Galway Galway Galway (; , ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht. Galway lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, surrounded by County Galway, and is the sixth most populous city in Ireland, with a population at the 2016 Census of 79,934. Galway will be the European Capital of Culture in 2020, alongside Rijeka, Croatia. The city's name comes from the Irish name "Gaillimhe", which formed the western boundary of the earliest settlement, "Dún Gaillimhe" "Fort Gaillimh". (Mythical and alternative derivations of the name are given in History of Galway).
County Galway middens indicate the existence of people as early as 5000 BC. The county originally comprised several kingdoms and territories which predate the formation of the county. These kingdoms included Aidhne, Uí Maine, Maigh Seóla, Conmhaícne Mara, Soghain and Máenmaige. County Galway became an official entity around 1569 AD. The region known as Connemara retains a distinct identity within the county, though its boundaries are unclear, and so it may account for as much as one third, or as little as 20%, of the county. The county includes a number of inhabited islands, such as the Oileáin Árann (Aran Islands) and