‘You don’t come to Ireland for the weather’ they say but sometimes the inclement weather actually adds to the experience. On Sunday I was part of a group of trainee tour guides who were led by Vincent Butler on a tour around the Boyne valley. We visited some of Ireland’s top attractions including the early … Continue reading
On the first day of January 2013 a time capsule was interred in the new public space dedicated to Alexander Nimmo close to the pier in Roundstone, Co. Galway. The time capsule project was the bright idea of Padraic McDonagh from the Shamrock bar in Roundstone and an energetic committee brought the idea to fruition. … Continue reading
The Walls That Shaped A City While today only two large upstanding sections of the town wall survive the imprint of the walls remains clear as the centre of the modern town is still effectively the area enclosed by those medieval walls. The Street pattern which lends Galway its characteristic atmosphere is clearly a reflection … Continue reading
John Blake builds a bastion Galway while independent and wealthy had always remained loyal to the English crown and this was to be its undoing. Galway was very much a town inhabited by Old English families with religious sympathies allied to the Gaelic Irish. Both these groups found common cause against the rise of non … Continue reading
Pierce Lynch becomes the Mayor After a series of upheavals the de Burgo’s who over the years had become more Irish then the Irish themselves and operated independently of the English Crown had been usurped as Lords of the town. Ironically the town wall built by Walter de Burgo became a defence against the de … Continue reading
Introduction The story of Galway city begins when Turlough O’Conor the king of Connacht built a fort overlooking the ford at the mouth of the river Corrib at the beginning of the twelfth century. This fort was probably a timber structure as there are repeated reports of it burning down. The O’Hallorans and O’Flaherty’s were allied to … Continue reading
