Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, between

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

in the

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

to the north and

the Burren The Burren ( ; ) is a karst/glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland.

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

in the province of

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

to the south;

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

city is on the northeast side. The bay is about long and from to in breadth. The

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

(''Oileáin Árann'') are to the west across the entrance and there are numerous small islands within the bay. To the west of Galway, the rocks are

granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phanerite, phaneritic) intrusive rock, intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly coo ...

but to the south they are limestone. The approaches to the bay between the Aran Islands and the mainland are as follows: * the North Sound (''An Súnda ó Thuaidh'') lies between

Inishmore Inishmore ( , or ) is the largest of the Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland. With an area of and a population of 820 (as of 2016), it is the second-largest island off the Irish coast (after Achill) and most populo ...

and

Leitir Mealláin Lettermullen, ( or possibly "the hill with the mill"), is a small island and village on the coast of southern Connemara in County Galway, Ireland. It is about west of Galway city, at the far western end of Galway Bay, Lettermullen is the western ...

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

; known as ''Bealach Locha Lurgan'' in Irish. * Gregory's Sound (''Súnda Ghríoghóra'') lies between Inishmore and

Inishmaan Inishmaan ( ; , the official name, formerly spelled , meaning "middle island") is the middle of the three main Aran Islands in Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of County Galway in the province of Conn ...

; known as ''Bealach na h-Áite'' in Irish. * Foul Sound (''An Súnda Salach'') lies between Inishmaan and

Inisheer Inisheer ( , or ) is the smallest and most easterly of the three Aran Islands in Galway Bay, Ireland. With 343 residents as of the 2022 census, it is second-most populous of the Arans. Caomhán of Inis Oírr is the island's patron saint. ...

; known as ''Bealach na Fearbhaighe'' in Irish. * South Sound (''An Súnda ó Theas''), known as ''Bealach na Finnise'' in Irish, lies between Inisheer and County Clare. Galway Bay is famous for its unique traditional

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...

craft, the Galway hooker.

Special Area of Conservation

The coastal parts of Galway Bay have been designated a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

. This is because of the wide range of important habitat types which include intertidal mud and sandflats, other littoral habitats, coastal lagoons, saltmarshes, turloughs, vegetated cliffs, calcareous grassland and limestone pavements. Galway Bay offers habitat to

common seals The harbor (or harbour) seal (''Phoca vitulina''), also known as the common seal, is a true seal found along temperate and Arctic marine coastlines of the Northern Hemisphere. The most widely distributed species of pinniped (walruses, eared sea ...

and

otters Otters are carnivorous mammals in the Rank (zoology), subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic animal, aquatic, or Marine ecology, marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae Family (biology), family, whi ...

, and is an important ornithological site for seabirds, waders and waterfowl. The lagoons are slightly brackish and have a diverse flora, including tasselweed and the algae ''

Chaetomorpha linum ''Chaetomorpha linum'' is a species of green algae in the family ''Cladophoraceae''. ''Chaetomorpha linum'' and '' Chaetomorpha aerea'' are considered by some authors to be conspecific.Burrows, E.M. 1991. ''Seaweeds of the British Isles Volume ...

'', ''

Chara canescens ''Chara canescens'' is a species of stonewort belonging to the family Characeae. Its native range is Europe and Northern America. It's described as a brackish water specie, but can be found in a few inland lakes, too.Arbeitsgruppe Characeen De ...

'' and '' Lamprothamnion papulosum'', all of which are lagoon specialists. There are areas of fen dominated by great fen-sedge and black bog-rush, with

common reed ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Description ''Phragmites australis' ...

purple moor-grass ''Molinia caerulea'', known by the common name purple moor-grass, is a species of Poaceae, grass that is native plant, native to Europe, west Asia, and north Africa. It grows in locations from the lowlands up to in the Alps. Like most grasses, i ...

bogbean ''Menyanthes'' is a monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Menyanthaceae containing the single species ''Menyanthes trifoliata''. The North American form is often referred to as ''M. trifoliata'' var. ''minor'' Michx. It is known ...

and long-stalked yellow-sedge. The turlough at

Ballinacourty Ballinacourty, officially Ballynacourty (), is a rural area and townland on the southern coast of Ireland near Dungarvan, County Waterford. Transport A magnesite factory in the area was served by the last remaining part of the Waterford-Mallo ...

forms a temporary lake of about in winter. Wetland species found near the exit-hole of the turlough include

amphibious bistort ''Persicaria amphibia'' ( syn. ''Polygonum amphibium'') is a species of flowering plant in the knotweed family known by several common names, including longroot smartweed, water knotweed, water smartweed, and amphibious bistort. It is native to ...

