Baile
Gaillimh
Galway
Fort of the Gaillimh (river); from Dún Gaillimhe, referring to a fortified settlement at the mouth of the Gaillimh river that formed the western boundary of the earliest settlement
The name Gaillimh derives from Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe, 'Fort at the Mouth of the Gaillimh,' established in 1124 by Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair, King of Connacht, as a strategic naval base. The O'Flaherty clan initially controlled the settlement until Norman forces under Richard Mor de Burgh captured it in 1232, initiating a period of unprecedented prosperity. By 1484, Galway received a municipal ...
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