History of Galway
Encyclopedia
Galway
, one of the largest cities in Ireland, situated on the west coast of Ireland
, has a complex history going back around 800 years. The city was the only medieval
city in the province of Connacht
.
, after Lough Corrib
, just to the north. In Irish, Galway is also called Cathair na Gaillimhe ("city of Galway") which is a modern creation to prevent confusion with Contae na Gaillimhe / County Galway which is often incorrectly called Gaillimh in Irish.
There are multiple alternative derivations of the name, some conjectural and some mythical:
note that in that year "Three castles were erected by the Connaughtmen, the castle of Dun-Leodhar, the castle of the Gaillimh, and the castle of Cuil-maeile." This fort is also called a caislean (castle) in the annals. It was attacked in 1132 and 1149. Galway lay in the túath
of Clann Fhergail
which covered the parishes of St. Nicholas (the medieval city), Roscam and part of Baile an Chláir / Claregalway parish. This district was held by the Ó hAllmhuráin/O'Halloran
clan. Clann Fhergail itself was a sub district of Uí Bhriúin Seola the territory of which is called Maigh Seola
('plain of Seola'). The Ó Flaithbheartaigh clan held it up until the Norman
invasion of Connacht in the 1230s. As Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe lay in the territory of the O Flahertys they are often recorded as holding this fort for the O Connor Kings of Connacht.
Following an unsuccessful week-long siege in 1230, Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe was captured by Richard Mor de Burgh
in 1232. Over the following century Galway thrived under the de Burghs (Burkes), becoming a small walled town. After the sundering of the de Burgh (Clanrickards) dynasty in 1333, Galway sought its independence from the feuding Clanrickard Burkes , receiving a murage charter (authority to build a defensive wall) from the Crown in 1396. The English-oriented merchant families - known from the 1600's as The Tribes of Galway - were anxious to have control over their own affairs without the interference of the gaelicised Burkes. With independence from the Burkes achieved, Galway became to a large degree culturally and politically aloof (but not isolated) from the surrounding Gaelic and Gaelic-Norman territories.
Galway received a municipal charter from the crown in December 1484. This ensured the town's independence from the Clanrickard Burkes. At the same time, the creation of the wardenship of Galway gave the townsmen control of the large parish church, St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church
.
Galway endured difficult relations with its Irish neighbours. A notice over the west gate of the city, completed in 1562 by Mayor Thomas Óge Martyn
, stated "From the Ferocious O'Flaherty
s may God protect us". A bye-law forbade the native Irish (as opposed to Galway's Old English
citizens) unrestricted access into Galway, saying "neither O' nor Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway" without permission.
During the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by an oligarchy of fourteen merchant families (12 of Anglo-Norman
origin and 2 of Irish
origin), the 'Tribes of Galway
. The city thrived on international trade. In the Middle Ages
, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France, being the main source of trade to the Western Isles, Scotland
, during the Lordship of the Isles
. In 1477 Christopher Columbus
visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland
or the Faroe Islands
. Seven or eight years later, he noted in the margin of his copy of Imago Mundi "Men of Cathay have come from the west. [Of this] we have seen many signs. And especially in Galway in Ireland, a man and a woman, of extraordinary appearance, have come to land on two tree trunks [or timbers? or a boat made of such?]" The most likely explanation for these bodies is that they were Inuit
swept eastward by the North Atlantic Current
The population of medieval Galway is thought to have been about 3000.
, Galway was in a delicate position, caught, in effect between the Catholic rebels (Confederates
) and its English garrison ensconced in Fort Hill just outside the city. Eventually, Galway citizens, who were predominantly Catholic, went against their garrison and supported the confederate side in 1642. The fort was besieged with the aid of Confederate troops until it surrendered and its garrison was evacuated by sea. During the 1640s, Galway was heavily fortified against an expected counter-attack by English forces, which eventually materialised when English Parliamentarian forces re-conquered Ireland
in 1649-52. Galway surrendered to Cromwellian forces in 1652 after a nine-month siege
; plague and expulsions of Catholic citizens followed. The Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652
caused major upheavals, as peoples from east of the Shannon
were transplanted to Connacht
and slipped back.
