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Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) is the only city in the province of Connacht in Ireland. The city is located on the west coast of Ireland.
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".
The city also bears the nickname City of the Tribes, because fourteen '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.
Galway is Ireland's fastest growing city
 CULTURE OF GALWAY
Galway is nicknamed Ireland's Cultural Heart and is 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. 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.
Major squares in the city include Eyre Square, in the centre of the city; and Spanish Parade, next to the Spanish Arch.
In 2007, Galway was named as one of the eight "sexiest cities" in the world.
A 2008 poll ranked Galway as the 42nd best tourist destination in the world, or 14th in Europe and 2nd in Ireland (behind Dingle). It was ranked ahead of all European capitals except Edinburgh, and many traditional tourist destinations (such as Venice).
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 modern art theatre which opened in 1993. It is a 52 week program that covers all aspects of the performing arts including concerts, ballets, musicals and operas. It has been the venue for many Irish film premieres, during the Galway Film Fleadh.
The Galway Arts Festival (Feile Ealaíon na Gaillimhe) takes place in July. It was first held in 1978 and since then has grown into one of the biggest arts festivals in Ireland. It attracts international artists as well as providing a platform for local and national performers. The festival features parades, street performances and plays, musical concerts and comedy acts. Highlights of the festival tend to be performances by Macnas and Druid, two local performance groups
Galway city has a reputation amongst Irish cities for being associated with the Irish language, music, song and dancing traditions - it is sometimes referred to as the 'Bilingual Capital of Ireland', although like all other cities in the Republic of Ireland, the vast bulk of the city's inhabitants converse mostly in English.
The city is well known for its ‘Irishness’, mainly due to the fact that it has on its doorstep the Galway Gaeltacht. Irish theatre, television and radio production and Irish music form a component of Galway city life, with both An Taibhdhearc, the National Irish Language Theatre, in Galway city centre, while TG4 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta headquarters are in the Connemara Gaeltacht in County Galway.
ARCHITECTURE OF GALWAY
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.
Another of the city's more dominant limestone buildings is the Hotel Meyrick which dates from 1845. Sitting at the southern perimeter of Eyre Square, it is the City's oldest hotel still in operation. 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 Hunger) 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.
From Wikiepdia, the Free Encyclopedia
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