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Galway (official Irish name: Gaillimh) is the only city in the province of Connacht in Ireland and capital of County Galway. The city is located on the west coast of Ireland. In Irish, Galway is also called Cathair na Gaillimhe, which is a translation of "City of Galway".
The city takes its name from the Gaillimh river (River Corrib) that formed the western boundary of the earliest settlement, which was called Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe, or the fort at the bottom of the Gaillimh. The word Gaillimh means "stony" as in "stony river". (Alternative, more mythical, derivations are given in History of Galway). The city also bears the nickname The City of the Tribes / An Chathair na Treibheanna, because fourteen [1] "Tribes" (merchant families) led the city in its Hiberno-Norman period. The term Tribes was originally a derogatory phrase from Cromwellian times. The merchants would have seen themselves as English nobility, and hence were loyal to the King. Their uncertain reaction to the siege of Galway by Cromwellian forces earned them this label, which they subsequently adopted in defiance.
The population of Galway city and environs, as of 2006, is 72,729, of which 72,414 live in the city limits and 315 live in the city's environs in County Galway. Galway is Ireland's fastest growing city. [2]
Dún Bun na Gaillimhe ("Fort at the Mouth (bottom) of the Gaillimh") was constructed in 1124, by the King of Connacht Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair. A small settlement eventually grew up around this fort. During the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Galway fort was capturted by Richard Mor de Burgh, who had led this invasion. As the de Burghs eventually became gaelicised the merchants of the town pushed for greater control over the walled city. This led to them gaining complete control over the city and the granting of mayoral status by the English crown in December 1484. Galway endured difficult relations with its Irish neighbours. A notice over the west gate of the city, completed in 1562 by Mayor Thomas Oge Martyn fitz William, stated "From the Ferocious O'Flahertys may God protect us". A bye-law forbade the native Irish (as opposed to Galway's Hiberno-Norman citizens) unrestricted access into Galway, saying "neither O' nor Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway" without permission. During the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by an oligarchy of fourteen[1] merchant families (12 of Norman origin and 2 of Irish origin). These were the 'tribes' of Galway. The city throve on international trade. In the Middle Ages, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France. Christopher Columbus is known to have visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland or the Faroe Islands. He noted in the margin of one of his books that he had found evidence of land beyond the Atlantic Ocean in or near Galway in 1477.[3] During the 16th and 17th centuries Galway remained loyal to the English crown for the most part, even during the Gaelic resurgence, perhaps for reasons of survival, yet by 1642 the city allied itself with the Catholic Confederation of Kilkenny during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the resulting Cromwellian conquest of Ireland Cromwellian forces captured the city after a nine month siege. At the end of the 17th century the city supported the Jacobites in the Williamite war in Ireland (it supported King James II of England against William of Orange) and was captured by the Williamites after a very short siege not long after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. The great families of Galway were ruined, the city declined, and it did not fully recover until the great economic boom of the late twentieth century.
The population of Galway city and environs is 72,729 (based on the 2006 census carried out by the CSO), of which 72,414 live in the city limits and 315 live in the city's environs in County Galway. [4] The population of the city, if the current growth rate continues, will hit 100,000 by 2020. [5]
Galway city (that is, the population inside the city limits) is the third largest in the Republic of Ireland. However, the population of the wider urban area (including environs), is sixth largest on the island of Ireland (after Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Derry and Limerick). The population of Galway is largely descended from a mix native Celt tribes and of Flemish and Norman settlers. There is also significant Spanish ancestry tracing back to the ship wrecks from the Spanish Armada. In recent years Galway has attracted a sizeable immigrant community, largely from Poland and other Eastern European states such as Latvia and Lithuania, many of whom work in the service industry. A small but growing Nigerian community has also attracted cultural and religious diversity to this West coast city.
At the time of the 2002 Census, 16.3% of the population were aged 0 to 14; 75.5% were aged 15 to 64, and 8.2% were aged 65 and above. Also, 52.9% of the population were female and 47.1% were male. The part of the city with the highest population density was the Claddagh (5,756 people per km²), and the area with the lowest density was Ballybrit (823 people per km²).[6]
Galway, like the whole of Ireland, experiences a year-round mild, moist and changeable climate, due to the prevailing winds of the Gulf Stream. The city experiences a lack of temperature extremes, with temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 30 °C (86 °F) being rare, though not unheard of. The city receives an average of 1,147 mm (45.2in) of precipitation annually, which is evenly distributed throughout the year. Rain is the most common form of precipitation - hail, sleet and snow are rare in the city, though will sometimes be experienced during particularly cold winters. Galway is also consistently humid, with humidity normally ranging from 70% to 100% every day, and this can lead to heavy showers, and even thunderstorms breaking out when drier east winds, originating in the European continent, clash with this humidity in the late Summer in particular.
