Galway
Two cities in one: Anglo-Norman 'Tribes' traded with Spain while Irish-speaking Claddagh kept its own king. Now a €750M medtech hub anchored by University of Galway.
Galway is really two cities that never fully merged: the Anglo-Norman walled town where 14 merchant families—the 'Tribes of Galway'—built their fortunes on wine and spices, and the Claddagh, an Irish-speaking fishing village across the Corrib River that kept its own king until 1972. The Normans arrived in 1232 and walled themselves in by 1270; the Claddagh had been there since the 5th century. For 700 years, these communities lived side by side, speaking different languages, governed by different rules.
The tribes prospered because Galway faced the Atlantic. While Dublin traded with Britain, Galway traded with Spain, Portugal, and France. The Spanish Arch—now a tourist photo spot—was the commercial gateway. When pirate slavers kidnapped a Galway man named Richard Joyce and sold him to a West Indies goldsmith, he learned the trade and returned to create the Claddagh ring. The symbol of hands clasping a crowned heart became Galway's most successful export, long after the wine trade declined.
The 1845 founding of Queen's College (now University of Galway) planted a different seed. Today, 19,000 students from 122 countries study on the River Corrib campus. The university's CÚRAM research centre has made Galway a global medtech hub, contributing over €750 million to Europe's medical device sector. Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and dozens of smaller companies cluster here, drawn by research talent and Atlantic-facing geography.
By 2026, Galway tests whether a medtech cluster can absorb the pressure that Dublin's housing crisis is pushing westward. The tribes who once controlled the city are gone, but the pattern persists: Galway thrives by specializing in what the Atlantic makes possible. Wine in the Middle Ages, rings from slavery, medical devices from university research.