The Claddagh (Irish: An Cladach - meaning, "a stony beach") is an area close to the centre of Galway city, where the Corrib River meets Galway Bay. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the Spanish Arch, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city with seafood as recently as the end of the 19th century. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from the area for millennia. It is one of the oldest former fishing villages in Ireland - its existence having been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century.
Despite being so close to the city centre, the area retained a strongly separate identity until recent years and remained largely Irish-speaking into the 20th century.
In the past decade the city of Galway has expanded considerably so the Claddagh is now considered to be part of the city centre. Its location has caused house prices to inflate substantially, making Claddagh one of the most expensive residential locations in the city today.
