Connacht Rugby are looking forward to welcoming all travelling Newcastle fans to Galway next week for what should be a fantastic opening to the season for both teams.

To help make your stay more comfortable and to give you a little background on the province we have compiled the following piece. For further information please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@cbirfu.com

Connacht is one of Ireland’s four provinces situated in the west of the country. It consists of five counties, all bar one, west of the river Shannon. They include Sligo in the north, Leitrim and Roscommon either side of the Shannon, Mayo on the coast and to the south also on the coast county Galway.

The Connacht rugby team are based in Galway city, which has a population of approx 68,000, while the population of the province of Connacht is 464,000. Put into context, Leinster has a population of 1.9 million; Munster has 1.1 million and Ulster approx 1.5 million, so as you can imagine we are often cast in the shadow of our illustrious neighbours.

Galway airport has four times daily flights to and from Dublin and also operates daily services to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham, Manchester and Luton. Shannon airport is just over an hours drive to the south, while travelling from Dublin takes two hours and fifty minutes by train.

There is a wide range of accommodation in the city. From a whole host of Bed and Breakfast accommodation, including many within five minutes of the Sportsground, to top quality hotels including the Radisson SAS Hotel who sponsor Connacht rugby and are only an eight-minute walk away.

The Sportsground is situated on College Road, approx ten-minute walk from the centre of Galway and the rail and bus station. It can be accessed easily from the Dublin/Limerick road and there is car parking at the ground.

Supporters are advised to arrive reasonably early to secure a space, otherwise parking is available in the vicinity. There is a bar and restaurant under the main stand which includes a merchandise shop, while the upstairs-enclosed area also has a bar as well as the very popular corporate entertainment facilities.

Galway city is the cultural capital of Ireland, renowned for it’s numerous and varied festivals. The city is the fastest growing in the country and is a hugely popular holiday location.

Rugby has been played in Connacht for 119 years, which is remarkable considering the dominance of hurling and especially gaelic football in the five counties. Slowly but surely in recent seasons the game of rugby has grown in Connacht and today it is neck and neck with soccer for the provinces third most popular support.

Last season was a tremendous success, Connacht reached the semi final of the Parker Pen Challenge Cup and the Celtic Cup and this season hopes our high that they can surpass those achievements and bring some long awaited silverware across the Shannon for the first time.

Over 6,000 people packed the Sportsgrounds for the sell-out Parker Pen semi final clash with Harlequins for what was without question the biggest game in the province’s history.

With crowds and player numbers growing rapidly Connacht rugby is very much on the up after coming within weeks of being disbanded by the IRFU just over 18 months ago.

Thanks again to Mark and Rob for the story.