Travel Blog » Europe » Ireland » County Galway

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.

Ireland

Map of Ireland

Ireland's Flag

Recommended Books:

Hostels in Ireland
Latest County Galway Blog Entries
County Galway Photos

By Lanalu
April 29th 2008

An Irish Bender and a Bump In the Road

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

guiness!
guiness and the irish face

I'm assuming you're wondering where I went. Mostly, I've been living the Irish dream. And by that I mean drinking. And by that I mean I've had more to drink that someone of my height/weight should probably consume in four days, but that is Irish culture. I thought the exessive amounts of drinking was just a stereotype, it is not. Irish people like to drink, and so does Jessi, so it's been a good time. Early Monday morning Jessi met me in Dublin. She's still as funny looking as I remembered, but I decided to have pity on here. After a [View Full Entry]

By tarheel790
April 29th 2008

Arrived in Ireland

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

We're finally in Ireland! We arrived in Dublin at 9:30am and unbelievably so did all our luggage. Yea Delta! We had too much luggage for the car we rented...must have been the bag full of shoes for "you know who". Upgraded to a Hyundai SUV Diesel...gets good mileage but sounds like a truck. We made our way cross-country and arrived in Galway around 2:30pm. Met up with Jessica and after lots of hugs and kisses, we checked into the bed and breakfast. It is a nice place overlooking Galway Bay. We have a room with a balcony that looks out over [View Full Entry]

By tarheel790
April 29th 2008

But what about the weather?

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Forgot to provide an update on the weather. It was sunny and 65 when we arrived. We had sunshine for our entire cross-country trip. When we arrived in Galway it turned overcast and cool. While we were out walking on Quay Street (pronounced "key" street), we experienced one of the notorious freak hail storms that Jessie has been telling us about. One minute nothing, the next minute it is raining hail. Everyone on the street just walks to the sides under shop awnings or in doorways to escape the hail storm. They just keep talking on their cell phones and chatting [View Full Entry]

By Brian Brook
April 21st 2008

over to Ireland

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Connemara

4.18.08 Update since back in London… Dartmoor was incredible. Got back into London, and enjoying it better this time. A tale from the hostel...(rated R) First night back at the hostel a pretty young lady stepped in the room while I was about to go down and make dinner. We got to chatting and decided to go get some dinner at a Greek restaurant just down the street, it was raining. She’s Canadian and lives and works in Wales and was down in London to go on a cooking network TV show. We had a bottle or so of wine, and [View Full Entry]

By Kim B
April 14th 2008

A Rare Night in Galway

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Violinist at The Quays

Monday was cold and rainy, even more so than usual. Usually we fight it during the day and go about our business but no one was really into the weather today. It cleared up in the evening so I decided to finally go out with my roommate Serena. The girl likes to go out, unlike the way I like to go out, so we hadn't really spent any wild nights together. Don't get me wrong, she is such an amazing person and we have a great time together. Just not usually for night life. So last minute we decided to go [View Full Entry]

By Kim B
April 12th 2008

Green Peaklands and Irish Mist

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Connemara

Kylemore Abbey

Today was pretty amazing, to say the least. We left for Connemara around 9:30am and it was just the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen. Again, if you are on the west coast of Ireland, take a trip through Connemara. The ride itself will be an adventure filled with amazing scenery. We went through the peaklands of the area, what I guess to be the equivalent to the highlands in Scotland. The place was so green and the tops of the mountains were covered with that thick Irish mist. The river valleys we drove through seemed endless and to be [View Full Entry]

By Kim B
April 12th 2008

Slow Galway Weekend.

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Galway and Venice 004

The weekend was slow but really enjoyable. I planned on getting some homework done (but isn't that always the case?), but it was such a beautiful day that I couldn't stay in doing homework. Anna and I took our time getting ready for the day and then went out on the dock behind the apartment to watch the day go by. We took some books out with us and hung out by the water for a few hours, reading and talking. We watched the boaters go by, waved to the many tourist boats and watched the local rowing teams practice. That [View Full Entry]

By Kim B
April 3rd 2008

Movies, McDonaugh's, and Irish Fun

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

Eyre Square

I finally feel like I'm falling into a kind of routine here in Galway. We go into Eyre Square almost everyday, sometimes to actually get things done, other times just to walk around. It's so peaceful here, even when the city center is crowded with people. Today me and Anna took the Corrib Village coach into the city center. A woman from Utah was on the coach and we started talking on the way. We ended up just walking around with her for while, making a stop at Java's, our favorite coffeehouse. If there was anything I learned about Anna right [View Full Entry]

By Kim B
April 2nd 2008

First days in Galway!

Europe » Ireland » County Galway » Galway

The Dock on the Corrib

So here starts my first day as a Galwegian! At least for the next five weeks. A slow morning, being ever aware of the water-contamination. (Reminder: these are accounts of last July. The contamination has been taken care of, as far as I know.) Had some tea, talked with the roommates, and met everyone in the group to go to the university classroom we would be using to do some very long orientation business. Afterwards I walked with Jennifer of Ohio, Lauren of NY, Anna of Ark., and Erin of Tennessee to Dunnes Stores in the city center. Almost everyone on [View Full Entry]

By Swanny
March 31st 2008

The Way to Galway and the Aran Islands

Europe » Ireland » County Galway

This means Galway in Gaelic

Well, I took a two night trip to Galway (the city of Tribes) in the Republic which is considered the art center of Ireland and called one of the sexiest cities in Europe (which is good to know). It is not a very large city but there are a few things to see and more outside the city. I enjoyed just walking by the sea and walking through the town square (Eyre Square) which is home to a monument of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy who visited Galway shortly before his death. On my second day, I went to the Aran Islands [View Full Entry]

Travel Blog » Europe » Ireland » County Galway