The average January temperature in the city is 6.8 °C (40.6 °F) and the average July temperature is 16.0 °C (60.8 °F). This means that Galway is said to have a Maritime Temperate climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system.
Extreme weather is rare, though the city and county can sometimes experience severe windstorms that are the result of vigourous Atlantic depressions that occasionally pass along the north west coast of Ireland. For example, during a minor storm on the 25th November 2006, the air pressure reading in Galway city fell to 965 hPa [7] on the morning of the 25th before winds picked up to 112 km/h (70 mph) for a short period. Most of these storms, however, happen between late Autumn and early Spring inclusive, being quite rare at other times of the year.
Due to the city's north-westerly location, Galway boasts long Summer days, with it daylight at around 04:00 and not getting truly dark until after 23:00 during the midsummer period; however, the opposite is true in midwinter, when daylight does not truly start until 09.00, and is gone by 17:00.
Due to the mild, moist climate, Galway is able to support plantlife not usually found at such high latitudes, such as palm trees and even fig trees.
Services such as rubbish collection, recycling, traffic control, parks and housing are controlled by a fifteen member city council elected to five year terms by proportional representation, the next such election is due in June 2009. The make-up of the current city council following the last election was four Labour Party, three Fine Gael, three Progressive Democrats, two Fianna Fáil, one Green Party, one Sinn Féin and one independent. Since then, the independent councillor, Michael Crowe, has joined Fianna Fáil, bringing their number on the council to three.
Last June's 2005 elections to the city council saw a significant change in its composition as left wing parties (Labour, Greens, and Sinn Féin) increased their number of seats from two to six. At the same time, Fianna Fáil lost three seats and there was an independent councillor elected in the north/east ward. Although some have argued that this has given the city council a more representative make-up, others say that it has led to grid-lock and infighting. Certainly the situation has been exacerbated by the number of new and thus inexperienced councillors (eight out of fifteen elected are first time councillors).
The City Council is chaired by a mayor who elected to a one year term by their fellow councillors. Their role is mainly ceremonial, although they do have the casting vote. The current Mayor is Cllr. Niall Ó Brolcháin who was elected the first Green Party mayor of Galway on June 19, 2006.
Galway City is part of the Galway West constituency of Dáil Éireann. Its TDs are:
All but Éamon Ó Cuív have significant support in the city. Senator Margaret Cox (Fianna Fáil) also maintains her political base in Galway city. In the General Election of 2002, Galway West was considered a 'swing constituency' due to the battle between Fianna Fáil's Senator Margaret Cox and the Progressive Democrats' Noel Grealish. The victory of Noel Grealish by several hundred votes over Senator Cox deprived Fianna Fáil of its first overall majority since 1977 and led to a coalition government being formed between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats that has been in office since then.
Galway City, capital of Connacht, is now the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork. The City has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years. Galway City has a strong local economy with complementary business sectors, including manufacturing industry, tourism, retail and distribution, education, healthcare and services that include financial, construction, cultural, and professional.
Most (47%) of the people employed in Galway work in either the commerce or professional sector; with a large number (17%) also employed in manufacturing. Most industry and manufacturing in Galway, like the rest of Ireland, is hi-tech (e.g. ICT, medical equipment, electronics, chemicals, etc.), due to the Celtic Tiger economic boom. Tourism is also of major importance to the city, which had over 2.1 million visitors in 2000, and produced revenue of over €400 million. [8]
Galway is often considered to be the 'Cultural Capital of Ireland', and is world renowned for its vibrant lifestyle and numerous festivals, celebrations and events.
In 2004, there were three dance organisations, ten festival companies, two film organisations, two Irish language organisations, 23 musical organisations, twelve theatre companies, two visual arts groups and four writers' groups based in the city. [9]
Furthermore, there were 51 venues for events; most of which were specialised for a certain field (e.g. concert venues or visual arts galleries), though ten were described as being 'multiple event' venues. [10]
Major squares in the city include Eyre Square, in the very centre of the city; and Spanish Parade, next to Spanish Arch.
