Galway

Michael Cusak (1847–1906) the founder of the Gaelic Athletic Association, was born in this cottage in Carron, County Galway. He was a fluent speaker of the Irish language, and encouraged its promotion in Irish education.

In spite of their isolation the three islands of Aran, in the mouth of Galway Bay, have for generations played an important role in supporting Irish culture. Islanders continue to use the Irish language, and preserve cultural traditions and their oral folklore. An export has been created of the local knitwear, and the traditional work of fishing also continues, but the islands are mainly dependent on tourism as a source of income.

Patrick (Pádraig) Henry Pearse (1879–1916) spent many summers in this simple cottage near Screeb in County Galway. His life's work was to ensure that the Irish had control over their own education, and that the language of Ireland should be respected and preserved.

The ruins of Aughanure Castle stand on Lough Corrib, a lake lying 3 km/2 mi west of Oughterard, Galway. In the 11th century the castle was the stronghold of the O'Flaherty family. The tower in the foreground was once a lookout tower and formed a bastion in the walls.

Rocky outcrops on the Aran Islands, in Galway Bay. Farming, along with fishing, is a key economic force on the islands, but scarcity of fertile soil is an ongoing problem. One traditional method of creating topsoil was to mix sand and seaweed gathered from the shores, and spread them on the fields.

County on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland, in the province of Connacht; county town Galway; area 5,940 sq km/2,293 sq mi; population (2002) 209,100. Lead and zinc are found at Tynagh, and marble is quarried and processed at several sites. The main farming activity is cattle and sheep grazing. The Connemara National Park is in Galway. Towns include Salthill, a suburb of Galway city and seaside resort, Ballinasloe, Clifden, and Tuam.

Features

Physical The east is low-lying, fertile, limestone plain, but in the west the surface is mountainous, with the Twelve Bens group, the highest of which is Benbaun (730 m/2,395 ft), and the Maamturk Mountains, which rise to over 701 m/2,300 ft; in the south are the Slieve Aughty Mountains, which include Mweelrea Mountain (819 m/2,688 ft). Also in the south is Galway Bay, with the Aran Islands. To the west of Lough Corrib is Connemara. The Shannon is the principal river.

Coast and waterways The county is bounded to the west by the Atlantic (where the coast is much indented); to the south by County Clare; to the southeast by County Tipperary, Lough Derg, and the River Shannon; to the east by counties Offaly and Roscommon; and to the north by Roscommon and Mayo. Among the islands off the coast are Inishbofin, Inishark, and Gorumna in the northwest, and the Aran Islands in the southwest. The chief rivers, other than the Shannon, are the Shannon's tributaries the Corrib, the Suck, and the Clare. A branch of the Grand Canal connects the harbour at Shannon with Ballinasloe, but is closed to navigation.

Galway

Fishing port and county town of County Galway, Republic of Ireland; 200 km/124 mi west of Dublin; principal city of Connacht province; population (2002) 65,800. It produces textiles and chemicals, and there is salmon and eel fishing; Galway has recently become important for its computer industry. Queen's College (founded in about 1845) was renamed University College in 1908, and is part of the National University of Ireland; teaching has been bilingual, conducted in both English and Irish, since 1929. Galway is an important centre of the Irish language; Galway Theatre, An Taibhdhearc, only stages plays in Irish.

Features Galway lies at the mouth of the short River Corrib which connects Lough Corrib with Galway Bay. It has a Roman Catholic cathedral, begun in 1957, and is home to the popular Galway Races, a three-day horse racing fixture which takes place at the end of July. There is an important annual arts festival held in July, and an oyster festival in mid-September. The suburb of Salthill is a leading tourist resort.

History Galway was founded in the 12th century by the de Burgo family. It was an important Anglo-Norman settlement and stronghold. Its first charter was granted in 1484 by Richard II. Until the Reformation, Galway was an important port and mercantile centre with significant trading links with Spain, France, and the West Indies. The Spanish Arch (believed to have formed part of an Anglo-Norman bastion) and Spanish Parade are named after the importance of Spanish mercantile activity during this period. Part of the medieval town walls can be seen to the south of the Spanish Arch.

During the Anglo-Norman period the Irish population was segregated from the city's inhabitants, being confined to Claddagh, a former fishing village demolished in the 1930s, and now a residential area in the west of the city. The Claddagh Ring (two hands holding a heart) is named after this district.

In 1651 the city was subject to lengthy conflict and surrendered to Cromwellian forces; in 1691 it fell to the troops of William III. By the early 18th century Galway's importance as a port and mercantile centre had begun to decline.

Features The Church of St Nicholas is a Norman construction of 1320; expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries, it is noted for its triple nave. Lynch's Castle, a 16th-century mansion house, has some fine carvings on its exterior, and was built by the Lynch family, who were important Anglo-Norman merchants; it is now a bank. Eyre Square in the city centre is a memorial garden to J F Kennedy, former president of the USA, who visited the city in 1963. In the centre of the square is a statue by Albert Power of Patrick O'Connor (1882–1928), a writer in the Irish language; there is also a statue of Liam Mellows, an activist in the 1916 Easter Rising who was executed during the Irish Civil War (1922–23). On Bowling Green is the former home of Nora Barnacle (1884–1951), novelist and wife of James Joyce; the house is now a museum.