Galway Facts

Galway has many colourful and distinctive districts, despite its small size and population. This is partly due to the city's age and partly due to its recent rapid growth. Like many older European cities, the periods of history which the city has witnessed have left their mark on the central and outlying areas.

The city centre is that of a small, coastal town with its roots in the thirteenth century. The streets are narrow and the older buildings cluster cosily together. In this area of the city, many of the buildings and architectural artifacts still testify to Galway's long history.

The focal point of the city centre is John F. Kennedy Park, or as it is still known by the locals (Galwegians),...

..., which has an affluent, artsy population of 70,000, is one of Ireland's most prosperous cities and also one of its most appealing. It is a busy workaday town, but it also has a lively art-and-music scene that has made it the unofficial arts capital of the country. The excellent Galway Arts Festival, held every summer, turns the town into a living arts show.

Tucked between the Atlantic and the deep blue waters of Lough Corrib, the town was founded by fishermen. After an invasion by the Anglo-Norman forces of Richard de Burgo in the early 13th century, it walled itself in, as so many cities did then, although little remains of those old stone walls.

The hub of the city is Eyre Square (pronounced...