Genealogy in Galway
The Galway, a county of Ireland, in Connaught bounded W by the Atlantic, N by Mayo and Roscommon, E by Roscommon, King’s county, and Tipperary, and S by Clare and Galway (Hotels, Galway, Ireland) bay; it contains 2593 square miles, is divided into 116 parishes, and sends 2 members to parliament. It abounds with rivers and lakes: of its rivers, the
principal are the Shannon, the Suck, and the Blackwater. Before the advent of the Normans in the twelfth century, the west of the county was a separate territory, in the possession of the O’Flahertys. In theory, these were dispossessed by the granting of the region to the de Burgos, ancestors of the Burkes, in the thirteenth century, but they retained their power more or less intact down to the final catastrophe of the seventeenth century. One area over which the Normans gained decisive control was Galway (Bed and Breakfasts, Galway, Ireland) city. After the building of the town walls around 1270, a strong trading and seafaring tradition developed, which saw Galway merchants travelling as far a field as Spain and the West Indies. Traces of Spanish influence can still be seen in the city. In recent years it has undergone an explosive growth in population, and has become one of the major cultural centres in Ireland.
