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County Galway

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Cliffs of moher

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Overview

County Galway's exuberant namesake city is a swirl of colourful shop-lined streets filled with buskers and performance artists, enticing old pubs that hum with trad music sessions throughout the year, and an increasingly sophisticated food scene that celebrates local produce.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Stone wall at Dun Aonghasa Aran Islands

    Dún Aonghasa

    Aran Islands

    Dún Aonghasa is one of the largest prehistoric stone forts in Europe and stands guard over Inis Mór on the edge of a 100-metre sheer cliff drop.

  • panish Arch Next To The River

    Spanish Arch

    Galway City

    The Spanish Arch is thought to be an extension of Galway's medieval city walls, designed to protect ships moored at the nearby quay while they unloaded…

  • Aughnanure Castle, Galway, Ireland

    Aughnanure Castle

    Connemara

    The 'Fighting O'Flahertys' were based at this superbly preserved 16th-century fortress 4km east of Oughterard. The clan controlled the region for hundreds…

  • Connemara National Park sunset

    Connemara National Park

    Connemara

    Immediately southeast of Letterfrack, Connemara National Park spans 2000 dramatic hectares of bog, mountains, heath and woodlands.

  • Galway, Ireland - June 17th 2005: Teenagers, some with backpacks, sitting on the bank of river Corrib, front the Galway City Museum.

    Galway City Museum

    Galway City

    Exhibits at this modern, three-floor museum engagingly convey the city's archaeological, political, cultural and social history. Look out for an iconic…

  • Kylemore Abbey

    Kylemore Abbey

    Connemara

    Photogenically perched on the shores of Pollacapall Lough, 4km east of Letterfrack, Kylemore is a crenellated 19th-century neo-Gothic fantasy. It was…

  • Patrick Pearse's Cottage

    Patrick Pearse's Cottage

    Connemara

    Pádraig Pearse (Patrick Pearse; 1879–1916) wrote some of his short stories and plays on the shore of a remote lake in this small thatched cottage, which…

  • Dún Dúchathair

    Dún Dúchathair

    Aran Islands

    Many locals pick this ruined ancient fort, dating from the Iron Age or early medieval period, as their favourite Inishmore historic sight. It's…

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