There is a good deal of fishing on the coast of Galway ; but the fishermen are destitute of sufficient enterprise. The fish-market of Galway town is excellent, being supplied with turbot, salmon, Sze. at a cheap rate. Trade is at a low ebb. Galway, though enjoying many local advantages in this respect, has declined very much of late years. Be sides Galway, there are the well sheltered havens of Kill kerran, I3irturby, Roundstone, and Ballynakill. The ma nufactures of the county are not-worth mentioning.
Galway abounds in rivers and lakes. The lake of Lough Corrib covers above 31,000 acres. It is twenty miles in length, and eleven acres at the broadest part. It resembles Lough Earne. Lough Reagh and Lough Cout•a are said to be beautiful pieces of water. .Several of the rivers have the peculiarity of being subterrancous in a part of their course. These are the Black River, the Clare, the Moyne, and the Gustnamakin. Almost every river and brook in the neighbourhood of Gort has a great number of these principal town in the county is that of Gal way, which, indeed, is the largest in the province of Con naught. It is resorted to as a bathing-place in summer ; and a place of residence in the winter for those families that are fond of society. The houses stand with their gables to the street, and a door in the end, like that of 2 coach-house.
Galway sends three members to parliament-two from the county and one from the town. There is no overbear ing territorial influence. The Roman Catholic property is very extensive, and always supports that interest. The number of freeholders amounts to 4000. The freeholders within the borough, along with the members of the corpo ration, who are chosen at elect its representative. The inhabitants of this county arc mostly Catholics, the Catholics being as forty or fifty to one ; in landed property they are about one to three ; and in personal property as three to one. In the western parts, there are districts of fifty miles in extent, without a single church or a single Protestant. The militia, consisting of IGOO men, were all Catholics, except the band and petty officers, amount•i.g to sixty or seventy. The Catholics are increasing. There are ten Catholics called on the grad jury.
This county contains 1346 square miles, 989.950 acres 16 baronies, 116 parishes, 28,212 houses, 142,000 ffnuabitants, 35 acres to a house, and 18 2 t souls to a square mile. See Beaufo•t's Memoir of a Mall of Ireland. Wakefield's Statistical ?ccount of Ireland, (r)