The Heritage Story Map of Galway City

Let’s Explore Galway City from 1829. Starting from the top of the Map.

The Bleach Mill (later taken over by the bag factory), A mill for bleaching linens. On the edge of the Galway River, in Town Parks townland.

Historically, there was a bleach green and mill on Earl’s Island, situated between the River Corrib and the Eglinton Canal, which was advertised in 1851. The site was considered the “industrial heartland of Galway at the time” and was later developed for other uses, including a jute factory and eventually a university building. There is no evidence of the original mill building there today.

The lands were eventually sold, as a report in the Galway Express of July 28 1866 stated: “We are happy to learn that the directors of the Galway Bag Factory Company entered on possession of the mill site and lands for their factory at the Bleach on Monday last, and that Mr Roberts has got instructions to prepare the plans for the necessary buildings. This is an augury for success and we trust that the directors will be nobly supported by the public.”

The Fever Hospital 1860 – 1900 – The hospital for the city’s poor.

Blankets were provided and the inmates were required to wear workhouse dress, which consisted of rough gray frieze suits for the men and calico gowns and petticoats for the women.  There were no closets in the dormitories and the inmates had to make do with night buckets, which frequently overflowed and soiled the floors.

The Famine began to have an impact on the Galway Workhouse from mid 1846 the number of inmates progressively increased from 460 in June 1846 to 1,302 in November 1847.  In December 1847 it was reported that 313 paupers were seeking admission but the Workhouse was already overcrowded. Captain Hilliard, then Assistant Poor Law Commissioner, took over a store in Newtownsmyth to accommodate between 300 and 400 children, though he appreciated that it was far from suitable.  There were also auxiliary workhouses at Merchant’s Road and St. Helen’s Street, Galway and Barna.  

Auxilliay Workhouses for children were established at Parkavera and Dangan in Galway and the Fever Hospital in Moycullen was converted into an Auxiliary Workhouse especially for children.

While the Workhouses offered shelter to the destitute and homeless and undoubtedly saved many from death by starvation and exposure, it must be admitted that they contributed to the death toll from epidemic diseases such as fever, dysentery and cholera.

Beggars Bridge

The Famine and Food Shortages, as the full extent of the crop failure became evident,the workhouse became overcrowded, the Fever Hospital on Beggar’s Bridge (which got its name from inmates begging on the bridge) was full of destitutes, and people would commit crimes to get sent to (the overcrowded) jail just so they could be fed.

The winter of 1846/47 was the most severe in living memory, and the number of deaths from hunger in the city averaged between 25 and 30 a week. Auxiliary workhouses opened in Newtownsmyth, Merchants Road, Barna and Dangan. Epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever and dysentery broke out, and by May 1847, these fevers were accounting for 100 deaths a week. During 1847 and 1848, 11,000 inmates died in Galway workhouse. On the bitterly cold morning of January 26th, 1848, two children were found naked and dead on High St., and another on an adjoining street.

A Bridge Runs Through It – The Other Bridges of Galway

O’Brien’s Bridge

The first bridge built in Galway City was O’Brien’s Bridge. The bridge that stands today is not the original structure. The original wooden bridge was constructed in 1558, but it was later rebuilt and widened in 1852. The present bridge occupies the same site as the original. In 1889, it was named in honour of William Smith O’Brien, a former Member of Parliament and a member of the Young Irelanders, a revolutionary group.

New Bridge, later The Salmon Weir Bridge 1815 – 1820

This fine bridge is an important feature of Galway’s expansive cityscape, constructed in 1818 as a means of linking the old Gaol (on the site of the present Cathedral) with the courthouse. The bridge also provides a connection with the main road to Connemara. 

Note: Alice Perry Exhibit

A Galway native born in 1885, etched her name in history by becoming the first female engineer in the United Kingdom or Ireland in 1904. There is a new waterways exhibit by the Middle River that tells more of this story. 

Wolf Tone Bridge

The third bridge built in Galway City was Wolfe Tone Bridge, constructed in 1887. A new bridge later replaced it in 1934. Wolfe Tone Bridge is located near the Claddagh. It is named after Theobald Wolfe Tone, one of the founding members of the United Irishmen, a republican society dedicated to ending British rule and establishing accountable government in Ireland.

Droichead an Dóchais

The opening of a new pedestrian and bicycle bridge over the River Corrib in Galway City, in front of the Cathedral, took place on 26 May 2023. Officially named Droichead an Dóchais (Bridge of Hope), it runs parallel to the current Salmon Weir Bridge.

The Rivers and Canals of Galway – A Living System

River Corrib

Flowing from Lough Corrib to Galway Bay, the River Corrib runs through the heart of the city. Although just over 6 km long, it is one of Europe’s fastest rivers and carries an immense volume of water. As the sole outlet of the Corrib–Mask catchment, it powered mills, shaped settlement patterns, and determined the location of bridges, industries, and islands. The Corrib remains central to Galway’s identity.

Canals and Mill Rivers

From the early 19th century, Galway’s waterways were adapted to meet industrial and social needs. The Distillery River and Eglinton Canal were engineered to power mills, transport goods, and provide employment during the Famine. Natural branches — including the Gaol, St Clare, Parkavera, and Madeira Rivers — were incorporated into this system, creating islands and supporting breweries, distilleries, paper mills, foundries, and sawmills.

Urban Channels

Smaller channels such as the Friar’s River, Slaughterhouse River, and Middle River were altered, culverted, or redirected over time. These waterways powered early mills and later electricity generation, forming a hidden industrial network that quietly shaped the modern city.