Galway

(This article is about the city in Ireland. For other uses of the name see Galway (disambiguation).)

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.

Galway is the capital city of County Galway in Ireland. It is located on the west coast of Ireland on the north-eastern corner of Galway Bay (53.28�N 9.06�W). The Corrib river runs through the city.

Galway is also known as The City of the Tribes, because fourteen tribes were said to have led the city to prominence early in its history.

The famous Claddagh ring comes from the Claddagh, a fishing village located just outside the old walls of the city.

Population

The population of the city now stands at over 65,000, and the population of County Galway (excluding the city) is about 143,000. (Source: Census 2002)

Access

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 60 mph, except in built-up areas where the limit is normally 30 mph (Ireland, despite being a metric country defines speed limits in miles per hour). 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 five 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 Iarnr�d �ireann (Irish Rail).

Air

There are five flights daily from Galway Airport to Dublin, and two flights daily to London (Luton, England). 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 Arts Festival (July), Galway Races (August), Galway International Oyster Festival (September) and the Babor� Galway International Arts Festival for Children (October)

History

Hardiman's History of Galway is considered to be the definitive history of Galway city and county. It was first published in 1820 and is now available on the web. It covers the history of the region from the earliest of times until the early 19th century.