GALWAY'S HERITAGE OIDHREACHT NA GAILLIMHE GALWAY'S ...

A S T R O L L R O U N D G A L W A Y
As we walk on towards the next bridge we can see a tail
race over to our left hand side which once served one of
Galway’s many flour mills in the 19th century. The restored
limestone building we see is known as the Bridge Mills and
a working mill-wheel can still be seen inside it. Back on our
own side we notice a body of water to our right which is
‘Middle River / An Abhhainn Láir’. This channel once
powered an industrial complex which stands today as a
modern apartment block. We now reach the 19th century
O’Brien’s Bridge, named after another patriot - William
O’Brien. A bridge was, in fact, built across the Corrib in this
area as far back to 1442. We again, cross the road and
continue along Bruach na Coiribe passing the remains of
the 19th century Persse Galway Whiskey Distillery on the
far bank. This distillery operated from 1815 to 1908 and
was once the largest employer in Galway City. A recently
found bottle of its whiskey has been valued at over
€200,000! In the river at this point are the remains of
salmon traps which were once used to catch a percentage
of passing salmon. Fish caught along this stretch of the
river could be found for sale in London’s famous
Billingsgate fish market the very next day. The buildings
which we see on the far bank continue to be associated
with fishing and stock monitoring to this day. Back on our
side we climb a sharp incline at fisherman’s wharf and pass
by the Nora Barnacle Bridge on our right hand side. This
bridge traverses ‘Slaughterhouse River /Abhainn an
tSeamlais’, so called as the city’s first official
slaughterhouse was located in nearby Bowling Green. This
was a popular fishing spot amongst young people up to
the 1950s, as the run-off of blood and offal into this
waterway had the effect of greatly increasing the river’s
brown eel population.
Continuing on, we
leave the river via a
footbridge over
‘Friars River /
Abhainn na
mBráithre’ which
was associated with
the Franciscan
Abbey, founded close to the site of the courthouse by the
de Burgo family in 1296. From here we walk through an
archway out on to the Newtownsmith area of Galway. We
now turn left and cross over the Salmon Weir Bridge. The
bridge is often a good location to spot anglers below in the
water as they hook a passing fish. Opposite the Cathedral
we can take a brief sojourn up the lane towards Fisheries
Field. Here we can peer over a bridge on the laneway into
what is ‘Persse River /Abhainn na Drioglainne’. This
channel was constructed between the Persse family’s
original distillery (established in the present grounds of the
national University of Ireland, Galway, in 1815) and its new
distillery building which we previously passed on the banks
of the Corrib. Retracing our steps we now cross back over
to the cathedral. Heading up University Road we now cross
over a body of water known as ‘Gaol River / Abhainn an
Phríosúin’ at Beggar’s Bridge. The bridge is so-called as
inmates from the nearby workhouse used to congregate to
beg at this location in the 19th century, while Gaol River
was associated with the Galway Gaol which stood on the
present site of the Cathedral throughout this same period.
Continuing on, we pass the Millennium Children’s Park run
by Galway City Council and opposite the entrance to NUI,
Galway we can take time out to rest our feet at a neat
canal-side bench in an area known as Mrs. McHugh’s
garden. From here we turn left into Canal Road Upper and
stroll on keeping the canal on our left. We are now, of
course, walking alongside the Eglington Canal which was
completed in 1852 to aid navigation between Lough
Corrib and the sea. At 1.2km long this man-made channel
provided vital work to locals during the harsh Famine years
of the mid 1800s. The canal banks are rich in vegetation
which is home to nesting swans, ducks and moorhens.
Outside the perimeter wall of the Poor Clare’s convent we
see a channel of water which diverges from the main body
of the Eglington Canal. This is ‘St. Clare’s River / Abhainn
na Siúracha’, owing to association with the Poor Clare’s
who were granted the site of their present home by the city
corporation as far back as 1649.
8 G A L W A Y ’ S H E R I T A G E