Galway city is unique among Irish cities because of the strength of its Irish language, music, song and dancing traditions - it is often referred to as the 'Bilingual Capital of Ireland'. The city is well known for its ‘Irishness’, and mainly due to the fact that it has on its doorstep the Galway Gaeltacht. The language is visible on the city streets, with bilingual signage on display on shops and road signs, and can be heard by locals around the city. Irish theatre, television and radio production and Irish music are an integral part of Galway city life, with both An Taibhdhearc, the National Irish Language Theatre, TG4 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta headquarters in Galway. This has brought an Irish-speaking young professional population to the city and county, and has generated a renewal of interest in the language and in language-related activities and social events. An organisation, Gaillimh le Gaeilge, wishes to gain full bilingual status for Galway city, a plan which has very strong support from a majority of the residents of the city. [11]
According to the 2002 Census, 50.8% of the population of Galway City can speak Irish; furthermore, four electoral divisions (out of twenty-two) are designated as Gaeltachtaí. [12]
Probably the finest medieval town house in Ireland, Lynch's Castle is in Shop Street; it is now a branch of the Allied Irish Bank.
The Church of Ireland St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church is the largest remaining medieval church still in use in Ireland. It was founded in 1320 and enlarged in the following two centuries. It is a particularly pleasant building in the heart of the old city. Its Roman Catholic counterpart, the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, which was consecrated in 1965, is a far larger, more imposing building constructed from limestone. It has an eclectic style, with renaissance dome, pillars and round arches, and a Romanesque portico that dominates the main facade — an unusual feature in modern Irish church building. It was suggested by a church in the city of Salamanca in Spain. Not far from the cathedral stands the original quadrangle building of National University of Ireland, Galway which was erected in 1849 (during An Gorta Mór, the Great Famine) as one of the three colleges of the Queen's University of Ireland (along with Queen's University Belfast and University College Cork). The university holds the UNESCO archive of spoken material for the Celtic languages.
Galway is opening, the Galway City Museum, featuring two parts "Fragments of a City" and "On Reflection." "Fragments of a City" will be mainly about the heritage of Galway. While "On Reflection" is a collection of the most important Irish artists fromt he second half of the 20th century. This museum was designed to allow tourists and local visitors to really get to understand and know the city of Galway.
Annual events include the Celtic start of Spring festival Fleadh Imboilg (start of February), the Cúirt International Festival of Literature (April), the Galway Early Music Festival (May), the Galway Sessions traditional Irish music festival, the Salthill Air Show (June), the Galway Film Fleadh (July), the Project06 (July), which runs along the Galway Arts Festival (July), Galway Races horse racing festival (start of August), Galway Gay Pride Festival (end of August), Galway International Oyster Festival (September), the Galway Jazz Festival (October), the Baboró Galway International Arts Festival for Children (October) and the Tulca visual arts festival (November).
Galway has a permanent Irish language theatre located in the city centre, Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe, which has produced some of Ireland's most celebrated actors. The Druid Theatre Company has won international acclaim for its cutting edge production and direction.
In addition it also has the Town Hall Theatre, a state of the art theatre, that was opened in 1993. It is a 52 week program that covers all aspects of the performing arts including: concerts, ballets, musicals, operas, etc. It has also been the venue for many popular Irish film premieres, during Irelands famous Galway's Film Fleadh.
Two higher education institutions are located in the city, the National University of Ireland, Galway and the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. The institute of technology also has a campus in Castlebar, County Mayo. According to the 2002 census, 40.8% of residents aged 15 and older in Galway had completed third level (higher) education, which compares favourably to the national level of 26.0%.
The offices of the Central Applications Office are also located in the city, this is the clearing house for undergraduate college and university applications in the Republic of Ireland; a related organisation, the Postgraduate Applications Centre processes some taught postgraduate courses.
In 2002, there were 27 primary schools and 11 secondary schools in Galway.[13]
The Claddagh Ring is associated with the Claddagh, a fishing village located just outside the old walls of the Galway city. A "Galway Hooker" is a traditional boat native to Galway. Is also the name of a new local micro-brewed beer.
According to the 2002 census, the most popular way by which Galwegians travel to work and school was by car (49.3%), followed by foot (29.6%), bus (9.2%), bike (4.1%), motorbike (0.7%) and train (0.3%). The remaining 6.8% travelled by other means or didn't state how. [14]
Galway Airport, 6 kilometres east of the city, has frequent flights throughout Ireland, the United Kingdom and Mainland Europe.
Connemara Regional Airport, 22 kilometres west of the city, operates reqular flights to each of the Oileáin Árann.
Shannon Airport (90 kilometres) and Ireland West Airport Knock (86 kilometres) are also within easy reach of the city, both of which have frquent flights around Ireland and to Britain, Europe and North America.
