Galway, a small city on the west coast of Ireland, has a complex history going back around 800 years. The city was the only substantial medieval city in the province of Connacht.

Early Galway

Galway was only a fortified ford on the River Corrib when captured by Richard de Burgh in 1230. Over the following century Galway thrived under the de Burghs, becoming a small walled town. After the sundering of the de Burgh dynasty in 1333, Galway sought its independence, receiving a murage charter (authority to build a defensive wall) from the Crown in the 1390s.

Medieval City

Galway received a municipal charter from the crown in 1484. This ensured the town's independence from the surrounding Hiberno-Norman and Gaelic magnates. At the same time, the creation of the wardenship of Galway gave the townsmen control of the large parish church, St Nicholas. Over the following 150 years Galways ruling mercantile elite, 'the tribes', became stronger and wealthier. Trade increased - hides and fish outwards went to Spain and France, wines and fine cloth returned.

Decline

Galway citizens went against their garrison and supported the confederate side in 1642. They surrendered to Cromwellian forces in 1652 after a nine-month seige; plague and expulsions followed. The economy recovered somewhat. In the next crisis, Galway supported the Jacobite side. It surrendered without a seige under the articles of Galway of 1691. Thereafter, the city become somewhat of an economic backwater, and the capital of its old great families were spent overseas. The Acts of Settlement and of Explanation between 1653 and 1690 caused major upheavals, as peoples from east of the Shannon were transplanted to Connaught and slipped back. It took over 400 years for the city to regain its pre-eminence.

20th Century

In more recent years, the resignation of Eamon Casey as Bishop of Galway in "scandalous circumstances" came to be seen as pivotal in the Catholic Church's loss of influence of the nation of Ireland.

See also

James Hardiman's History of Galway is considered to the definitive history of Galway city and county from the earliest of times until the early 19th century.

The book is now out of copyright and is available on the web.

A more recent book by John Cunningham, dealing with Galway's 19th century history was published during 2004. It is entitled 'A town tormented by the sea: GALWAY, 1790-1914', and several excerpts from it are available on the web