Galway (Irish: Gaillimh) is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland.
It is the third largest city in the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht.
It is located on the west coast of Ireland and sits at the mouth of the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay.
The population of Galway city and its environs was 72,729 according to the 2006 census.
The city takes its name from the Gaillimh river (River Corrib) that formed the western boundary of the earliest settlement, which was called Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe ("fort at the mouth of the Gaillimh").
The word Gaillimh means "stony" as in "stony river".
The city also bears the nickname City of the Tribes because "fourteen tribes" (merchant families) led the city in its Hiberno-Norman period.
The term 'tribe' was often a derogatory phrase in Cromwellian times.
The merchants would have seen themselves as Irish gentry, but were loyal to the King.
They subsequently adopted the term in defiance to the Cromwellian occupiers of the town.
Reference: Wikipedia
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