FISH MARKET, GALWAY
From Atlas and Cyclopedia of Ireland (1900)
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Description of County Galway | Clifden Cascade | Eyre Square | Kylemore Castle | St. Nicholas Church | Lynch's Castle | West Bridge | Fish Market | Claddagh | Galway Map
FISH MARKET.—A singular community called the Claddagh, numbering about 5,000 souls, forms a suburb of the city of Galway. They are all fishermen, possess their peculiar customs, intermarry only with each other, and have always kept aloof from the surrounding inhabitants whom they regard as "transplanters." They have a primitive code of laws by which they are governed, and never appeal to any outside courts of justice. They annually elect a "king" or head man on St. John's eve, and he exercises almost absolute power in some respects. The Claddaghites are peaceable, industrious and sober, and notably hospitable to strangers. Though differing from the other inhabitants of Galway, in dress, habits, customs, and their Irish dialect, there is no marked difference in their personal appearance. The accompanying picture shows a group of these women in the Galway fishmarket, the trade of which the Claddagh people monopolize.
Galway Fish Market
Description of County Galway | Clifden Cascade | Eyre Square | Kylemore Castle | St. Nicholas Church | Lynch's Castle | West Bridge | Fish Market | Claddagh | Galway Map