Baby proofing can mostly wait until the kid can crawl so probably 6 months. You'll learn if you have a climber and opener fairly quickly. Our first didn't care, our second is wild, extra proofing has been done.

Feels like the kind of thing that's perfect to rent for a few hours, from something like a library.

I sure hope there's space in there for a new tourist gift shop and cafe! It's really what galway needs to revitilise the city!