Gaeltacht - Galway Gaeltacht

Galway Gaeltacht

The Galway County (Irish: Gaeltacht Chontae na Gaillimhe) and Galway City (Irish: Gaeltacht Chathair na Gaillimhe) Gaeltachtaí have a combined population of 48,907 and represent 47% of total Gaeltacht population. The Galway Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of 1,225 km2 (473 sq mi). This represents 26% of total Gaeltacht land area. Most speakers are located in the Connemara region. The largest settlement areas are An Spidéal and An Cheathrú Rua. An Cheathrú Rua is 48 km (30 mi) west of Galway City, while An Spidéal is 19 km (12 mi) west of Galway City. There are 30,978 Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht, 11,000 Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht Cois Fharraige and Conamara Theas area including the Aran Islands stretching from Na Forbacha to Carna and another 5,000-7,000 in North Connemara (including the border area with County Mayo) and approximately 4,000 Irish speakers living in areas where the language is spoken by less than 30% of the population. There is also a third-level constituent college of NUIG called Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in An Cheathrú Rua and Carna. The national Irish-language radio station Raidió na Gaeltachta is located in Casla and Foinse newspaper in An Cheathrú Rua and national TV station TG4 in Baile na hAbhann. Galway city is home to the Irish language theatre Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.