After the demise of the English Commonwealth and the English Restoration
in 1660, (and the further Act of Settlement 1662
and its Act of Explanation 1665), the economy of Galway recovered somewhat. In the next crisis, centred around the deposition of the Catholic King James II
, in 1689, Galway supported the Jacobite side. It surrendered without a siege under the Articles of Galway
of 1691 after the annihilation of the main Jacobite army at the nearby battle of Aughrim
. Thereafter, the city become an economic backwater, and the capital of its old great families were spent overseas. It took about 300 years for the city to regain its former status.
) stated that no new Catholics apart from seamen and day labourers could move there. On top of that, when fears arose of a French invasion of Ireland in 1708 and 1715 (during a Jacobite Rising
in Scotland), all Catholics were ordered to leave the city. The corporation, which ran Galway was also confined to Protestants. This is all the more surprising given that a 1762 census showed thatof the town's 15,000 or so inhabitants, only 350 were Protestants. The persecution of Galway's old Catholic merchant elite meant that trade declined substantially, and the once busy harbour fell into disrepair. Local traders compensated to some degree for this by smuggling in goods like brandy
through gaps in the town walls. On 1 November 1755 the 1755 Lisbon earthquake
caused a two-metre tsunami
to hit the city's coast, causing some serious damage to the "Spanish Arch
" section of the city wall.
were relaxed. However the city's rural hinterland suffered terribly in the Great Irish Famine on the 1840s. Unlike other urban centres in 19th century Ireland, which experienced an explosion in their populations, Galway's population actually declined such was the devastation wrought by the famine.
The second half of the century saw some improvement in Galway's position however, as the railway lines reached the city in 1850. Another important development was the creation of a university
in Galway
in 1845, then named "Queens University of Ireland".
, Liam Mellows
mobilised the local Irish Volunteers
in the area to attack the Royal Irish Constabulary
barracks at Oranmore
, just outside Galway, however they failed to take it and later surrendered in Athenry
. During the Irish War of Independence
1919-21, Galway was the western headquarters for the British Army. Their overhwelming force in the city meant that the local Irish Republican Army
could do little against them. The only initiatives were taken by the University battalion of the IRA, who were reprimanded by the local IRA commander who was afraid they would provoke reprisals. This fear was not without justification, as the nearby town of Tuam
was sacked on two occasions by the Black and Tans
in July and September 1920. In November 1920, a Galway city Catholic priest, Fr. Michael Griffin
was abducted and shot by the British forces. His body was found in a bog in Barna
. Galway businessmen launched a boycott against Northern Irish goods from December 1919 onwards in protest against the loyalist
attacks on Catholic nationalists in Belfast
, a protest that later spread throughout the country.
Before the outbreak of the Irish Civil War
(1922–23), in March 1922, Galway saw a tense stand off between Pro-Treaty and Anti-Treaty troops over who would occupy the military barracks at Renmore
. After fighting broke out in July 1922 the city and its military barracks were occupied by troops of the Irish Free State
's National Army
. Two Free State soldiers and one Anti-Treaty fighter were killed and more wounded before the National Army secured the area. The Republicans burned a number of public buildings in the centre of town before they abandoned Galway.
In 1972, part of the city center was destroyed by fire. The area involved the southern-west corner of Eyre Square
, where the Bank of Ireland
used to be situated.
In more recent years, the resignation of Eamon Casey
as Bishop of Galway in "scandalous circumstances" in 1992 came to be seen as pivotal in the Roman Catholic Church's loss of influence in Ireland.
's History of Galway is considered to the definitive history of Galway
city and county from the earliest of times until the early 19th century.
The book is now out of copyright
and is available online.
A more recent book by John Cunningham, dealing with Galway's 19th-century history was published during 2004. It is entitled 'A town tormented by the sea: GALWAY, 1790-1914', and several excerpts from it are available online.
See J.G Simms's War and Politics in Ireland 1649-1731 for details of 18th century Galway.
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
, one of the largest cities in Ireland, situated on the west coast of Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
, has a complex history going back around 800 years. The city was the only medieval
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
city in the province of Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
.
(Alternative) derivations of the name
The city takes its name from that of the river, the Gaillimh. The word Gaillimh means "stony" as in "stony river". Today, the river is commonly called the River CorribRiver Corrib
The River Corrib in the west of Ireland flows from Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay. The river is among the shortest in Europe, with only a length of six kilometres from the lough to the Atlantic. It is popular with local whitewater kayakers and is the training ground of , as well as...
, after Lough Corrib
Lough Corrib
Lough Corrib is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway river connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the second largest lough in Ireland . It covers 178 km² and lies mostly in County Galway with a small area of its northeast corner in County Mayo.The first canal in...
