Tourist information - Galway
Galway is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe. With a population of approximately 65,000, it has become the third city in the Republic of Ireland after Dublin and Cork. It started as a small fishing town centred nearby the estuary of the River Corrib, a river originally called Abhainn na Gaillimhe (The Galway River) after Galvia, a mythological princess said to have drowned in its waters. Early records show of a Dun or fort erected by local chieftains (where Flood Street is today) in order to defend against attack by what the ancient Annals call Munster Men. By 1235, the Anglo-Norman de Burgos captured the place around which a settlement grew into the medieval city of Galway. Ljao/jan/1v21