Galway
Claddagh and Connemara
Galway is a city of culture, with youthful energy. Enjoy a great tradition of hospitality with open turf fires and live music. Tradition and culture met with a bohemian flair.
Discover Galway
Eyre square marks the central spot of this large town formerly ruled by 14 merchant families. Cobbled streets and cute shops pave the way to the Spanish Arch and Quays. Macnas have fed on this creative flair to produce worldwide live events and an annual staple at the Halloween Parade. In 1477, Christopher Columbus noted his visit to Galway in the margin of his copy of Imago Mundi. Festival capital of Ireland, hosting on average 122 festivals and events per year. Galway International Arts Festival, Galway Races, Guinness and Oyster Festival.
Explore Connemara – Stone walls track a dramatic, rugged landscape of mountains, glacial lakes, and uninhabited boglands An Spidéal is one of the largest Irish speaking settlements in the Galway Gaeltacht. Spiddal village is approximately 12 miles (19 km) from Galway city.
Look out for stone walls and Connemara Green marble, estimated to be 500 million years old. Small Connemara ponies are indigenous to Ireland and can be found grazing in stone ridden fields along the country roads. Galway has six Blue Flag Beaches and Tra na mBan, or Ladies Beach, in Spiddal is one of them.
Kylemore Abbey – Built as a castle in 1868 and later took on the role as an abbey. Tour restored period rooms and spectacular Victorian walled gardens, which are part of this 1,000-acre estate lush setting protected and fed by waters from river and streams.