, just to the north. In Irish, Galway is also called Cathair na Gaillimhe ("city of Galway") which is a modern creation to prevent confusion with Contae na Gaillimhe / County Galway which is often incorrectly called Gaillimh in Irish.
There are multiple alternative derivations of the name, some conjectural and some mythical:
- The commonly held view that the city takes its name from the Irish word Gallaibh, "foreigners" i.e. "the town of the foreigners" (from Gall, a foreigner) is incorrect, since the name Gaillimh was applied to the river first and then later on to the town. Also the common word gallaibh (which is pronounced with a broad initial letter a has never been used as an alternative spelling of Gaillimh (which is pronounced without a broad initial letter a.))
- The daughter of a local chieftain drowned in the river, and her name was Gailleamh, thus the river was given her name. The chieftain was so distraught that he set up camp at the point to mourn her spirit and keep it company. Later, a town sprung up around the point, and was called Gaillimh in her honour.
Early Galway
Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe ('Fort at the Mouth of the Gaillimh') was constructed in 1124, by the King of Connacht Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair. The Annals of the Four MastersAnnals of the Four Masters
The Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland or the Annals of the Four Masters are a chronicle of medieval Irish history...
note that in that year "Three castles were erected by the Connaughtmen, the castle of Dun-Leodhar, the castle of the Gaillimh, and the castle of Cuil-maeile." This fort is also called a caislean (castle) in the annals. It was attacked in 1132 and 1149. Galway lay in the túath
Tuath
Túath is an Old Irish word, often translated as "people" or "nation". It is cognate with the Welsh and Breton tud , and with the Germanic þeudō ....
of Clann Fhergail
Clann Fhergail
Clann Fhergail was a cantred located in County Galway, compriseing the baronies of Moycullen and Galway, the parishes of Oranmore and Ballynacourty and Rahoon....
which covered the parishes of St. Nicholas (the medieval city), Roscam and part of Baile an Chláir / Claregalway parish. This district was held by the Ó hAllmhuráin/O'Halloran
O'Halloran
Ó hAllmhuráin is the surname of a Gaelic-Irish family. The name roughly translates as 'from beyond the sea.' The family motto is 'Clann Fearghaile Abú.' This comes from the Galway branch, clann Fhergail , whose territory was extensive around Lough Corrib.The name originates from County Clare and...
clan. Clann Fhergail itself was a sub district of Uí Bhriúin Seola the territory of which is called Maigh Seola
Maigh Seola
Maigh Seola was a term used to describe the land along the east shore of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. It was bounded by the Uí Maine vassal kingdom of Soghain. Its rulers up to the 1220s were the Muintir Murchada, who took the surname O'Flaherty...
('plain of Seola'). The Ó Flaithbheartaigh clan held it up until the Norman
Normans
The Normans were the people who gave their name to Normandy, a region in northern France. They were descended from Norse Viking conquerors of the territory and the native population of Frankish and Gallo-Roman stock...
invasion of Connacht in the 1230s. As Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe lay in the territory of the O Flahertys they are often recorded as holding this fort for the O Connor Kings of Connacht.
Following an unsuccessful week-long siege in 1230, Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe was captured by Richard Mor de Burgh
Richard Mor de Burgh
Richard Mór de Burgh, 1st Lord of Connaught , Justiciar of Ireland.-Background:De Burgh was the eldest son of William de Burgh and a daughter of Domnall Mór Ua Briain, King of Thomond. His principal estate was in the barony of Loughrea where he built a castle in 1236 and a town was founded. He also...
in 1232. Over the following century Galway thrived under the de Burghs (Burkes), becoming a small walled town. After the sundering of the de Burgh (Clanrickards) dynasty in 1333, Galway sought its independence from the feuding Clanrickard Burkes , receiving a murage charter (authority to build a defensive wall) from the Crown in 1396. The English-oriented merchant families - known from the 1600's as The Tribes of Galway - were anxious to have control over their own affairs without the interference of the gaelicised Burkes. With independence from the Burkes achieved, Galway became to a large degree culturally and politically aloof (but not isolated) from the surrounding Gaelic and Gaelic-Norman territories.
Medieval City
St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church
The Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas is the largest medieval parish church in Ireland in continuous use as a place of worship. It is located in Galway in the Republic of Ireland and was founded in 1320, dedicated to Saint Nicholas of Myra, the patron saint of seafarers...
