Galway tourist information

Airport - Aer Arann provide five flights daily from Galway Airport to Dublin, and two flights daily to London (Luton, England), as well as flights to Birmingham, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds Bradford International Airport, Cardiff and Lorient. Also convenient to the city is Shannon International Airport (about 90 minutes drive from Galway) and Ireland West Airport Knock (also about 90 minutes drive). Flights to the Oileáin Árann (Aran islands) are operated from Conamara Regional Airport at Indreabhán, west of the city.

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Railway - The Midland Great Western Railway (MGW) reached Galway in 1851, giving the city a direct main line to its Broadstone terminus in Dublin.

As the 19th century progressed the rail network in Connacht was expanded, making Galway an important railhead. The nearby town of Athenry became a railway junction, giving Galway links to Limerick and the south in 1869 and Sligo and the north in 1894. In 1895 the MGW opened a branch line between Galway and Clifden.

The 20th century brought increasing road competition, and this led the Great Southern Railway to close the Clifden branch in 1935. Its former junction is still visible from Ceannt Station's platforms. Galway station was renamed Ceannt in 1966. In the 1970's Córas Iompair Éireann closed the Sligo-Ennis line to passenger services, and it has since closed to freight as well.

A campaign exists to bring about the re-opening of the Sligo-Limerick Western Railway Corridor via Athenry. This would connect the commuter towns of Gort and Tuam to Galway by rail.

In addition, a proposal has been put forward for a Light-rail system, the Corrib Light Rail.

Iarnród Éireann, the Republic of Ireland's national rail operator, runs six return passenger services each day between Dublin, Galway and intermediate stations. Travel time is just under 3 hours to Dublin Heuston.

The distance by rail between Galway and Dublin is 208 km.

Road- Three national primary roads serve the city: the N17 from the North (Tuam, Sligo, Donegal), the N6 from the East (Athlone, Dublin), and the N18 from the South (Shannon Town, Limerick and Cork). The M4 motorway from Dublin towards Sligo and Galway was further extended in late 2005 and now reaches just west of Kinnegad; work on the next extension (the M6 motorway) towards Galway has begun. Consequently, travel time to Dublin is about 3 hours. Travel time to Shannon International Airport is approximately 90 minutes, whilst travel time to Limerick is 2 hours.

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Irish Language and Culture
Galway city is unique among Irish cities because of the strength of its Irish language, music, song and dancing traditions - it is often referred to as the 'Bilingual Capital of Ireland'. The city is well known for its ‘Irishness’, and mainly due to the fact that it has on its doorstep the Galway Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area). The language is visible on the city streets, with bilingual signage on display on shops and road signs, and can be heard by locals around the city. Irish theatre, TV production and Irish music are an integral part of Galway city life, with both An Taibhdhearc, the National Irish Language Theatre, and TG4 headquarters in Galway. This has brought an Irish-speaking young professional population to the city and county, and has generated a renewal of interest in the language and in language-related activities and social events.

Architecture
Probably the finest medieval town house in Ireland, Lynch's Castle is in Shop Street; it is now a branch of the Allied Irish Bank.

The Church of Ireland St. Nicholas' Collegiate Church is the largest remaining medieval church still in use in Ireland. It was founded in 1320 and enlarged in the following two centuries. It is a particularly pleasant building in the heart of the old city. Its Roman Catholic counterpart, the Cathedral of Our Lady Assumed into Heaven and St Nicholas, which was consecrated in 1965, is a far larger, more imposing building constructed from limestone. It has a Renaissance style, with its dome, pillars and round arches. The Romanesque arch which dominates the main facade is an unusual feature in modern Irish church building. It was suggested by a church in the city of Salamanca in Spain.

Not far from the cathedral stands the original quadrangle building of National University of Ireland, Galway which was erected in 1849 (during An Gorta Mór, the Great Famine) and, with Cork and Belfast was a constituent college of the "Queen's University of Ireland". The university holds the UNESCO archive of spoken material for the Celtic languages.