Republic of Ireland, Galway

About Galway

Galway (official Irish name: Gaillimh) is the main city in the province of Connacht in Ireland and capital of County Galway. The city is located on the west coast of Ireland. In Irish, Galway is also called Cathair na Gaillimhe, which is a translation of "City of Galway".

The population of the city was 71,983 at the most recent census in April 2006, making it the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, after Dublin and Cork, not using county boundaries to measure population as they are not a true measure of a greater urban area. Galway city is the only one in Ireland where the greater urban area lies within its city boundary and therefore appears to be larger than other cities such as Limerick where the greater urban area lies in two or more local authority areas.

The Galway urban area is sixth largest in Ireland (after Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Derry and Limerick).

History

Dún Bun na Gaillimhe ("Fort at the Mouth (bottom) of the Gaillimh") was constructed in 1124, by the King of Connacht Tairrdelbach mac Ruaidri Ua Conchobair. A small settlement eventually grew up around this fort. During the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Galway fort was capturted by Richard Mor de Burgh, who had led this invasion. As the de Burghs eventually became gaelicised the merchants of the town pushed for greater control over the walled city. This led to them gaining complete control over the city and the granting of mayoral status by the English crown in December 1484.

During the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by an oligarchy of fourteen merchant families (12 of Norman origin and 2 of Irish origin). These were the 'tribes' of Galway. The city throve on international trade. In the Middle Ages, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France. There is a legend of uncertain truth which claims that Christopher Columbus, on a trip to Iceland or the Faroe Isles, found signs of land beyond the Atlantic Ocean in or near Galway in 1477.Galway remained mostly loyal to the English crown during the Gaelic resurgence as a matter of survival, yet by 1642 the city allied itself with the Catholic Confederation of Kilkenny during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. During the resulting Cromwellian conquest of Ireland Cromwellian forces captured the city after a nine month siege. At the end of the 17th century the city supported the Jacobites in the Williamite war in Ireland (it supported King James II of England against William of Orange) and was captured by the Williamites after a very short siege not long after the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. The great families of Galway were ruined, the city declined, and it did not fully recover until the great economic boom of the late twentieth century

Politics

Services such as rubbish collection, recycling, traffic control, parks and housing are controlled by a fifteen member city council elected to five year terms by proportional representation, the next such election is due in June 2009. The make-up of the current city council following the last election was four Labour Party, three Fine Gael, three Progressive Democrats, two Fianna Fáil, one Green Party, one Sinn Féin and one independent. Since then, the independent councillor, Michael Crowe, has joined Fianna Fáil, bringing their number on the council to three.

Last June's 2005 elections to the city council saw a significant change in its composition as left wing parties (Labour, Greens, and Sinn Féin) increased their number of seats from two to six. At the same time, Fianna Fáil lost three seats and there was an independent councillor elected in the north/east ward. Although some have argued that this has given the city council a more representative make-up, others say that it has led to grid-lock and infighting. Certainly the situation has been exacerbated by the number of new and thus inexperienced councillors (eight out of fifteen elected are first time councillors).

Mayoralty

The City Council is chaired by a mayor who elected to a one year term by their fellow councillors. Their role is mainly ceremonial, although they do have the casting vote. The current Mayor is Cllr. Niall O'Brolchain who was elected the first Green Party mayor of Galway on June 19th 2006.

Culture

Galway city is unique among Irish cities because of the strength of its Irish language, music, song and dancing traditions - it is often referred to as the 'Bilingual Capital of Ireland'. The city is well known for its ‘Irishness’, and mainly due to the fact that it has on its doorstep the Galway Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area). The language is visible on the city streets, with bilingual signage on display on shops and road signs, and can be heard by locals around the city.

Architecture

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.

Sport

The city has many hurling and gaelic football teams at all levels; match times and venues are listed in local newspapers, such as the Galway Advertiser. Major football and hurling matches take place at Pearse Stadium in the city.

Media

Galway can receive all the national radio stations and television stations, as well as cable and satellite services. The main regional newspaper in the city and county is the Connacht Tribune  which prints three titles every week - the Sentinel (city paper) on Tuesday, the Connacht Tribune (county paper) on Thursday and the Galway City Tribune (city paper) on Friday. The three papers are printed at the company's printworks in the heart of the city; it is the last remaining manufacturing facility operating in the city centre.