The second largest county in Ireland, Galway is set on the west coast. Its heavily indented Atlantic coastline provides a myriad of wide bays, sheltered harbours, deep fjords and island clusters. Lough Corrib, Ireland’s second largest lake, divides the county in two - the fertile farmlands, with their traditional dry stone walls in the east, and mountainous Connemara, where the Irish culture and language thrives, in the west. At the mouth of Galway Bay lie the three Aran Islands - Inishmore, Inishmaan and Inisheer, whose inhabitants also maintain a distinctly Gaelic culture. Towering mountain ranges such as the Twelve Bens and the Maamturks fortify the west coast of the county. The land is bounded in the east by the Shannon and Suck Rivers.
Humans first inhabited the Galway Region over 5,000 years ago. Stone monuments on the Aran Islands date back as far as 2000 B.C. and include the famous Dun Aengusa, a stone fort situated at the edge of a sea cliff and dating back to around the time of Christ. With the arrival of Christianity, monasteries were built at Roscam, Inchagoill Island and Annaghdown. These monasteries attracted the attentions of the Vikings and Roscam was raided in 830. Around 1232, Richard de Burgo, a Norman Baron, attacked Connacht. Galway city expanded with the arrival of English, Welsh and Flemish settlers, but the native Irish regained their power as the Normans adopted the Irish language and tradition. Around this time, 14 prominent merchant families came to power and held this position until Cromwell’s attack on the county. The Irish in Galway were finally routed at the Battle of Aughrim in 1691. Following this defeat, the native population lost most of their lands and suffered under the penal laws. They endured further suffering during the Great Famine and the population was decimated. Towards the close of the 19th century, Galway became the centre of the the Irish Literary Renaissance. Lady Gregory’s home at Coole Park attracted many writers, and Lady Gregory herself, along with Yeats and Synge founded the Abbey Theatre in Dublin 1904.