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'''Gaillimh inion Breasail''' is the name of the [[mythical]] woman from whom the river and city of [[Galway]], [[Ireland]], derives its name.

According to [[James Hardiman]], quoting [[Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh]], "that the city of Galway took its name from the river, in which was drowned ''Gaillimh'', the daughter of Breasail." Hardiman goes on to state that in the mid-17th map of the town, "a rock is shown in the river" (now called the [[River Corrib|Corrib]]), "where" it is stated, that "a woman, named Galva, was drowned, near a great rock, in the river," (which is delineated on the map) "and that from this circumstance the town originally took its name."

She was said to be the daughter of a chief of the [[Fir Bolg]], Breasail. It is now generally held that she was a [[tribal]] or local [[goddess]] of the river, much like other [[Gaels|Gaelic]] deities such as [[Boann]]. The [[etymology]] of the name is thought to translate, roughly, as ''stony river'', and probably dates back to at least the late Irish pre-historic era.

==See also==

* [[Boann]]
* [[Brasil (mythical island)]]
* [[Clodagh]]
* [[Danu (Irish goddess)|Danu]]

==References==
* ''Beatha Aodha Ruaidh Uí Dhomhnaill'', [[Lughaidh Ó Cléirigh]], a.1603-b.1616
* ''History of Galway'', [[James Hardiman]], 1820
* ''Early Irish History and Mythology'', [[T.F. O'Rahilly]], Dublin , 1946
* ''A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', James McKillop, [[Oxford]] University Press, 1998
* ''Galway-Gaillimh: a bibliography of the city and county'', Mary Kavanagh, Galway County Council, 2000
* ''The Tribes of Galway: 1124-1642'', Adrian Martyn, Galway, 2016

{{Irish mythology (mythological)}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaillimh Inion Breasail}}
[[Category:Irish goddesses]]
[[Category:Sea and river goddesses]]
[[Category:Fir Bolg]]