Galway's central public square is busy in all but the harshest weather. A welcoming open green space with sculptures and pathways, its lawns are formally named Kennedy Park in commemoration of JFK's June 1963 visit to Galway, though locals always call it Eyre Sq. Guarding the upper side of the square is the Browne Doorway, an imposing, if forlorn, fragment from the home of one of the city's merchant rulers. Dating from 1627, it was relocated here from Abbeygate St in 1905.
The street running along the southwestern side of the square is pedestrianised and lined with seating, while the eastern side is taken up almost entirely by the Victorian-era, grey limestone Hotel Meyrick.