.
Galway endured difficult relations with its Irish neighbours. A notice over the west gate of the city, completed in 1562 by Mayor Thomas Óge Martyn
Thomas Óge Martyn
-Early life:Martyn was a merchant of Galway and a member of the Martyn family, one of the Tribes of Galway. He was the son of former Mayor of Galway, Wylliam Martin.-West Bridge and Mills:...
, stated "From the Ferocious O'Flaherty
O'Flaherty
Ó Flaithbertaigh, Gaelic-Irish surname, anglicized as O'Flaherty-Overview:This Gaelic-Irish surname is written as "Ua Flaithbertach" or "Ua Flaithbertaig" in Old Irish and Middle Irish texts....
s may God protect us". A bye-law forbade the native Irish (as opposed to Galway's Old English
Old English (Ireland)
The Old English were the descendants of the settlers who came to Ireland from Wales, Normandy, and England after the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1169–71. Many of the Old English became assimilated into Irish society over the centuries...
citizens) unrestricted access into Galway, saying "neither O' nor Mac shall strutte nor swagger through the streets of Galway" without permission.
During the Middle Ages, Galway was ruled by an oligarchy of fourteen merchant families (12 of Anglo-Norman
Anglo-Norman
The Anglo-Normans were mainly the descendants of the Normans who ruled England following the Norman conquest by William the Conqueror in 1066. A small number of Normans were already settled in England prior to the conquest...
origin and 2 of Irish
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
origin), the 'Tribes of Galway
Tribes of Galway
The Tribes of Galway were fourteen merchant families who dominated the political, commercial, and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late-19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, D'Arcy, Deane, Font, Ffrench, Joyce, Kirwan,...
. The city thrived on international trade. In the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, it was the principal Irish port for trade with Spain and France, being the main source of trade to the Western Isles, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, during the Lordship of the Isles
Lordship of the Isles
Lordship of the Isles may refer to :*The title and territory of the Lord of the Isles, in the west coast of Scotland*Lordship of the Isles , a region of the fictional World of Greyhawk in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game....
. In 1477 Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
visited Galway, possibly stopping off on a voyage to Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
or the Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
. Seven or eight years later, he noted in the margin of his copy of Imago Mundi "Men of Cathay have come from the west. [Of this] we have seen many signs. And especially in Galway in Ireland, a man and a woman, of extraordinary appearance, have come to land on two tree trunks [or timbers? or a boat made of such?]" The most likely explanation for these bodies is that they were Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
swept eastward by the North Atlantic Current
North Atlantic Current
The North Atlantic Current is a powerful warm ocean current that continues the Gulf Stream northeast. West of Ireland it splits in two; one branch, the Canary Current, goes south, while the other continues north along the coast of northwestern Europe...
The population of medieval Galway is thought to have been about 3000.
Decline
After the Irish Rebellion of 1641Irish Rebellion of 1641
The Irish Rebellion of 1641 began as an attempted coup d'état by Irish Catholic gentry, who tried to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for the Catholics living under English rule...
, Galway was in a delicate position, caught, in effect between the Catholic rebels (Confederates
Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland refers to the period of Irish self-government between the Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland in 1649. During this time, two-thirds of Ireland was governed by the Irish Catholic Confederation, also known as the "Confederation of Kilkenny"...
) and its English garrison ensconced in Fort Hill just outside the city. Eventually, Galway citizens, who were predominantly Catholic, went against their garrison and supported the confederate side in 1642. The fort was besieged with the aid of Confederate troops until it surrendered and its garrison was evacuated by sea. During the 1640s, Galway was heavily fortified against an expected counter-attack by English forces, which eventually materialised when English Parliamentarian forces re-conquered Ireland
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland refers to the conquest of Ireland by the forces of the English Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. Cromwell landed in Ireland with his New Model Army on behalf of England's Rump Parliament in 1649...
in 1649-52. Galway surrendered to Cromwellian forces in 1652 after a nine-month siege
Siege of Galway
The Siege of Galway took place from August 1651 to May 1652 during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. Galway was the last city held by Irish Catholic forces in Ireland and its fall signalled the end to most organised resistance to the Parliamentarian conquest of the country.The English...
