Cookies Policy
Last updated: January 2026
This Cookies Policy explains how GalwayBeat Guide ("we", "us" or "our"), located at 22 Shop Street, Galway, H91 W8T7, Ireland, uses cookies and similar technologies when you visit our website at galwaybeatguide.com. This policy should be read together with our Privacy Policy and is provided in compliance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC as amended, and the Irish Data Protection Act 2018.
1. What Are Cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, smartphone or tablet) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work properly, to remember your preferences, to understand how visitors interact with the site and to deliver relevant advertising. Cookies can be "session cookies", which are deleted when you close your browser, or "persistent cookies", which remain stored on your device until they expire or you delete them. We also use similar technologies such as local storage and pixels, which are subject to the same rules.
2. Who Controls Your Data
GalwayBeat Guide is the data controller for the personal data processed through cookies on this website. If you have any questions about this policy or wish to exercise your data protection rights, contact us at [email protected] or by post at GalwayBeat Guide, 22 Shop Street, Galway, H91 W8T7, Ireland.
3. Categories of Cookies We Use
| Category | Purpose | Consent Required |
|---|---|---|
| Essential cookies | Strictly necessary for the operation of the website, including security, load balancing, remembering your cookie consent preferences and enabling core features such as form submission. Without these cookies, the website cannot function correctly. | No — these are always active and do not require your consent. |
| Analytics cookies | Help us understand how visitors use the website — which pages are most popular, how long visitors stay and how they navigate the site. This information is aggregated and used solely to improve the content and performance of galwaybeatguide.com. | Yes — activated only with your prior consent. |
| Marketing cookies | Used to deliver relevant promotional content about Galway events and local businesses, to measure the effectiveness of our campaigns and to limit how often you see the same message. | Yes — activated only with your prior consent. |
4. Consent and How We Obtain It
When you first visit our website, a cookie consent banner is displayed allowing you to accept all non-essential cookies, reject them, or customise your preferences by category. Your consent is obtained freely, specifically, informedly and unambiguously before any non-essential cookies are placed on your device. You can change your preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies, which will cause the consent banner to appear again on your next visit. Your consent choice is stored in an essential cookie (named gbc8x42k) on your device so that we can honour your preferences on subsequent visits.
Withdrawing consent is as easy as giving it: rejecting non-essential cookies at any time has the same effect, and essential cookies remain the only ones active thereafter.
5. Third-Party Cookies
Some cookies on our website may be set by third parties, including analytics providers and embedded content services. These third parties may process data collected through their cookies as independent controllers under their own privacy policies. We do not control third-party cookies, and we encourage you to review the privacy and cookie policies of any such providers. Third-party cookies belonging to the analytics and marketing categories are only activated after you have given the corresponding consent through our banner.
6. Legal Basis for Processing
The use of essential cookies is based on our legitimate interest in operating a secure and functional website (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR). The use of analytics and marketing cookies is based on your consent (Art. 6(1)(a) GDPR), which you may withdraw at any time without affecting the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
7. Data Retention
Session cookies are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies, including the cookie that stores your consent preferences, have a maximum lifetime of 180 days (approximately six months), after which they expire automatically or are refreshed only upon a new consent decision. Aggregated analytics data derived from analytics cookies may be retained for up to 26 months for trend analysis purposes.
8. Your Rights Under the GDPR
Under the GDPR, you have the following rights in relation to personal data processed through cookies and similar technologies:
- Right of access — you may request confirmation of whether we process personal data about you and receive a copy of that data.
- Right to rectification — you may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Right to erasure — you may request the deletion of your personal data where there is no overriding legal basis for continued processing.
- Right to restrict processing — you may request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
- Right to data portability — you may request a machine-readable copy of data you have provided to us.
- Right to object — you may object to processing based on legitimate interests at any time.
- Right to withdraw consent — where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
- Right to lodge a complaint — you may lodge a complaint with the Irish Data Protection Commission (dataprotection.ie) if you believe your rights have been infringed.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at [email protected]. We will respond to your request within one month of receipt, in accordance with Article 12(3) GDPR.
9. Managing Cookies in Your Browser
In addition to our consent banner, most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can typically view, delete or block cookies via the privacy settings of your browser. Please note that blocking essential cookies may affect the functionality of galwaybeatguide.com, and that cookie settings are specific to each browser and device.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Cookies Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, law or our practices. Any updates will be published on this page with a revised "Last updated" date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we use cookies.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions, requests or complaints regarding this Cookies Policy or our use of cookies, please contact:
GalwayBeat Guide
22 Shop Street
Galway, H91 W8T7
Ireland
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +353 21 506 4082