History of Galway History of Galway 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. 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 Corrib, 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"
Galway hooker festival of Cruinniú na mBád is held each year, when boats race across Galway Bay from Connemara to Kinvara on the Galway/Clare county boundary. The hooker refers to four classes of boats. All are named in Irish. The "Bád Mór" (big boats) ranges in length from 10.5 to 13.5 metres (35 to 44 feet). The smaller "Leathbhád" (half boat) is about 10 metres (28 feet) in length. Both the Bád Mór and Leathbhád were decked forward of the mast. These boats were used to carry turf to be used as fuel across Galway Bay from Connemara and County Mayo to