There are two companies providing bus services throughout the city - Bus Éireann and Galway City Direct. There are 16 bus routes serving the city and its suburbs altogether - Bus Éireann operates 11 routes, while Galway City Direct runs 5 routes. In February 2007, Bus Éireann announced a major expansion plan for the city, including more routes, more buses and higher frequencies. [15] This is part of the €1 billion Ceannt Station Quarter and public transport development plan. [16] There are now plans in place for 'bus-trams' (such as the Wright StreetCar) to serve the city as well, with a major test operating throughout Summer 2007, that will serve high-density areas, as well as the city's hospitals, universities/colleges and also the racecourse during the Galway Races.[17]
Galway's main railway (and bus) station is Ceannt Station, which is about to get a major redevelopment, complete with a completely new urban district - Ceannt Station Quarter.[18][19]
The Midland Great Western Railway (MGW) reached Galway in 1851, giving the city a direct main line to its Broadstone terminus in Dublin.
As the 19th century progressed the rail network in Connacht was expanded, making Galway an important railhead. The nearby town of Athenry became a railway junction, giving Galway links to Limerick and the south in 1869 and Sligo and the north in 1894. In 1895 the MGW opened a branch line between Galway and Clifden.
The 20th century brought increasing road competition, and this led the Great Southern Railway to close the Clifden branch in 1935. Its former junction is still visible from Ceannt Station's platforms. Galway station was renamed Ceannt in 1966. In the 1970s Córas Iompair Éireann closed the Sligo-Ennis line to passenger services, and it has since closed to freight as well.
Iarnród Éireann, the Republic of Ireland's national rail operator, runs six return passenger services each day between Dublin, Galway and intermediate stations. Travel time is just under 3 hours to Dublin Heuston.
The distance by rail between Galway and Dublin is 208 km.
Galway is due to get suburban rail by 2008, with regular commuter services to Athenry, and in 2009, Oranmore.
In addition, a proposal has been put forward for a Light-rail system, the Corrib Light Rail. The proposal has proved very popular with Galway City Council and Galwegians alike, and in January 2007, the Green Party promised light rail for Galway, as well as Cork, if it forms part of the next government. A map of the Green Party's proposal can be found here.[20]
Fianna Fáil have now announced that they will carry out feasibility studies for bringing light rail to Ireland's main 'provincial cities' - Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford. This has further boosted the possibility of light rail in Galway. [21]
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 Town, Limerick and Cork). The M4 motorway from Dublin towards Sligo and Galway was further extended in late 2005 and now reaches just west of Kinnegad; work on the next extension (the M6 motorway) towards Galway has begun. By 2015, the Galway-Dublin, Galway-Limerick and Galway-Tuam routes will be completey motorway or high-quality dual-carriageway standard.
In addition, there are plans for a semi-ring road of the city, the Galway City Outer Bypass, which should also be complete by 2015. [22][23] There is also an Inner City Ring (Cuar Inmheánach) route that encircles the city centre, most of which is pedestrianised.
Galway is considered the gateway to Connemara and the Gaeltacht. The N59 along the western shore of Lough Corrib and the R337 along the northern shore of Galway Bay lead to this wild and romantic region.
Bus travel to the city from all major towns and airports is serviced by many private operators and the national bus company Bus Éireann.
Galway is the most central port on the West Coast of Ireland in the sheltered eastern corner of Galway Bay. The harbour can be used by vessels up to 10,000 dwt and the inner dock can accommodate up to 9 vessels at any one time. Pending approval, Galway Harbour may see major changes, should the €1.5 billion development plan go ahead.
With Rossaveal and Doolin, it is one of the gateways to the Aran Islands.
Commuter ferry services have been proposed to the commuter town of Kinvara, on the opposite side of Galway Bay. [24]
On 28 March 2007, RTÉ News reported that human and animal waste has been found in the Galway water supply, causing cryptosporidiosis, a parasitic disease affecting the intestines of mammals, which can cause fatal or lifelong digestive illness.[25] The problem has been attributed to over-development of Oughterard/Moycullen, resulting in inadequate sewage treatment in overloaded systems there and compounded by unsatisfactory filtering of Galway's water supply, which is also overloaded. As of May 16, 2007, residents and visitors to Galway are still advised to avoid consuming tap water. The crisis is forecast to be resolved on or before 15 June, 2007 before the peak Summer tourist season.
Galway has a magnificent and heterogeneous sporting heritage. Sports range from horse racing, Gaelic games, Soccer and Rugby to Rowing, Motorsport, Greyhound racing and many more. The Galway Races are known worldwide and are the highlight of the Irish horse racing calendar. Over the years it has grown into an annual festival lasting seven days. In Motorsport, the Galway International Rally was the first international rally to be run from the republic of Ireland. Throughout its history it has attracted many star drivers from all over the world. The 2007 event was won by twice World Rally Champions Marcus Grönholm and Timo Rautiainen.
