Salthill () is a seaside area to the southwest of

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 centre in the west of Ireland. The area is home to a number of tourist amenities and there is a 2 km long promenade, locally known as "the Prom", which overlooks

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galway ...

History

The village of Salthill, which was known as "Salt Hill" until 1819, was originally a separate and "outlying village" of Galway city. Salthill's promenade opened in 1856.

19th century tourism

Salthill became a bathing resort in the 19th century, capitalising on the rising popularity of seaside bathing amongst both pleasure seekers and believers in the medicinal properties of mineral waters. Doctor Robert Rogers Gray opened his artificial medicinal baths in 1831 on the site that today consists of the reclaimed land of Claude Toft Park. These baths remained Salthill's primary bathing attraction until a fire burned down the complex in 1870. The influx of tourism, brought to Salthill through the baths, created corresponding demand for accommodation. Bathing lodges at Blackrock House and along modern-day Upper Salthill Road represented the higher end of 19th-century accommodation, being described in the ''

Freeman's Journal The ''Freeman's Journal'', which was published continuously in Dublin from 1763 to 1924, was in the nineteenth century Ireland's leading nationalist newspaper. History Patriot journal It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified ...

'' as "more substantial than showy, and are one and all of comfortable prescence and most cosily placed". The buildings of Gort Ard, Lisgorm and St. Mary's survive today as examples of these bathing lodges. Salthill's first notable hotel was John Gill's Eglinton Hotel. Built in 1860, the hotel was "crowded with tourists" during the summer months of the late 19th century. Several other hotels were developed from 1860 onwards. The bandstand, in Salthill Park, was built .

Tramway

By the 1870s, as Salthill continued to grow as a village, "four-wheeled 2-horse buses, seating 25 passengers" connected Salthill to Galway City. In 1877, inspired by the opening of tramways in Dublin and Belfast, William Leadbetter Barrington passed a bill through the British Parliament to open a tramway connecting Salthill to Galway City. Costing roughly £15,000, the tramway officially opened on 1 October 1879. It closed in 1918.

20th century

Salthill's promenade was further developed in the mid-20th century, and the 'Blackrock Diving Tower' was constructed in 1953. The 1970s saw the introduction of a number of casinos and more leisure centres.

Events

Salthill was, until 2007, home to one of the biggest non-fee paying air shows in Galway, the Salthill Air Show, which took place in June over Galway Bay. The show annually attracted over 100,000 people and generated over €1m in revenue. Salthill was a centre point for the 2008–09 Volvo Ocean Race, as well as the Round-Ireland Powerboat race in 2010. It is traditional, on Christmas Day, to jump into the sea from Blackrock Diving Tower. This event is now used a fundraiser for local charities in Galway.

Sport

Salthill-Knocknacarra (SKGAA) is the local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...

club and fields teams in

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

, Ladies football,

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

and

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

. The club's senior men's team won the

All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship The All-Ireland Senior Club Football Championship is an annual Gaelic football tournament which began in season 1970–71. It is the top-tier competition for the senior football clubs of Ireland and London. The current champions are Cuala of D ...

in 2006, beating St. Gall's in the final. A team representing the club also won the 2022 Ladies Junior Football title.

Pearse Stadium Pearse Stadium () is the principal GAA stadium in Galway, Ireland. The Galway GAA Gaelic football and hurling teams use the stadium for their home games. The stadium, amongst others in the province of Connacht, is also used for games in the ...

, one of

Galway GAA The Galway County Boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) () or Galway GAA are one of the 32 county boards in Ireland; they are responsible for Gaelic games in County Galway, and for the Galway county teams. Galway is one of the few ...

's two primary stadiums (the other being

St Jarlath's Park St Jarlath's Park (''Páirc Iarflaith Naofa'', commonly known as Tuam Stadium) is a GAA stadium in Tuam, County Galway, Ireland. It is one of the principal stadiums of Galway GAA's football teams. The ground once had a capacity of around 26,0 ...

), is on Dr Mannix Road in Salthill. Salthill Devon F.C., the local football team, fields teams in the

Galway & District League The Galway & District League is an association football league organized by the Galway Football Association. It features amateur and junior clubs from County Galway. It currently features four divisions. Its top division, the Premier Division, ...

. They played in the

League of Ireland First Division The League of Ireland First Division, also known as the SSE Airtricity League First Division for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in both the League of Ireland and the Republic of Ireland football league system. The division w ...

from 2010 to 2013, before merging with Mervue United and Galway United Supporters Trust, the supporters trust of the then defunct Galway United, to form Galway F.C. The Galway Lawn Tennis Club, winner of Irish Tennis Club of the Year in 2002, is located on Threadneedle Road.

Transport

Salthill railway station opened on 1 October 1879 and closed for passenger traffic in January 1918. The nearest station is . As of 2022, there is one city bus service,

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

route 401, which runs to from Salthill to

Eyre Square Eyre Square ( ; ) is a city public park in Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The park is within the city centre, adjoining the nearby shopping area of William Street and Shop Street. Galway railway station is adjacent to Eyre Square. The ...

. Bus Éireann also runs the regional bus routes 416 and 424 from Galway's bus station to Connemara, which pass via Salthill.

Popular culture

The Long Walk and the Salthill promenade are both referenced in the

Steve Earle Stephen Fain Earle (; born January 17, 1955) is an American country, rock, and folk singer-songwriter. He began his career as a songwriter in Nashville and released his first EP in 1982. Earle's breakthrough album was his 1986 debut album '' ...

penned tune " Galway Girl".

References

{{Authority control Beaches of County Galway Geography of Galway (city) Seaside resorts in the Republic of Ireland Tourist attractions in Galway (city)