River Corrib

The River Corrib (Irish -Gaillimh / Abhainn na Gaillimhe) in the west of Ireland flows from Loch Coirib / Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay. The river has only a length of four miles from the lough to the sea, and is said to be the shortest in Europe. It is also among the most powerful, especially after a few days rain, and is popular with local whitewater kayakers.

Related Topics:
Irish - Ireland - Lough Corrib - Galway - Galway Bay

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The correct name for river in English is the Galway river i.e. from Gaillimh. In Irish it is sometimes called An Ghaillimh ("the Galway") and also incorrectly called the Abhainn na Coiribe. The legend concerning its naming states that it was called after Gailleamh the daughter of a Fir Bolg chieftain who drowned in the river. The word Gaillimh is believed to mean "stony" as in "stony river". The commonly held myth that the city takes its name from the Irish word Gallaibh, "foreigners" i.e. "the town of the foreigners" (from Gall, a foreigner) is incorrect as the name Gaillimh was applied to the river first and then later onto the town. Indeed, the earliest settlement at Galway was called Dún Bhun na Gaillimhe, or "the town at the end of the Galway (river)".

Related Topics:
Galway - Fir Bolg

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The river gave its name to the town, which grew to a city, and from c. 1570 onwards, the city gave its name to the county.

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Lough Corrib is the anglicised form of Loch Coirib which itself is a corruption of Loch nOrbsean which according to placename lore is named after the Irish god of the sea. There is good fishing to be had on both the lake and river.

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:See also: List of rivers in Ireland

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