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Understand
The Gaelic name for this county, Gaillimh, derives from Gaill, the Gaelic word for oustiders or foreigners. It is ironic, then, that this county is now home to the largest gaeltacht, where the language and culture of Ireland still survives.
The landscape in County Galway is varied. The interior is largely flat, while the Connemara, in the northwest is a region of ancient glacier scared mountains, blanket bog peatlands and rugged coastlines. The Aran Islands and the south are rocky and barren places, containing numerous stone age forts, including Dun Aenghus (one of the best examples of its kind in Europe), beautiful in its isolation. To top it off, there is also the urban landscape of Galway City, the west coast's largest city.
Talk
Both English and Irish Gaelic are widely spoken in County Galway. As with the rest of Ireland, most Gaelic speakers are found in smaller and more isolated villages, while the cities are dominantly English speaking.
Get in
Frequent buses and trains arrive from Dublin into Galway City. Local buses into smaller communities also arrive from neighbouring counties.
Get around
Do
County Galway (Contae na Gaillimhe) is located on the west coast of Ireland. It is in the Irish province of Connacht. The county takes its name from the city of Galway, which is the county's capital. It is the second largest county in Ireland, after County Cork. 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.
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 Loch Corrib. A number of inhabited islands are administered by the county; they include Oileáin Árann (Aran Islands) and Inis Bó Fine (Inishbofin).
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).
The population of the county as a whole at the April 2006 census was 231,052; however, when the city of Galway, which forms a separate administrative unit, was excluded, the population of the area under the control of Galway County Council was 159,052.
Towns and villages in County Galway
Galway Septs
Galway was the home to many powerful Irish septs. Common surnames include Connolly, Coyne, Curley, Egan, Ford, Kelly, Lohan, Lydon, Madden, Manion, O'Connor, O'Flaherty, O'Shaughnessy, and Tierney. In addition, many notable Norman-Irish families can be found in Galway, such as Barrett, Browne, Burke, Joyce, Lynch, and Skerrett.
History
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.
Climate
The location of County Galway, situated on the west coast of Ireland, allows it to be directly influenced by the Gulf-Stream. Temperature extremes are rare and short lived, though inland areas, particularly east of the Corrib, can boast some of the highest recorded temperatures of the summer in the island of Ireland (sometimes exceeding 30 ºC); though these temperatures only occur when land warmed east winds sweep the area; the opposite effect can occur in the winter. Overall, however, Galway is influenced mainly by Atlantic airstreams which bring ample rainfall inbetween the fleeting sunshine. Rainfall occurs in every month of the year, though the late autumn and winter months can be particularly wet as Atlantic cyclonic activity increases and passes over and around the area, and which is why Galway tends to bear the brunt of severe windstorms that can occur between August and March. The county on average receives about 1300mm of rainfall annually, though some areas along the west coast of the county can receive up to 1900mm and beyond. Extreme weather such as blizzards, thunderstorms, flashflooding and hail, though rare, can and do occur, particularly when air masses of continental origin are undercut by more humid and unstable Atlantic flows.
Fauna and Flora
Flora
T. Johnson reported a visit to Roundstone in 1893 (?) Johnson.
See also
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