The city has many hurling and gaelic football teams at all levels; match times and venues are listed in local newspapers, such as the Galway Advertiser. Major football and hurling matches take place at Pearse Stadium in the city. The stadium is also the home of the Salthill Knocknacarra Gaelic Athletic Association club which won the All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship in 2006 for the first time. Galway also has an Association Football (Soccer) team, Galway United in the League of Ireland. Galway is constantly striving to improve the situation for youth football in Ireland. The most recent effort being in the form of The Umbro Galway Cup, which is held annually at the home of Salthill Devon F.C.. There are two Senior rugby union teams in the city Galwegians RFC and Corinthians RFC, as well as provincial Connacht Rugby who play in the Magners (Celtic) League who host their matches at the Galway Sportsground. Sailing on both sea and lake are popular, as is rowing in the River Corrib with five clubs providing the necessary facilities and organising rowing competitions. These clubs include:
Just off the city centre on College Road there is a state of the art Greyhound Stadium that races every Thursday, Friday and Saturday Night. It was refurbished recently by the Irish Greyhound Board, Bord na gCon, where it shares the facility with the Connacht Rugby Team. Nearby Salthill has three competitive swimming clubs Shark Swimming Club, Laser swimming club and galway swimming club. handball and racketball club while there are several martial arts clubs throughout the city. "Power walking" and roller blading on the promenade from the Claddagh to Blackrock are popular all year round.
Titans Basketball Club is Galway city's top Basketball club -They compete in the National League Division One(competing with the region's perennial power Moycullen) and previously held the world record for longest basketball match- 40 hours and 3 minutes.
Galway has also produced European and World Champion kick-boxers.
Galway boasts a very rich and textured musical scene, that gives the city a lot of life. Like most Irish cities there is a large traditional music scene which is kept alive in pubs and street performers. Galway is most notable for its youth music scene, with emphasis placed mainly on rock and metal bands. Although some gig go'ers have voiced their dissaproval of some of these groups shameless self promotion.
Well known bands from Galway include Toasted Heretic, The Stunning, The Saw Doctors and many other bands in a wide variety of genres.
In addition Galway also does an annual music festival. Starting in 1996 the "Early Music Festival" has been incorporating European Music fromt he 12th-18th century. It encourages not only music, but dance and costumes as well for the events. The festival invivtes not only professional musicians yet, amateur's as well.
Galway can receive all the national radio stations and television stations, as well as cable and satellite services.
The main regional newspaper in the city and county is the Connacht Tribune which prints three titles every week - the Connacht Sentinel on Tuesday, the Connacht Tribune on Thursday and the Galway City Tribune on Friday.
The Galway Advertiser is a freesheet paper with an average of 160 pages and a circulation of 70,000 copies. It also prints a free newspaper on Monday called Galway First aimed at the 18-35 market with a lot of emphasis on news, entertainment and sport. Another freesheet paper, The Galway Independent, prints on a Tuesday night for Wednesday circulation.
Galway Bay FM (95.8 FM) broadcasts from the city to the whole county of Galway. Another radio station is Flirt FM (105.6 FM), which is a student radio station for the National University of Ireland, Galway and Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
The cable channel City Channel, which was originally based in Dublin, has recently launched a version of the channel for Galway.
The area code for Galway is 091, or from outside Ireland, +35391.
In 2004, Galway got its own Metropolitan Area Broadband Network; which is made up of 56 kilometres of fibre optic cable. This encircles the city from Knocknacarragh to Ballybrit/Ballybaan and also incorporates a 6 kilometre extension to the commuter town of Oranmore. The network cost €10 million to install. [26]
Furthermore, there are plans to install a city-wide free Wi-Fi network; which is backed by the city's mayor. Galway-based IT company iZone are planning to also install extra features in certain 'hotspots', such as wireless telephone and text messaging services, and live music and video streams.[27]
Galway is located in the Garda Western Region, which has the lowest crime rate out of any other region in the country. It has been claimed that Galway is the safest city in Ireland. In 2005 the official figures for 'Galway West' show that the headline crime rate was 23.33 per 1,000 people but 'Galway West'. This can be compared with Cork city's 27.81 crimes per 1,000 people. It was also revealed in 2007 that the crime rate in the city has actually fallen from 2005 as well, despite some high-profile assault cases in recent times. [28]
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