; plague and expulsions of Catholic citizens followed. The Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652
Act for the Settlement of Ireland 1652
The Act for the Settlement of Ireland imposed penalties including death and land confiscation against participants and bystanders of the Irish Rebellion of 1641 and subsequent unrest.-Background:...
caused major upheavals, as peoples from east of the Shannon
River Shannon
The River Shannon is the longest river in Ireland at . It divides the west of Ireland from the east and south . County Clare, being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception...
were transplanted to Connacht
Connacht
Connacht , formerly anglicised as Connaught, is one of the Provinces of Ireland situated in the west of Ireland. In Ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for...
and slipped back.
After the demise of the English Commonwealth and the English Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
in 1660, (and the further Act of Settlement 1662
Act of Settlement 1662
The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...
and its Act of Explanation 1665), the economy of Galway recovered somewhat. In the next crisis, centred around the deposition of the Catholic King James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
, in 1689, Galway supported the Jacobite side. It surrendered without a siege under the Articles of Galway
Williamite war in Ireland
The Williamite War in Ireland—also called the Jacobite War in Ireland, the Williamite-Jacobite War in Ireland and in Irish as Cogadh an Dá Rí —was a conflict between Catholic King James II and Protestant King William of Orange over who would be King of England, Scotland and Ireland...
of 1691 after the annihilation of the main Jacobite army at the nearby battle of Aughrim
Battle of Aughrim
The Battle of Aughrim was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the Jacobites and the forces of William III on 12 July 1691 , near the village of Aughrim in County Galway....
. Thereafter, the city become an economic backwater, and the capital of its old great families were spent overseas. It took about 300 years for the city to regain its former status.
18th century
After the 17th century wars, Galway, as a Catholic port city, was treated with great suspicion by the authorities. Legislation of 1704 (the Popery ActPopery Act
An Act to prevent the further Growth of Poperty was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of Ireland passed in 1703 and amended in 1709, one of a series of penal laws against Roman Catholics....
) stated that no new Catholics apart from seamen and day labourers could move there. On top of that, when fears arose of a French invasion of Ireland in 1708 and 1715 (during a Jacobite Rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
in Scotland), all Catholics were ordered to leave the city. The corporation, which ran Galway was also confined to Protestants. This is all the more surprising given that a 1762 census showed thatof the town's 15,000 or so inhabitants, only 350 were Protestants. The persecution of Galway's old Catholic merchant elite meant that trade declined substantially, and the once busy harbour fell into disrepair. Local traders compensated to some degree for this by smuggling in goods like brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
through gaps in the town walls. On 1 November 1755 the 1755 Lisbon earthquake
1755 Lisbon earthquake
The 1755 Lisbon earthquake, also known as the Great Lisbon Earthquake, was a megathrust earthquake that took place on Saturday 1 November 1755, at around 9:40 in the morning. The earthquake was followed by fires and a tsunami, which almost totally destroyed Lisbon in the Kingdom of Portugal, and...
caused a two-metre tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
to hit the city's coast, causing some serious damage to the "Spanish Arch
Spanish Arch
The Spanish Arch in Galway city, Ireland was originally an extension of the city wall from Martin's Tower to the bank of the Corrib, as a measure to protect the city's quays, which were located in the area once known as the Fish Market...
" section of the city wall.
19th century
Galway's economy recovered somewhat from the late 18th as the Penal LawsPenal Laws (Ireland)
The term Penal Laws in Ireland were a series of laws imposed under English and later British rule that sought to discriminate against Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters in favour of members of the established Church of Ireland....
were relaxed. However the city's rural hinterland suffered terribly in the Great Irish Famine on the 1840s. Unlike other urban centres in 19th century Ireland, which experienced an explosion in their populations, Galway's population actually declined such was the devastation wrought by the famine.
The second half of the century saw some improvement in Galway's position however, as the railway lines reached the city in 1850. Another important development was the creation of a university
National University of Ireland, Galway
The National University of Ireland, Galway is a constituent university of the National University of Ireland...
in Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
in 1845, then named "Queens University of Ireland".
