Galway
 Galway
(Irish: Gaillimh) is the largest city in the province of Connacht in
Ireland. The city is located on the west coast of Ireland on the
north-eastern corner of Galway Bay in County Galway. (53.28°N 9.06°W).
The Corrib River runs through the city. CSO Census 2002 indicated the
city has a population of approximately 66,000.
Galway is known as The City of the Tribes, because fourteen so-called
tribes led the city to prominence early in its history. They were the
merchant families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Darcy, Deane, Font,
French, Joyce, Kirwin, Lynch, Martyn, Morris, Skerrett.
Access
Cannons at Eyre Square, Galway The cannons were presented to the
Connaught Rangers at the end of the (1854-1856) in recognition of their
military achievements. Cannons at Eyre Square, Galway The cannons were
presented to the Connaught Rangers at the end of the Crimean War
(1854-1856) in recognition of their military achievements.
Road
Three national primary roads serve the city: the N17 from the North (Tuam,
Sligo, Donegal), the N6 from the East (Athlone, Dublin), and the N18
from the South (Shannon, Limerick and Cork). National primary roads are
usually well maintained roads, but are not motorway grade. The speed
limit is 100 kph, except in built-up areas where the limit is normally
50 kph (On January 20, 2005, Ireland adopted the metric system for road
travel). It is expected that motorways will link Galway to the other
major cities sometime between 2010 and 2020.
Travel time to Dublin is about 4 hours. Travel time to Shannon
Airport : 90 minutes. Travel time to Limerick: 2 hours.
Rail
There are six return rail services to/from Dublin each day. The
service also stops at Athenry, Ballinasloe, Athlone, Tullamore, Kildare.
Travel time is about 3 hours. The rail service is run by Iarnród Éireann
(Irish Rail) (http://www.irishrail.ie/).
Air
There are five flights daily from Galway Airport to Dublin, and two
flights daily to London (Luton, England), as well as flights to
Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester and Lorient. Also convenient to the
city is Shannon International Airport (about 90 minutes drive from
Galway) and Knock Airport (also about 90 minutes drive).
Cultural Events
Annual events include the Galway Early Music Festival (May), the
Galway Film Fleadh (July), the Galway Arts Festival (July), Galway Races
(August), Galway International Oyster Festival (September) and the
Baboró Galway International Arts Festival for Children (October)
Education
The city is the location of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and
National University of Ireland, Galway two higher education
institutions. The institute of technology has campuses in counties
Galway and Mayo.
The offices of the Central Applications Office are also located in
the city, this is the clearing house for undergraduate college and
university applications in the Republic of Ireland, a related
organisation the Postgraduate Applications Centre processes some taught
postgraduate courses.
History
Galway was, in recorded history, an anglo-norman city that grew
increasingly to prominence in the late middle ages. A walled city, it
remained loyal to the crown during the Gaelic resurgence. Galway endured
difficult relations with it's Irish-speaking neighbours. A notice over
the west gate of the city read "From the Ferocious O'Flahertys may God
protect us". An expedition to County Mayo to dislodge the 'pirate
queen', Grace O'Malley, ended in failure. A bye-law ordered Irish (as
opposed to Galway's Anglo-Irish citizens) not to "strutte or swagger
through the streets of Galway". During the middle ages, Galway was ruled
by an oligarchy of anglo-norman families, the 'tribes' of Galway. The
city thrived on international trade. Galway was on the losing side in
the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (it supported the king), and was besieged
during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland It picked the losing side
again in the War of the Two Kings (it supported King James II of England
against William III of England). The great families of Galway were
ruined, the city declined, and it did not fully recover until the great
economic boom of the late twentieth century.
Hardiman's History of Galway was long considered to be the definitive
history of Galway city and county. It was first published in 1820 and
most of it is now available on the web (http://www.galway.net/galwayguide/history/hardiman/).
It covers the history of the region from the earliest of times until the
early 19th century.
John Cunningham's 'A town tormented by the sea: GALWAY, 1790-1914',
which was published during 2004 by Geography Publications takes up
Galway's story where Hardiman left it in 1820. Excerpts from
Cunningham's book may be read on-line (http://www.john-cunningham.net/)
The Claddagh ring is associated with the Claddagh, a fishing village
located just outside the old walls of the Galway city.
Source: Wikipedia (18th
Febraury, 2005)
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