing shop. Whether you want to pass a little while or longer then this bookshop is the place to go.