County Galway

Galway
*Contae na Gaillimhe*
map

Basic data
Country:	Ireland
Administrative headquarters:	Galway
Province:	Connacht
Irish name:	Gaillimh
Surface:	6151 km²
Residents:	258,552 (2016)
License Plate:	G


Coat of arms and flag of the County of Galway, motto ceart agus cóir , "Law and Justice"

The County Galway ( Irish : Gaillimh ) is a county ( county ) on the west coast of the Republic of Ireland . It is located in the province of Connacht ; their capital is Galway . In the Connemara region there are numerous Gaeltacht areas where Irish is spoken more and more.

geography

The county lies on the Atlantic Ocean between Killary Harbor , Ireland's only fjord , to the north and Galway Bay to the south. The Shannon and Suck rivers are to the east. The Corrib River and Lough Corrib (lake) divide the county into two very unequal halves, the western of which is Connemara. In the southwest, off the coast of County Clare , are the three Aran Islands belonging to Galway (Inis Mór, Inis Meáin, Inis Óirr) .

history

The Galway region had its first inhabitants 7,000 years ago. Shell middens in this area are evidence of their presence. About 4000 BC Peasants reached the area and built megalithic systems . 2500 BC Another change occurred, because with the Gael ( bell beaker culture ) bronze reached Ireland. With the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century, many monasteries were built: Roscam near Galway , Inchagoill on an island in Lough Corrib and Annaghdown on the shore of the lake.

After the Viking invasion , who destroyed Roscam, the Anglo-Normans founded the city of Galway. The current district of Claddagh on the other side of the Corrib - it refers to a stony shore - remained a settlement for local fishermen. It seems to have existed here from the earliest times. The city walls never enclosed the Claddagh.

In September 1828, 20 people (eleven men and nine women) drowned off Annaghdown when a ferry boat crossing the lake sank. There were ten survivors. The blind poet Anthony Raftery (1784–1835) wrote a lawsuit to commemorate the event. The memorial plaque was only erected in 1979.

economy

In Tynagh are lead and zinc deposits. Agriculture consists of pasture farming, sheep breeding and dairy farming. In addition, barley , wheat , potatoes and sugar beets grown. In recent years there has been an incredible economic boom in the city of Galway in particular , the end of which is currently not in sight.

politics

The distribution of seats in Galway County Council following the local elections on June 5, 2009:

Political party	Seats
Fine Gael	13
Fianna Fáil	7th
Labor Party	1
Sinn Féin	1
Non-party	8th

places

Surnames

Typical surnames in this region are: Bermingham, Burke, Connolly, Conneely, Donnellan, Donnelly, Joyce, Kelly, Lynch, Madden, Martyn, O'Flaherty, O'Halloran, O'Shaughnessey, Tierney, Ward and Welby.

Museums and visitor centers

Athenry Heritage Center
Aughrim ( Battle of Aughrim )
Dan O'Haras (Farm House from 1840)
Dunguaire Castle
Galway Atlantaquaria in the suburb of Salthill
Glengowla silver and lead mine at Oughterard
Leenane (wool museum)
Thor Ballylee (Norman tower house, temporary residence of William Butler Yeats )