Province of Connaught (Connacht)
Connacht (Irish: Connachta meaning “land of the descendants of Conn”, is the western province of Ireland, comprising of Counties Galway (Aran Islands, Inishbofin and Galway City), Leitrim, Mayo, Clare Island (Mayo), Roscommon, and Sligo.
In Irish the province is usually Cúige Chonnacht i.e. the province of Connacht. Its main urban centres are Galway in the south, and Sligo in the north. It has a population of 503,083, the smallest of the four Irish provinces. The Irish language is spoken in the Gaeltacht areas of west Mayo and west Galway, the largest being Connemara.
Today Connacht relies mainly on tourism and agriculture – Galway City being a notable exception with several high-tech-industries and a university. There are a number of interesting sights in Connacht – from the Aran Islands to the vibrant student community of Galway City. The village of Cong attracts fans of John Wayne and John Huston, the seminal movie “The Quiet Man” was shot here. Spending a full holiday in Connacht would be most rewarding for lovers of nature and a slow, old-fashioned pace of life.
For more information about Connacht visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connacht or http://goireland.about.com/od/galwayandconnacht/p/connacht.htm