, marsh bedstraw and

marsh cinquefoil ''Comarum palustre'' ( syn. ''Potentilla palustris''), known by the common name marsh cinquefoil,Streeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ''Collins Flower Guide''. Harper Collins also purple marshlocks and swamp cinquefoi ...

, with

silverweed ''Argentina'' (silverweeds) is a genus of plants in the rose family (Rosaceae) which is accepted by some authors, as containing 64 species, but classified in ''Potentilla'' sect. ''Leptostylae'' by others. Selected species *''Argentina anserina ...

water mint ''Mentha aquatica'' (water mint; syn. ''Mentha hirsuta'' Huds.Euro+Med Plantbase Project''Mentha aquatica'') is a perennial flowering plant in the mint family, Lamiaceae. It grows in moist places and is native to much of Europe, northwest Africa ...

and creeping bent in the less frequently flooded places near the edge; sedges (''

Carex ''Carex'' is a vast genus of over 2,000 species of grass-like plants in the family (biology), family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedges (or seg, in older books). Other members of the family Cyperaceae are also called sedges, however those of ge ...

'' spp.) dominate the rest of the area. The orchid-rich grassland occurs on the flanks of some low drumlin hills to the west of Galway City. The plants here are calcium-loving species including

kidney vetch ''Anthyllis vulneraria'', the common kidneyvetch, kidney vetch or woundwort is a medicinal plant native to Europe, northern Africa, and Western Asia. The name ''vulneraria'' means "wound healer". Description ''Anthyllis vulneraria'' reaches in ...

harebell ''Campanula rotundifolia'', the common harebell, Scottish bluebell, or bluebell of Scotland, is a species of flowering plant in the bellflower family Campanulaceae. This herbaceous perennial is found throughout the temperate regions of the northe ...

, spring gentian,

yellow-wort ''Blackstonia perfoliata'' or more commonly known as the yellow-wort is a species of flowering plant in the family Gentianaceae found around the Mediterranean Basin, but extending into northwestern Europe. Description Yellow-wort grows tall, w ...

greater knapweed ''Centaurea scabiosa'', or greater knapweed, is a perennial plant of the genus ''Centaurea''. It is native to Europe and bears purple flower heads. Greater knapweed is found growing in dry grasslands, hedgerows and cliffs on lime-rich soil. Upri ...

common spotted-orchid ''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''fuchsii'', the common spotted orchid, is a subspecies of flowering plant in the orchid family Orchidaceae. ''Dactylorhiza maculata'' subsp. ''fuchsii'' is one of Europe's most common wild orchids. It is widespr ...

, lesser twayblade,

pyramidal orchid ''Anacamptis pyramidalis'', the pyramidal orchid, is a perennial herbaceous plant belonging to the genus '' Anacamptis'' of the family Orchidaceae. The scientific name ''Anacamptis'' derives from Greek ανακάμτειν 'anakamptein' meaning ' ...

and some scrubby

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

. An unusual feature of the saltmarshes is that, beside thrift, lax-flowered sea lavender,

red fescue ''Festuca rubra'' is a species of grass known by the common name red fescue, creeping red fescue or the rush-leaf fescue. It is widespread across much of the Northern Hemisphere and can tolerate many habitats and climates. It is best adapted to w ...

, common scurvygrass, common saltmarsh-grass, saltmarsh rush and

sea rush Sea rush is a common name for several rushes in the genus ''Juncus'' and may refer to: *'' Juncus kraussii'', native to the Southern hemisphere *'' Juncus maritimus'', native to the Northern hemisphere {{Short pages monitor {{Authority control Bays of County Galway Bays of County Clare Sea loughs of the Republic of Ireland