Galway town is famous around the world for its entertainment scene, and its pubs host onstage music most nights of the week. It has many old fashioned cafeterias, positioned on narrow cobblestone streets. During the Galway Arts Festival, a range of tin whistles, bodhrns ( hand-held drums made from goatskin ), harps, bagpipes, banjos, guitars, fiddles, jugglers, magicians in decorative masks, poets, painters, and puppeteers entertain passers-by. Actors in standard Irish costume can often be sighted around town.
Galway’s streets are full of history, yet still maintain a recent feel. Students make up a quarter of the city’s population, while the medieval town walls sit beside shops selling handcrafted Claddagh rings, a treasure trove of secondhand and new books and Aran sweaters. A long promenade connects the city with the tidal suburb of Salthill, situated on Galway Bay, home of the region’s famous oysters.
Galway has a wide selection of foods and drinks options, ranging from the market, where farmers in wellies sell veggies not long out of the ground, to bold fusion eateries redefining Irish cuisine. Nearby one may sample Guinness, Galway Hooker ale and Irish coffees in a variety of atmospheric pubs.
Galway is well known for its rainfall, even by Irish standards, yet on a sunny day the town is certainly hopping. Even the rain fails to dampen Galway’s atmosphere, colourful at any time of year especially during its myriad festivals. Galway is continually called the most ‘Irish’ of Ireland’s cities, and it’s the only one where one is probably going to hear Irish spoken in the streets, stores and pubs.
Gaillimh, the Irish word for Galway, has its roots in the Irish word gaill, meaning ‘foreigners’ or ‘outsiders’ ; an acceptable term all though its history. The city began as a tiny fishing town at the mouth of the salmon-filled Brook Corrib. It was to become a major city in 1232, when the Anglo-Normans, with Richard de Burgo as their leader, caught territory. The foundations of its fortified walls can be dated to around about 1270.
A charter was granted by Richard II in 1396, transferring power to 14 merchant families or ‘tribes ‘ from the de Burgos and so was born the long-lasting nickname of ‘City of the Tribes’. This independent status was maintained by the ruling merchant families, most of whom were steadfast to the English Crown. A prosperous trade in salt, fish, spices and wine with Spain and Portugal grew due to Galway’s location on the Atlantic. Galway’s support of the English nevertheless , was to become its downfall in 1651 when Cromwell held siege to the city. The following year, the town fell. William of Orange’s army also made a contribution to the havoc in 1691. Trade with Spain suffered and, as Waterford’s and Dublin’s sea traffic grew, Galway deteriorated for hundreds of years.
In the early 1900s travellers started to reappear and student numbers started to grow, breathing new life into the town. The cobbled streets and thatched cabins of Claddagh were tarred and flattened to create space for hygienic, modern buildings in 1934. The city’s population continues to grow as new residents move in, making it the fastest-growing city in Europe.
A good option, especially for larger groups or families who may want accommodation which is cheaper than a Galway hotel may be Galway Self Catering which is of a very high standard and very affordable.
