July 19, 2021

Galway Bay Gaeltacht

The Gaeltacht of Galway Bay is a bastion of the Irish language, where the ancient meets the modern and the old ways live hand in hand with the new.

The Gaeltacht is the term used to refer to those areas of Ireland where the Irish language (Gaeilge) is still spoken as a community language, and its culture and traditions are very much alive and thriving. 

Located west of Galway City, in large tracts of Connemara, is Ireland’s largest Gaeltacht region. Here, the Irish language (Gaeilge) is the everyday spoken language of people who live and work in Galway’s cultural heartland. People here switch from Irish to English and vice-versa with ease and their English is peppered with Gaeilge phrases.

Driving westwards along Galway’s coast, the variation in the landscape will strike you. On the left is Galway Bay and the powerful Atlantic and to your right is Connemara, a scenic vista of bogs, valleys and lakes

H/T: Galway Tourism