Shop front of ‘Dungeons & Donuts’ shop. Photo by Mariana Figueiredo
Ireland’s culture capital is known for its artistic and vibrant atmosphere. As you walk through the heart of Galway’s cobblestone streets, you find yourself surrounded by colourful shops and medieval buildings, and it’s here that you will find Dungeons and Donuts.
Dungeons and Donuts is a well-known hobby shop/ gaming space amongst gamers and boardgame fans, opened by Ronan Murphy in 2012. Whilst you may have been to many other hobby shops or boardgame cafes, this one is unique as it combines the two into one and…it has DONUTS!
The Community
The downstairs is filled with boardgames, miniature models, paints, cards and of course, the donuts. Upstairs is a cozy space of tables and chairs surrounded by a wall mural of the ‘People’s Meeple’, that the community is currently building with polaroids photos. It’s the perfect place to come in out of the cold, wet streets of Galway and sit down, grab a coffee and a donut and play some games.
Dungeons and Donuts pride themselves on being a welcoming space for all, where you can escape technology, enter any new world you want via boardgame and have “mad craic”.
The shop proves people still crave those face-to-face interactions, connections, and shared experiences. Regular customer Kevin Gannon says:
“The events here are where you can really see how big the gaming community is. Anyone can go into a shop and buy a board game, but you can’t buy the feeling of a room full of people going mental and laughing over a board game […] It gives people something to do and something to look forward to, and its healthy, there’s no phones involved.”
The shop recently held their annual ‘Gameathon’, a 24-hour gaming marathon, fundraising for Cancer Care West. This year the community raised €15,000 for the charity through auctions, quizzes and gaming competitions.
“It’s just about the community coming together and doing such a great thing, and I don’t think any other shop, or gaming shop in Ireland does anything close to it and we’re very proud of that.” – Shop owner Ronan Murphy said.
On the right: Owner Ronan Murphy beside the ‘People’s Meeple’ mural. Photo by Mariana Figueiredo
The shop’s staff at are trained to help with the games and to advise on what games are worth purchasing. There is no pressure to buy, you can go in and simply chat. Ronan and his team ask their customers what they want and they don’t overcharge.
“I always come to Dungeons and Donuts to buy my models or paints because I like to be able to see the items before I buy them, you don’t get that opportunity when you’re buying online […] the girls are always really helpful, it’s nice coming and being around people who likes the same things as me, they always give good advice and fair prices.” – Said Angelika, customer at Dungeons and Donuts.
How It Started
14 years ago, Ronan was offered a job that would relocate his family to the UK. Sitting in a McDonalds in Nottingham, he decided he did not want to uproot his family and was going to build something of his own. With years of experience working for ‘Games Workshop’, he had a clear sense of what Ireland’s gaming hobby community needed.
In 2012, Galway’s hobby shops had either closed or were not making a real difference for the gaming community. There also wasn’t any shop in Ireland which incorporated a store and a gaming space.
“There was a gap, and I knew there was a gap, and I knew from visiting the 20 other odd stores in Ireland what the best things were to do.” – said Ronan.
With previous experience and genuine passion for the community, Ronan wanted to build a space that wasn’t just a business; he wanted to build something for the people.
“I don’t want to get rich from this, I just want to have a community store. We sit here at the weekends and have the craic with all our customers and gamers and that’s riches to me.”
The first Dungeons and Donuts shop opened in Bridge Mills in April 2012. Initially it seemed to be the ideal setting, visually, but it’s hidden location meant that no one knew they were there.
Through word of mouth, social media and a growing community the original location quickly became too small and at the end of 2018 the shop moved to its current home on Abbeygate Street.
The new store has provided the much-needed space for the community, right in the center of the city.
Map showing old and new store locations of Dungeons and Donuts in Galway City.
The Donuts
Ronan says the donuts started off as a “gimmick”, but people started coming in specifically for them. The donuts are his own unique recipes. He takes inspiration from TV shows, movies, friends, family and customers.
“Before we opened, there wasn’t too many places doing donuts, and now there’s a lot and I think we were at the start of that wave.”
The newest creation is ‘The Millenni-yum yum Puzzle’ which a Yu-Gi-Oh! themed vanilla iced donut with honeycomb crumb and a Toblerone chocolate.
The Games
There are many great boardgames that everyone should play and no we’re not talking about Monopoly…
Ronan recommends ‘Ticket to Ride’, which is a strategy board game where players collect train card to claim railway routes across a map and score points by connecting cities, and ‘Wingspan’, where you collect bird cards and use their special powers to build the best wildlife habitat and earn points.
Pop culture collaborations like ‘Lord of the Rings Risk’ draw in customers. The release of Stranger Things caused a huge increase in the popularity of Dungeons and Dragons.
Irish game ‘Dungeons and Naggins’ a funny tabletop game where players go on fantasy adventures guided by a Dungeon Master, just like in regular D&D. The game went viral after its release in 2024. Ronan says it’s a game they recommend to tourists who ask for something uniquely Irish.
The Future
People often ask would they ever open up more shops, but Ronan feels that what he has created with this one shop cannot be replicated and be as successful.
“There can’t be two of me and there can’t be two of my team […] because I want everything so perfect, I’m very happy with just one store.”
But Ronan could see himself expanding again to an even bigger location in the future.
