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County Galway Travel Blogs

Background: Celtic tribes arrived on the island between 600-150 B.C. Invasions by Norsemen that began in the late 8th century were finally ended when King Brian BORU defeated the Danes in 1014. English invasions began in the 12th century and set off more than seven centuries of Anglo-Irish struggle marked by fierce rebellions and harsh repressions. A failed 1916 Easter Monday Rebellion touched off several years of guerrilla warfare that in 1921 resulted in independence from the UK for 26 southern counties; six northern (Ulster) counties remained part of the United Kingdom. In 1948 Ireland withdrew from the British Commonwealth; it joined the European Community in 1973. Irish governments have sought the peaceful unification of Ireland and have cooperated with Britain against terrorist groups. A peace settlement for Northern Ireland, known as the Good Friday Agreement and approved in 1998, is being implemented with some difficulties.

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By JessRK
August 12th 2008

Day of Hiking! Finally!

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Connemara

Pete

Hey all! Wonderful weekend here I just had. I returned back from the World Fleadh to Galway to rest. I was COMPLETELY exhausted in so many different ways. So, it was good to do that for a day or two. Then, Friday, Grainne and I headed up to the edge of Connemara for a day of hiking. It was really great. It was very boggy and brown which made for some interesting footing and path creation adventures. It might not look so hard, but it actually was... for me anyway! But it was a blast and it was really nice to [View Full Entry]

By The Baron
August 8th 2008

Thursday, August 7

Europe » Ireland » County Galway

Kelly @ Ross Errilly Friary

A jam-packed day with plenty of driving today. We set out early to the southwest headed for County Galway. We decided it was worth the two hours to check out what seems to be the favorite spot in all of Ireland for many. We learned that Brian Og O'Rourke had been buried in a Ross Errilly Firary, about 30 km north of the city of Galway. This great warrior requested burial here (after he being mortally wounded in The Nine Years War) in what has been the most well-preserved of the abbeys and friaries we have visited. Some pretty ama [View Full Entry]

By emma and roz and isab
August 7th 2008

smithy & the techno turtle twins

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

SUPERLAMBANANAS

HELLO! we have left the uk! finally get to use euros woo. well it has been ages, internet suddenly got epically expensive but at this hostel its free, AMAZING haha. we are meant to be using the time to try and get some planning done for scandinavia (arriving in under a week, so excited!) but procrastinating and photo sharing is way funner obviously. guess will try and do a catch up? we last wrote in liverpool, which is way too many cities ago for much detail....we saw a museum and a gallery, hung out with our couchsurfing host, cooked a real [View Full Entry]

our couchsurfing host had 18 different body washes, emma was way impressed

raiding the kids dress ups at liverpool art gallery

By Tommy Rooney
August 1st 2008

And they're racing at Galway!

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Killary fjord at dusk
The hostel is right by the water in beautiful Connemara.

The Galway races are one of the premier annual events in Ireland, and it's fortunate my visit coincides with the week long festival taking place in this wonderful city, situated on the west coast of Ireland. The fillies are out in force for a canter on the streets, and many are being dutifully escorted by dapper gents. Everyone in town looks a million bucks, er ... except me that is, but nevertheless I'm happy to be joining in the fun. The actual racing is solely comprised of hurdling and Irish stayers are world renowned jumpers. I was fortunate to be in [View Full Entry]

By Finn magill
August 1st 2008

Minha historinha de Galway..

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Olá, Eu acabei de chegar de Galway, a melhor cidade da Irlanda. Galway é com certeza uma cidade maravilhosa. Tudo acontece no "Merchant Street," uma rua calçada de paralelepípedos, com gente do mundo inteiro. Tem muitos músicos de rua, que tocam nas calçadas para ganhar dinheiro. Eu vi um canadense corajoso, deitado em uma cama de pregos enquanto uma mulher ficava em pé no peito dele. Vi também um rapaz fazendo mágicas com vazos, frascos, dinheiro, cigarros, e coisas assim. Claro, existem muitos músicos, tocando música da Espanha, Irlanda, Estados Unidos, França, e qualquer lugar que se [View Full Entry]

By James Joyce s g f
July 28th 2008

G is for Galway

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

art on the street..

I went to Galway last Sunday (20 July) for the day. It was beautiful--I went with my friend Erica and we decided that it was a place we just had to see before returning to America. Why? Well, other than the Galway girl song which EVERYBODY loves (well, I like it) 'And er hair was black and er eyes were bluee' everybody in Ireland says Galway is a great place to go outside of Dublin. It's the 'San Francisco' of Ireland. I can see the similarities...they are both west coast cities with an alternative edge...boho, if you will. Just like San [View Full Entry]

River that empties out into the Galway Bay

By Finn magill
July 28th 2008

The Humors of Galway

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Salutations everyone, I am in Galway, home of the "Galway Races" (horse-racing). I love Galway and Galway loves me. So much in fact that I managed to make 25 Euro in 45 minutes busking on Merchant street, or the Bourbon street of Ireland.. Some of you have been here but for those that haven't (that being most of you), I will do my best to capture it in a few sentences. You're more likely to hear French, German, or Spanish in downtown Galway than you will English. There are literally tourists everywhere, and many of those foriegn accents belong to former [View Full Entry]

By starcar44
July 25th 2008

Galway, The Cliffs of Moher and The Burren

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Me, Nina and Sophie at the Cliffs
That darn haze! It's a little hard to make them out, but they're there.

We arrived in Galway on Wednesday and it's been great so far. Maybe my favourite Irish city yet. We spent yesterday walking around the city and seeing a few sights. Galway is quite small for a major city, but it's got great atmosphere. We're staying right in the heart of town and everything is within easy walking distance. The Galway Arts Festival has been on for the past two weeks and ends tomorrow. It's really a good time to be here. There are street performers all along the major streets, and yesterday we went to a photography exhibition at NUIG (National [View Full Entry]

By pintobean97
July 23rd 2008

Tweed

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Letterfrack

Celtic Crosses

We started off the morning with a breakfast and a gorgeous view out of the front window of the Stonecroft B&B. The breakfast was not as good as we have had in the past few days, but it was a start. I am not sure but I think the breakfast didn’t taste as well because my stomach was upset from sleeping the entire night while inhaling the smell of old pee. I believe that the person who had the room before me must have had a great night at the pub and then missed the toilet completely. After a little fussing [View Full Entry]

By clj1130
July 22nd 2008

So I hear getting a work visa in Ireland isn't so hard....

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Hello from Galway, Ireland!! I've been here for two nights already and decided to stay for another, just because it's so great here! Yesterday I took a bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher, which was Gorgeous!!! I still haven't figured out how to put my pictures up but as soon as I figure it out, they will be up! I got to learn a lot about the history of Ireland and actually found the tour really interesting. It's still gray and gloomy here, but everyone is so nice and I'm enjoying myself so much that the weather doesn't really even [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Ireland » County Galway