Galway City derives its name from the Irish for ‘Town of the Foreigners’. In legend it is associated with Gaillimh, daughter of Breasail, otherwise known as Manaman Mac Lir, Celtic God of the Sea.
In 2012, Galway won the greatest town in the UK and Ireland from the Institute of Urbanism.
Between 1485 and the present day, 84 Mayors of Galway have had the surname Lynch.
Galway is often referred to as the “City of the Tribes.” The name is derived from the prolonged period of control over the city’s political, cultural and commercial life by fourteen families who dominated in the City in medieval times.
Galway is home to the Macnas Theatre Group and The Druid Theatre.
Although a relatively small city, it is cosmopolitan. Almost a quarter of Galway’s population come from countries other than Ireland.
Now a public park, Eyre Square was once used for medieval jousting.
The cannons outside the City Hall were presented to the Connaught Rangers at the end of the Crimean War in recognition of their military achievements.
Founded in 1978, the Galway Arts Festival is the country’s leading arts event. In 2012, there were 163,548 attendances at 160 performances, talks and exhibitions in 27 venues over fourteen days.
Fort Hill Cemetery, on Lough Athalia Road, is the oldest cemetery still in use in Galway City. Sailors of the Spanish Armada were buried here in the 1580s.
