County Galway

Larger Text

Print

E-mail

7 Comments

Early morning in Galway City

Tweet

Irish Name: Gaillimh: "stony"

County Town: Galway

Nickname: The Tribesmen

GAA Colors: Maroon and White

Famous People with Galway roots: James Joyce's wife Nora Barnacle, Eamon Casey, Walter Macken, Máirtín Ó Cadhain, Liam O'Flaherty, Breandán Ó hEithir, Muiris Ó Súileabháin, Eoghan Ó Tuairisc, Oliver St. John Gogarty, Pádraic Ó Conaire, Dónall MacAmhlaigh, Frank Harris, Ellis Dillon and Lady Gregory, the founder of Abbey Theatre. Also from Galway are revoloutionaries like Eamonn Ceannt, Liam Mellowes and John Lynch, a signatory of the American Declaration of Independance. And miscellaneous, like Lord Haw-Haw, executed radio presenter propagandist for the Third Reich, Robert O'Hara Burke, the leader of the first European expedition to cross Australia

County Galway is one of the traditional Counties of Ireland. It is located in the province of Connacht. It was named after the city of Galway (Irish: Gaillimh). There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county.

The county comprises a number of distinct territories which predate the formation of the county by the English colonial administration in Ireland in the late 1500s. The major ones are Iar Connacht, or 'West Connacht', which covers the portion of the county (and also a small part of County Mayo) west of Loch Corrib and which contains Connemara in the far west and Joyce Country in the north-west.

The territory of Aidhne lies in the south of the county and is coextensive with the diocese of Kilmacduagh. Clann Taidg was originally part of Magh Seola but was portioned into a new tuath by the Kings of Connacht in the mid-11th century. It later formed the barony of Athenry.

The territory of what was once known as Uí Maine or Tír Maine covers most of the east of the county but also covers south County Roscommon. Maigh Seola covers the portion of the county along the eastern side of Lough Corrib. A number of inhabited islands are administered by the county; they include Oileáin Árann (Aran Islands) and Inis Bó Fine.

The first inhabitants in the Galway area arrived over 7000 years ago. Shell middens tell us about the existence of people as early as 5000 BC. With the arrival of Christianity many monasteries were built.

County Galway is home to Lough Corrib (the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland) the Na Beanna Beola (Twelve Bens) mountain range, Na Sléibhte Mhám Toirc (the Maum Turk mountains), and the low mountains of Sliabh Echtghe (Slieve Aughty).

Common Galway Surnames: Joyce, Conneely, Burke, O'Malley, McDonagh, Flaherty, Faherty, Mannion, Walsh and King

 

Print

E-mail

Tweet