The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 - Galway town

"GALWAY, a parish, a corporate and parliamentary borough, market and post town, exercising jurisdiction, but locally situated in the county Galway, province of Connaught, Ireland, 126½ miles W. of Dublin, by the Midland Great Western railway. It is situated on the N. shore of Galway Bay, and on the Galway river, which issues from Lough Corrib, and falls into the bay. It is the principal city of the West of Ireland, and is supposed to be the Nagnata of Ptolemy, but the earliest historical notice of it is in 1132, when it was taken and destroyed by Connor, King of Munster, and again by Turlough O'Brien in 1149. After the O'Flahertys had again fortified it, it was taken by Richard de Burgh, who walled it round in 1270, and settled here with the thirteen tribes, from whom spring the chief families of the county. In 1312 additions were made and the great gate added. In 1396 it obtained a grant of incorporation, which was confirmed by Henry IV., and a license to coin money added by statute. In 1493 the mayor, James Lynch Fitzstephen, hanged his own son for murder outside the window of his dwelling, under which a carving is placed representing a skull and crossbones. The town was constantly agitated by mercantile squabbles with the Limerick men, particularly during the time of Henry VIII., which were quelled by treaty in the 17th century. During the rising in 1641, the Earl of Clanricarde took the town and held it against the rebels, but was at length compelled to open the gates to Captain Willoughby. In consequence of the thousands who fled into, the town from the terrors of the rebellion, a pestilence broke out, which destroyed 3,700 of the population. In 1652 the town surrendered to Sir C. Coote for the king. In 1690 James II. garrisoned the place, but in 1691, after the battle of Aughrim, William III.'s troops, under General de Ginkill, besieged and took it. The old town contains many curious old houses, with arms carved over the gateways. Great improvements have recently been made, and an entirely new town has sprung up on the opposite side of the river, which is crossed by three bridges. The town with its suburbs extends over an area of 24,132 acres. Population of the town in 1861, 16,786, of the borough 24,990. Here are a church, three Roman Catholic chapels, three monasteries, five nunneries, Presbyterian and Methodist meeting-houses, courthouses, county and town prisons, infirmary, fever hospital, customhouse, endowed schools, Erasmus Smith's school, union poorhouse, and two barracks; also one of the Queen's Colleges, founded in 1845, and opened in November, 1849. It is built in the Elizabethan style, and has a library measuring 115 feet by 25 feet; has professors of the ancient and modern languages, sciences, arts, and professions, with an attachment of ten senior scholarships of £40 and £30, union of £25, and some others. Here are also breweries, distilleries, tanneries, foundries, flour and paper mills. The town is well lighted with gas. The Midland Great Western railway has its terminus here, with a handsome hotel and club-house. The Corrib and Mask navigation is now completed, and carried into the bay by canal. County assizes and sessions are held here, and it has also head police, coastguard, and revenue stations. The government of the borough is entrusted to a high-sheriff, recorder, magistrates, and 24 commissioners. It returns two members to parliament. Constituency in 1859, 1,300. The revenue of the borough is estimated at about £4,100. The shipping trade is very extensive, and the herring and salmon fisheries employ a large portion of the inhabitants. Galway Bay, one of the finest in Ireland, is sheltered by the Arran Isles. It is a bonding port, under the rule of 63 commissioners, and has a floating dock of 5 acres in extent, capable of admitting vessels of 14 feet draught. The harbour light stands on Mutton Island. There are two other lights on the Arrans, and the port light is visible at a distance of 28 miles. Some of the finest marbles are exported from here. The newspapers published in the town are the Press, the Express, and the Vindicator. The living, consisting of seven parishes, is under a warden, and is exempt from episcopal jurisdiction. It was formerly part of the ancient bishopric of Enachdune, comprising ten parishes, afterwards annexed to the diocese of Tuam. The church, built in 1320, and dedicated to St. Nicholas, is a cruciform structure in the decorated English style. It was made a collegiate church by Edward VI., and was endowed with the suppressed monasteries of Amaghdown and Ballintubber by Queen Elizabeth. In the Roman Catholic arrangement it gives name to a see, comprising twelve parishes. The principal seats in the vicinity of the town are Dangan, Rahoon, Menlo Castle, and some others. Galway Poor-raw Union ranks as 43rd; it contains 24 electoral divisions, and is wholly in Galway. It has 23 guardians, and a poorhouse with room for 1,210 paupers. Market days are Wednesdays and Saturdays. Fairs are held on the 31st May, 21st September and October. Races take place in August. There are conveyances to Ballinamore, Clifden, Limerick, Sligo, and Tuam." 

[Transcribed from The National Gazetteer of Great Britain and Ireland 1868 by Colin Hinson ©2018]