20th century
Galway city played a relatively minor role in the upheaval in Ireland from 1916-1923. In 1916, during the Easter RisingEaster Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
, Liam Mellows
Liam Mellows
Liam Mellows was an Irish Republican and Sinn Féin politician. Born in England, Mellows grew up in County Wexford in Ireland. He was active with the Irish Republican Brotherhood and Irish Volunteers, and participated in the Easter Rising in County Galway, and the War of Independence...
mobilised the local Irish Volunteers
Irish Volunteers
The Irish Volunteers was a military organisation established in 1913 by Irish nationalists. It was ostensibly formed in response to the formation of the Ulster Volunteers in 1912, and its declared primary aim was "to secure and maintain the rights and liberties common to the whole people of Ireland"...
in the area to attack the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
barracks at Oranmore
Oranmore
Oranmore is a village in County Galway on the outskirts of Galway city in Ireland. With its major housing developments, Oranmore is rapidly becoming a part of Galway's commuter or suburban belt...
, just outside Galway, however they failed to take it and later surrendered in Athenry
Athenry
Athenry is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies east of Galway city, and one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue of the song "The Fields of Athenry".-History:...
. During the Irish War of Independence
Irish War of Independence
The Irish War of Independence , Anglo-Irish War, Black and Tan War, or Tan War was a guerrilla war mounted by the Irish Republican Army against the British government and its forces in Ireland. It began in January 1919, following the Irish Republic's declaration of independence. Both sides agreed...
1919-21, Galway was the western headquarters for the British Army. Their overhwelming force in the city meant that the local Irish Republican Army
Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army was an Irish republican revolutionary military organisation. It was descended from the Irish Volunteers, an organisation established on 25 November 1913 that staged the Easter Rising in April 1916...
could do little against them. The only initiatives were taken by the University battalion of the IRA, who were reprimanded by the local IRA commander who was afraid they would provoke reprisals. This fear was not without justification, as the nearby town of Tuam
Tuam
Tuam is a town in County Galway, Ireland. The name is pronounced choo-um . It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city.-History:...
was sacked on two occasions by the Black and Tans
Black and Tans
The Black and Tans was one of two newly recruited bodies, composed largely of British World War I veterans, employed by the Royal Irish Constabulary as Temporary Constables from 1920 to 1921 to suppress revolution in Ireland...
in July and September 1920. In November 1920, a Galway city Catholic priest, Fr. Michael Griffin
Michael Griffin (Irish priest)
Father Michael Griffin was an Irish Roman Catholic priest.Griffin was born at Gurteen, near Ballinasloe, County Galway. He was ordained at St Patrick's College, Maynooth in 1917...
was abducted and shot by the British forces. His body was found in a bog in Barna
Barna
Bearna is a Gaeltacht village west of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland, on the R336 regional road. Once a satellite of Galway city, the village is now rapidly becoming one of its suburbs. Officially the village is regarded as Irish speaking and is therefore a constituent part of the regions...
. Galway businessmen launched a boycott against Northern Irish goods from December 1919 onwards in protest against the loyalist
Ulster loyalism
Ulster loyalism is an ideology that is opposed to a united Ireland. It can mean either support for upholding Northern Ireland's status as a constituent part of the United Kingdom , support for Northern Ireland independence, or support for loyalist paramilitaries...
attacks on Catholic nationalists in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
, a protest that later spread throughout the country.
Before the outbreak of the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
(1922–23), in March 1922, Galway saw a tense stand off between Pro-Treaty and Anti-Treaty troops over who would occupy the military barracks at Renmore
Renmore
Renmore is a suburb of Galway City, Ireland, situated approximately 2 km to the east of the city. St Oliver Plunkett Church is located beside the primary school. Lough Atalia lies between Renmore and the city, which can be crossed using the public path beside the railway line...
. After fighting broke out in July 1922 the city and its military barracks were occupied by troops of the Irish Free State
Irish Free State
The Irish Free State was the state established as a Dominion on 6 December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, signed by the British government and Irish representatives exactly twelve months beforehand...
's National Army
Irish Army
The Irish Army, officially named simply the Army is the main branch of the Defence Forces of Ireland. Approximately 8,500 men and women serve in the Irish Army, divided into three infantry Brigades...
. Two Free State soldiers and one Anti-Treaty fighter were killed and more wounded before the National Army secured the area. The Republicans burned a number of public buildings in the centre of town before they abandoned Galway.
In 1972, part of the city center was destroyed by fire. The area involved the southern-west corner of Eyre Square
Eyre Square
John F. Kennedy Memorial Park is an inner-city public park in Galway, Ireland, formerly officially named Eyre Square and still widely known by that name...
, where the Bank of Ireland
Bank of Ireland
The Bank of Ireland is a commercial bank operation in Ireland, which is one of the 'Big Four' in both parts of the island.Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish banking history...
used to be situated.
