County Galway

County Galway (Contae na Gaillimhe) is located on the  of. It is in the of. The county takes its name from the city of. It is the second largest county in Ireland, after. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county.

The county comprises a number of distinct territories which predate the formation of the county by the English colonial administration in Ireland in the late. The major ones are, or 'West Connacht', which covers the portion of the county (and also a small part of County Mayo) west of Loch Corrib and which contains in the far west and Joyce Country in the north-west. The territory of lies in the south of the county and is coextensive with the diocese of Kilmacduagh.

The territory of what was once known as or Tír Maine covers most of the east of the county but also covers south. covers the portion of the county along the eastern side of. A number of inhabited islands are administered by the county; they include Oileáin Árann and Inis Bó Fine.

County Galway is home to Lough Corrib (the largest lake in the Republic of Ireland) the Na Beanna Beola mountain range, Na Sléibhte Mhám Toirc (the Maum Turk mountains), and the low mountains of Sliabh Echtghe (Slieve Aughty).

The population of the county at the census was 159,052 (Figure does not include that of Galway City as it is a separate administrative unit).

Galway Septs
Galway was the home to many powerful Irish. Common surnames include, , , , , , , , , , , , , , and. In addition, many notable Norman-Irish families can be found in Galway, such as, , , , , and.

History
The first inhabitants in the Galway area arrived over 7000 years ago. Shell s tell us about the existence of people as early as.

With the arrival of many  were built.

Climate
The location of County Galway, situated on the west coast of Ireland, allows it to be directly influenced by the Gulf-Stream. Temperature extremes are rare and short lived, though inland areas, particularly east of the Corrib, can boast some of the highest recorded temperatures of the summer in the island of Ireland (sometimes exceeding 30 °C); though these temperatures only occur when land warmed east winds sweep the area; the opposite effect can occur in the winter. Overall, however, Galway is influenced mainly by Atlantic airstreams which bring ample rainfall in between the fleeting sunshine. Rainfall occurs in every month of the year, though the late autumn and winter months can be particularly wet as Atlantic cyclonic activity increases and passes over and around the area, and which is why Galway tends to bear the brunt of severe windstorms that can occur between August and March. The county on average receives about 1300mm of rainfall annually, though some areas along the west coast of the county can receive up to 1900mm and beyond. Extreme weather such as blizzards, thunderstorms, flashflooding and hail, though rare, can and do occur, particularly when air masses of continental origin are undercut by more humid and unstable Atlantic flows.

Flora
T. Johnson reported a visit to Roundstone in 1893 (?) Johnson.

European Elections
County Galway is part of the constituency for the purposes of European elections.

National Elections (for Dáil Éireann)
County Galway is divided into two electoral constituencies for the purposes of electing s to during s.  These are:
 * , Electorate: 73659, Example towns:, ,.
 * , Electorate: 82213, Example towns:,.

Local Elections
Many smaller constituencies exist for the purposes of local elections.

Recent Events
On the 21st of March, 2007, was confirmed to be present on the drinking water of, ,  and , which had been instructed 6 days earlier to boil their water before drinking. The water, taken from Lough Corrib, was likely contaminated by migration of animal and human faeces. , the Minister of the Environment, announced a further allocation of 48 Million Euro to tackle the issue.