What to see in Eyre Square, from Galway City Museum on
162K visitors came to Galway City Museum in 2011. We list 10 places to visit inside Eyre Square’s neighbourhood and 17 within 5 km of its edge. Look for 8 museums, 5 art galleries and 4 castles. A short walk covers 4, all within 1 km. The best-known trip out is to Burren National Park, 29 km away.
Must-know places in Eyre Square
Next to Galway City Museum, the best known are 2 museums, a garden and a castle.
MuseumGalway City Museumin town · 162K visitors a year (2011)
GardenEyre Squarein town
CastleBlake's Castlein town
MuseumHall of the Red Earlin townHistoric houseHistoric houseGalway City's Medieval Wallsin townMuseumMuseumLegend of the Claddagh Ringin townEach has a page of its own: what it is, who runs it, the weather month by month and what else is near it.
The places, mapped
Furthest out is Rinville Park, at 6.2 km.
The dashed line is Eyre Square’s neighbourhood; orange marks its middle (where most people live). Numbers match the list below. © OpenStreetMap contributors · CSO 2022 outline
What is on offer
Most are museums or galleries, 13 in all, ahead of castles or historic places (8).
Green: inside Eyre Square. Grey: within 5 km of its edge.
Everything on the list
The 10 inside Eyre Square come first, then 17 more within 5 km of its edge.
Hall of the Red Earl
Accessible archaeological site of a former banqueting hall in Druid Lane, Galway.
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12
13
14
15
16Computing and Communications Museum of Ireland
Museum at the University of Galway.
The 10 inside Eyre Square come first, best known first; then the places within 5 km, close and well known first. Churches, protected structures and monuments belong to the History page, not here.
Monuments and historic buildings in Eyre Square → · Parks, footpaths and green space in Eyre Square →
For a day out
Out of town, Burren National Park (29 km) leads 12 names to know.
National parkBurren National Park29 km south
CastleDunguaire Castle16 km southeast
CastleOranmore Castle6.8 km east
CastleAughnanure Castle23 km northwest
AttractionAillwee Cave22 km south
CastleAthenry Castle20 km east
Abbey or prioryCorcomroe Cistercian Abbey16 km south
CathedralCathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary30 km northeast
Abbey or prioryClaregalway Friary10 km northeast
Abbey or priory · Office of Public WorksKilmacduagh monastery27 km south
MuseumThoor Ballylee26 km southeast
AttractionPol an Ionain33 km southwestPlaces well known beyond Eyre Square (Wikipedia articles in several languages, published visitor counts, or a Office of Public Works or National Parks and Wildlife Service property), close and famous first. Distances are straight lines from the middle of the town.
Questions about Eyre Square’s attractions
What are the main attractions in Eyre Square?
The best known inside Eyre Square’s neighbourhood are Galway City Museum, Eyre Square, Blake's Castle and Hall of the Red Earl. In all, 10 places to visit are mapped inside the town, and 17 more within 5 km.
Does Eyre Square have a museum?
13 museums and galleries are in or within 5 km of Eyre Square: Galway City Museum, Hall of the Red Earl, Legend of the Claddagh Ring and The Spanish Arch.
Is there a Heritage Ireland (OPW) or national park property near Eyre Square?
None within 5 km. The nearest well-known one on our list is Kilmacduagh monastery (Office of Public Works), 27 km south.
What are the best-known days out near Eyre Square?
Within 40 km: Burren National Park (29 km), Dunguaire Castle (16 km), Oranmore Castle (6.8 km), Aughnanure Castle (23 km).
How is this list made?
From Fáilte Ireland’s open data on attractions (museums, castles, historic houses, abbeys, gardens, national parks, landscapes, islands, zoos and visitor farms: restaurants, pubs, shops and tour operators are left out), OpenStreetMap (places open to visitors; a ruined castle on farmland needs a sign it can be visited) and Wikidata (what each place is, who looks after it, its Wikipedia articles), merged into one list and placed in the town’s CSO 2022 outline or within 5 km of its edge.
Places to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Wikidata (CC0), placed in each town’s CSO 2022 outline. Visitor counts are the latest Wikidata gives, with their year.
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (22)
- Galway City Museum: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Eyre Square: Sharon Hahn Darlin, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Blake's Castle: Gillfoto, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Hall of the Red Earl: A.-K. D., CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Galway Cathedral: Mohd Fazlin Mohd Effendy Ooi, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Merlinpark Castle: dougf, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lynch's Castle: Berthold Werner, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Galway Atlantaquaria: GalwayAquarium, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- James Mitchell Museum: Sharonlflynn, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Killeen Castle, Castlegar: Irimurz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Burren National Park: The Banner, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dunguaire Castle: Boomur, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Oranmore Castle: KevinSchnippkoweit, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aughnanure Castle: The original uploader was Miguev at English Wikipedia ., CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Aillwee Cave: MarvinVells, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Athenry Castle: Ingo Mehling, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Corcomroe Cistercian Abbey: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary: TuamRCCathedral.jpg : JohnArmagh derivative work: Rabanus Flavus, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Claregalway Friary: Charles Mount/ Cmount, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Kilmacduagh monastery: Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Thoor Ballylee: Dr Charles Nelson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Pol an Ionain: P.hammer, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).