In more recent years, the resignation of Eamon Casey
Eamon Casey
Eamon Casey is Roman Catholic Bishop Emeritus of Galway and Kilmacduagh, Ireland.-Priest and bishop:...
as Bishop of Galway in "scandalous circumstances" in 1992 came to be seen as pivotal in the Roman Catholic Church's loss of influence in Ireland.
Annalistic references
- 927. The foreigners of LuimneachLimerickLimerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
went upon Loch OirbsenLough CorribLough Corrib is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway river connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the second largest lough in Ireland . It covers 178 km² and lies mostly in County Galway with a small area of its northeast corner in County Mayo.The first canal in...
, and the islands of the lake were plundered by them. - 928. A slaughter was made of the foreigners who were on Loch Oirbsen by the Connaughtmen.
- 932. Fire from heaven burned the mountains of Connaught this year, and the lakes and streams dried up; and many persons were also burned by it.
- 1124. Three castles were erected by the Connaughtmen, the castle of Dun-Leodhar, the castle of the Gaillimh, and the castle of Cuil-maeile.
- 1125. The two sons of Aineislis Ua hEidhin were slain in treachery at Bun-Gaillimhe/Flann and Gillariabhach, the two sons of Aineislis Ua hEidhin, were slain by Conchobhar Ua Flaithbheartaigh.
- 1132 The castle of Bun-Gaillmhe was burned and demolished by a fleet of the men of Munster; and a great slaughter was made of the people of West Connaught, together with Ua Taidhg an Teaghlaigh, and many other noblemen.
- 1132. A hosting on land by Cormac Mac Carthaigh and the nobles of Leath Mogha into ... and Uí Eachach and Corca Laoighdhe, and the fleet of Leath Mogha [came] by sea to meet them, and they demolished the castle of Bun Gaillmhe, and plundered and burned the town. The defeat of An Cloidhe [was inflicted] on the following day on [the men of] Iarthar Connacht by the same fleet, and Conchobhar Ua FlaithbheartaighConchobhar Ua Flaithbheartaigh-Biography:The succession of the chiefs of Muintir Murchada after 1098 is uncertain, but Conchobhar seems to have succeeded Muireadhach, who died in 1121...
, king of Iarthar Connacht, was killed, with slaughter of his people ... together with Ua Taidhg an Teaghlaigh, and many other noblemen. - 1178. The River Galliv was dried up for a period of a natural day; all the articles that had been lost in it from remotest times, as well as its fish, were collected by the inhabitants of the fortress, and by the people of the country in general.
- 1577. Alexander, son of Calvagh, son of Turlough, son of John Carragh Mac Donnell, was slain in a combat by Theobald Boy Mac Seoinin, in the gateway of Galway; and there were not many sons of gallowglasses in Ireland at that time who were more wealthy, or who were more bountiful and munificent than he.
- 1581. The son of the Earl of Clanrickard, i.e. William Burke, son of Rickard Saxonagh, son of Ulick-na-gCeann, son of Rickard, son of Ulick of Cnoc-Tuagh, was hanged at Galway, the third day after the execution of Turlough O'Brien; that is, Turlough was hanged on Thursday, and William on Saturday. It happened that William was joined with his relatives in the war when they demolished their castles, as we have already mentioned; that he grew sorry for this, and went to Galway, under the protection of the English, the month before his execution; but some tale was fabricated against him, for which he was taken and hanged. Such of his followers as went in under this protection were also hanged.
- 1586. A session was held at Galway in the month of December of this year, and many women and men were put to death at it; and Edmond Oge, the son of Edmond, son of Manus Mac Sheehy, and eight soldiers of the Geraldines along with him, were put to death, information having been given against them that they had been along with those Scots who were slain at Ardnarea.
Further reading
James HardimanJames Hardiman
James Hardiman , also known as Séamus Ó hArgadáin, was a librarian at Queen's College, Galway. The university library now bears his name...
's History of Galway is considered to the definitive history of Galway
Galway
Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the...
city and county from the earliest of times until the early 19th century.
The book is now out of copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
and is available online.
A more recent book by John Cunningham, dealing with Galway's 19th-century history was published during 2004. It is entitled 'A town tormented by the sea: GALWAY, 1790-1914', and several excerpts from it are available online.
See J.G Simms's War and Politics in Ireland 1649-1731 for details of 18th century Galway.