Limerick is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 102,287 at the 2022 census, Limerick is the third-most populous urban area in Ireland, and the fourth-most populous city on the island of Ireland. It was founded by Scandinavian settlers in 812, during the Viking Age.
Galway is a city in 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 fifth most populous city on the island of Ireland and the fourth most populous in the Republic of Ireland, with a population at the 2022 census of 85,910.
The Tribes of Galway were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families of Athy, Blake, Bodkin, Browne, Darcy/D’Arcy, Deane, Font, French, Joyce, Kirwan, Lynch, Martin, Morris and Skerritt. Of the 14 families, 12 were of Anglo Norman origin, while two—the Darcy and Kirwan families—were Normanised Irish Gaels.
Maynooth is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University and St Patrick's College, a Pontifical University and Ireland's sole Roman Catholic seminary. Maynooth is also the seat of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference and holds the headquarters of Ireland's largest development charity, Trócaire. Maynooth is located 24 kilometres west of central Dublin.
Moate is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 3,013.
Dunnes Stores is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. It was founded by Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain. The format of most of the chain's stores in Ireland involves a grocery supermarket operating alongside a clothing/textiles store, although some stores contain only textiles and some contain only a supermarket. The grocery side of the business does not operate outside of Ireland, save for a limited grocery range in the Spanish stores. The larger stores usually contain a café branded as either Café Sol or Dunnes Stores Café.
Ballinasloe is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-century castle, which defended the fording point, the modern town of Ballinasloe was "founded" in the early 13th century. As of the 2016 census, it was one of the largest towns in County Galway, with a population of 6,662 people.
Dundrum, originally a village in its own right, is an outer suburb of Dublin, Ireland. The area is located in the postal districts of Dublin 14 and Dublin 16. Dundrum is home to the Dundrum Town Centre, the largest shopping centre in Ireland.
Baile Chláir or Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe is a Gaeltacht village about 10 km north of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland. Claregalway was founded on the banks of the River Clare, hence the derivation of its name: Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe meaning "town on the Clare, in Galway". Claregalway lies within the Gaeltacht and traditionally most of the locals would have spoken English only as a second language. Until September 2017, the village sat at the junction of the busy N17 and N18 national primary routes with over 27,000 vehicles having formerly passed through the village every day.
Ballygar is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is 19 km from Roscommon town.
Monivea is a village in County Galway, Ireland. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry.
Ashford Castle is a medieval and Victorian castle that has been expanded over the centuries and turned into a five star luxury hotel. It is near Cong on the County Mayo–Galway border, on the County Galway side of Lough Corrib, in Ireland. It is a member of the Red Carnation Hotels organisation and was previously owned by the Guinness family.
In the Republic of Ireland, the retail sector provides one of the largest sources of employment in the economy, representing over 12% of the workforce. As of 2017, approximately 40,000 wholesale and retail businesses employed almost 280,000 people in Ireland, with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment reporting that 90% of these businesses were Irish-owned.
Eason Retail PLC, known as Easons or Eason, is an Irish retail company best known for selling books, stationery, cards, gifts, newspapers and magazines. Headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, it is the largest supplier of books, magazines, and newspapers in Ireland.
Insomnia Coffee Company is an Irish chain of coffee shops, with headquarters in Dublin. Its first location opened in the back of a Galway bookshop in August 1997. The company has over 150 cafés and over 400 self-service units in operation around Ireland. Insomnia outlets serve both hot and cold drinks, coffee, sandwiches, salads, soups, snacks, cakes, and pastries.
JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President is the title of the first book written by Irish broadcaster Ryan Tubridy. Released in the UK in 2010, and by Lyons Press in the US in 2011, it is a profile of President of the United States John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Ireland.
The Galway Advertiser is a free newspaper distributed throughout Galway city and county each Thursday.
Standun is a departmental store which is situated at the entrance of Spiddal village in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. It has been in service for more than 65 years.
Ballina is a town in north County Mayo, Ireland. It lies at the mouth of the River Moy near Killala Bay, in the Moy valley and Parish of Kilmoremoy, with the Ox Mountains to the east and the Nephin Beg mountains to the west. The town occupies two baronies; Tirawley on the west bank of the Moy River, and Tireragh, a barony within County Sligo, on its east banks. At the 2022 census, the population of Ballina was 10,556.
North Main Street is a street and retail area in Cork City, Ireland. Joined by bridge with South Main Street in the 12th century, it formed the main thoroughfare within the original city walls of medieval Cork. As of the 21st century, it is predominantly occupied by commercial and retail premises, some of which are built upon earlier structures.
