The National University of Ireland, Galway (NUI Galway) (Irish Ollscoil na hÉireann, Gaillimh or OÉ Gaillimh) is a tertiary-level educational institution located in Galway, Ireland. The university in can trace its existence to 1845 as Queen's College, Galway and was known until recently as University College, Galway (UCG) (Irish: Coláiste na hOllscoile, Gaillimh or COG).
History
The college opened for teaching in 1849 as Queen's College, Galway with 37 professors and 91 students and a year later became a part of the Queen's University of Ireland. In 1906 Alice Perry graduated from the college, believed to be the first female engineering graduate in the world[1] having received a first class honours degree in civil engineering.
The Irish Universities Act, 1908 made this college a constituent college of the new National University of Ireland, and under a new charter the name of the college was changed to University College, Galway. The university college was given special statutory responsibility under the University College, Galway Act, 1929 in respect of the use of the Irish language as the working language of the college.The university college retained the name University College, Galway until 1997 when the Universities Act, 1997 changed the name to National University of Ireland, Galway and made the college a constituent university of the National University of Ireland.
The university is located near the centre of the city and stretches along the River Corrib. The oldest part of the university, the Quadrangle, designed by John Benjamin Keane, is a replica of Christ Church, one of the colleges at the University of Oxford. The stone from which it is built was supplied locally. Newer parts of the university sprang up in the 1970s and were designed by architects Scott Tallon Walker. The 1990s also saw considerable development including the conversion of an old factory into a student centre and sports hall.
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