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Galway is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht. It is the county town of County Galway, which is named after the county. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on the island of Ireland and the fourth most populous in Ireland, with a population at the 2022 census of 83,456.[1] Located near an earlier settlement, Galway grew around a fortification built by the King of Connacht in 1124. A municipal charter, received in 1484, allowed for the citizens of the then walled city to form a council and mayoralty for the city. Controlled largely by a group of merchant families, the Tribes of Galway, the city grew into a trading port. Following a period of decline, as of the 21st century, the city is a tourist destination and is known for hosting numerous festivals, celebrations and events, including the Galway Arts Festival.[2] In 2018, Galway was named the European Region of Gastronomy. The city was the European Capital of Culture for 2020, alongside Rijeka, Croatia. [edit] History
Built on the site of an earlier settlement, Dún Gaillimhe ("Fort at the Mouth (bottom) of the Gaillimh") was completed in 1124, by the King of Connacht and High King of Ireland Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair (1088–1156). The castle served as a naval base from which his fleet operated. A new settlement grew around it. During the Norman invasion of Connacht in the 1230s, Dún Gaillimhe was captured by Richard Mor de Burgh, who had led the invasion. As the de Burghs eventually became Gaelicised, the merchants of the town, the Tribes of Galway, pushed for greater control over the walled city.
During the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by an oligarchy of fourteen[3] merchant families (twelve who claimed to be of Norman origin and two of Irish origin). These were the "Tribes of Galway". The city thrived on international trade, and in the Middle Ages, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France. The most famous reminder of those days is ceann an bhalla ("the end of the wall"), now known as the Spanish Arch, constructed during the mayoralty of Wylliam Martin (1519–20). In 1477 Christopher Columbus visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland or the Faroe Islands. Seven or eight years later, he noted in the margin of his copy of Imago Mundi: Men of Cathay have come from the west. [Of this] we have seen many signs. And especially in Galway in Ireland, a man and a woman, of extraordinary appearance, have come to land on two tree trunks [or timbers? or a boat made of such?] The most likely explanation for these bodies is that they were Inuit swept eastward by the North Atlantic Current.[4] During the 16th and 17th centuries, Galway remained loyal to the English crown for the most part, even during the Gaelic resurgence, perhaps for reasons of survival. However, by 1642 the city had 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 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 later suffered further under the Great Famine of 1845–1852. [edit] Research Tips
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