The city takes its name from the river Corrib on which it is built. The word Gaillaimh means ‘stony’ as in stony river. The city also bears the nickname ‘the city of the tribes’ because 14 tribes led the city in Norman times. The population is over 70,000 and it is the third largest city in the Republic. The population is descended from Celtic tribes and Norman settlers. There is also Spanish ancestry due to a history of trading with Spain and descendants of the Spanish armada survivors.

Galway has experienced phenomenal growth in recent years. It had 2.1 million visitors in 2000 and produced revenue of over €400 million. Nowadays the city is a multi-cultural haven for all walks of life.

It is home to some great food and drink with the likes of McDonaghs on the seafront where the cod is fresh and the name famous for it.

Eyre Square got a recent makeover and to tell the truth there isn’t much of a difference to it. The climate is changeable as elsewhere in Ireland and there are prevailing winds from the gulf stream.

There are plenty of hostels to choose from and you can hire a bike and see all the surrounding countryside from the stones of Clare Island to Aran. There is also great nightlife with Roisin Dubh’s supplying live music and a friendly atmosphere any night of the week and Monroe’s just across the road serving many a weary traveller.

The Gaelteacht is on Galway’s doorstep so the Irish language is strong there. It’s said that 50% of its people speak as Gaeilge. It has a fantastic market on the weekends and this year it celebrated an arts festival in July.

During the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Galway Fort was captured by Richard Mór deBurgh. As the deBurghs 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. Galway endured difficult relations with its Irish neighbours.

A notice over the west gate of the city, completed in 1562 by Mayor Thomas Oge Martyn Fitz William, stated ‘From the Ferocious O’Flahertys may God protect us’. A bye-law forbade the native Irish unrestricted access into Galway, saying ‘neither O nor Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway’ without permission.

During the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by fourteen merchant families. These were the ‘tribes’ of Galway. The city prospered on international trade. In the Middle Ages, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France. Christopher Columbus is known to have visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland or the Faroe Islands.

Galway remained loyal to the crown for the most part but in 1642 relations changed and it allied with the Catholic Confederation of Kilkenny. During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland it was captured after a nine-month siege.

At the end of the 17th century the city supported King James the second of England in the Williamite war in Ireland. King William of Orange captured it and the families of Galway gave up. 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.

Visions of Galway, from left: Summer frolics, crowds line the streets for Galway Race Week and relaxing in the recentley redesigned Eyre Square.