This week’s Friday video takes us straight to Ireland’s Connemara, Co. Galway, where an inventive bunch of racing enthusiasts have tasked themselves with the ultimate challenge – hosting an entire race meeting before the tide comes in.
The Omey races take place once a year on Omey strand, a strip of sand connecting the tidal island of Omey with the mainland. For much of the day, the strand is completely submerged, and at high tide, the water is deep enough to sweep a car away – but at low tide, the strand emerges, glimmering, golden, and providing absolutely ideal footing for a pell-mell gallop across the sand. So that’s exactly what it’s used for, as chip vans, barricades, and crowds descend from nowhere for a burst of racing action, before disappearing again as quickly as they arrived. The best bit? They leave nothing behind but hoofprints. Check it out – and add it to the Ireland bucket list we know you’re all working on!
