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With its narrow streets, old stone shopfronts and bustling pubs, Galway is a delight. It's the west coast's liveliest and most populous settlement, and the administrative capital of County Galway. Its university attracts a notable bohemian crowd, and its boisterous nightlife keeps them there. Galway's tightly packed town centre lies on both sides of the River Corrib; most of the main shopping areas are east of the river. The Collegiate Church of St Nicholas of Myra, with its curious pyramidal spire, dates from 1320 and is Ireland's biggest medieval parish church. Its tombs are particularly noteworthy. Among the many interesting stone buildings are Lynch's Castle, a townhouse which dates in part back to the 14th century, and the Spanish Arch, which is about all that remains of the city's old walls. Galway's many fine cultural festivals include the February Jazz Festival, the Easter Festival of Literature and the Galway Arts Festival in July.
The three Aran Islands - Inishmor, Inishmaan and Inisheer - are long, low limestone moonscapes of bleak but rare beauty. They are home to some of the most ancient Christian and pre-Christian remains in Ireland; the massive Iron Age stone forts at Dun Aengus on Inishmor and Dun Conchuir on Inishmaan are of particular note. Almost nothing is known about the people who built these structures. Some of the earliest monastic settlements were founded here by St Eanna in the late 4th and 5th centuries; the remains surviving today date from the 8th century. The islands' isolation allowed Irish culture to survive when it had all but disappeared elsewhere. Irish is still the native tongue, and until recently people still wore traditional Aran dress.
The islands are criss-crossed by intricate stone walls, built over thousands of years and creating tranquil avenues of much-needed shelter from the wind. Inishmaan is the least visited island, while Inishmor is the most popular with day trippers. Inisheer lies closest to land, just 8km (5mi) from Doolin in County Clare. Ferries to the islands operate from Galway City, Rossaveal and Doolin.
Walking is one of Ireland's biggest attractions, and the country has miles of tailor-made walks. They include the Kerry Way, Beara Way, Ulster Way and Wicklow Way. It's a great way to open up the country and reach its most beautiful and fascinating corners. Cycling is another good way of getting away from the hordes, although some areas are prohibitively hilly. There are a number of excellent mountain-climbing opportunities, particularly Mt Gabriel (407m/1335ft) on the Mizen Head Peninsula, Hungry Hill (686m/2195ft) on the Beara Peninsula and Croagh Patrick (763m/2500ft) just outside Westport.
Ireland is renowned for its fishing, and many visitors come to the country just to cast a line. Permits are required (IR£5 a day), and a state national licence is required for salmon and sea trout. With a coastline measuring 5630km (3490mi), let alone its rivers and lakes, Ireland offers many opportunities for water sports. Good surfing spots include Easkey in the west of County Sligo, the Castlegregory Peninsula and Barley Cove on the Mizen Head Peninsula. The west coast offers some of Europe's best scuba diving, especially at Bantry Bay and Dunmanus Bay in County Cork, the Inveragh Peninsula in Kerry and around Hook Head in County Wexford. Sailing has a long heritage in Ireland, and the country has over 120 yacht and sailing clubs. The most popular areas for sailing are the west coast, especially between Cork Harbour and the Dingle Peninsula, the coastline north and south of Dublin, and larger lakes such as Lough Derg, Lough Erne and Lough Gill.
Lough Derg (from the Irish: Loch Deirgeirt meaning "loch of the red eye") is the third-largest lake (or lough) in Ireland (after Lough Neagh and Lough Corrib) and the second-largest in the Republic of Ireland. It is a long, relatively narrow lake, with shores in counties Clare (south-west), Galway (north-west), and North Tipperary (to the east). The lake is the last of the three largest on the River Shannon, with the other two, Lough Ree and Lough Allen lying further north. Some towns or villages on Lough Derg include Garrykennedy, Portumna, Killaloe & Ballina, Dromineer, Terryglass and Mountshannon.
At its deepest, the lake is 36 metres deep and covers an area of 118 km² (45.5 sq miles). The lake is a popular place for leisure boating, sailing and fishing. At the point where Lough Derg empties into the Shannon, it slopes steeply downhill—a major reason for the location of the world's then-largest hydroelectric power plant at Ardnacrusha in 1927.