Most Famous Living Galway Person

The Sparrow

I'm hoping all of you can do me a quick favour for a project I'm doing in work.

Who is the most famous person from Galway City or county that is not a GAA footballer or hurler? Or even the most famous person living person who lives or has lived in Galway City or County?

I asked the same question in the Kilkenny forum and got a fantastic list of Kilkenny people. Hope the mods don't mind me asking here about Galway too.

ronnie3585

Denis Furey.

padi89

Knacker Dwarf

carmel27

Warty Nora

Seaneh

Probably Tommy Tiernan?

LowOdour

the guy who played spock in the last star trek or bon iver...both worked and lived in galway as far as i know

muppetkiller

Doesn't 'Dido' Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong live out in Connemara for a few months a year ?

biko

Nora-Jane Noone

Mrs OBumble

Sharon Shannon.

Or perhaps just the nameless "Galway Girl"

Melty

Peter O'Toole has a house in Clifden

edit: perhaps not anymore according to wikipedia

mikom

biko wrote: »

Nora-Jane Noone

Soundest famous Galway person anyway.

ErnieBert

Rogue Trader Nick Leeson has been living here for a long tome now. He married a local girl and they have a child. He is the CEO of Galway United FC.

ErnieBert

Michael D Higgins

ErnieBert

Eamonn Casey is world famous

Bosco boy

Elvis, he's now shacked up with a bird in rosmuc!

Diabhal Beag

Julia Roberts stayed in Barna for a week if that counts

fergpie

Martin Sheen went to NUIG for 1 whole semester. surely that must make him a galwegian?!

d-gal

Hector!

padi89

ErnieBert wrote: »

Rogue Trader Nick Leeson has been living here for a long tome now. He married a local girl and they have a child. He is the CEO of Galway United FC.

Winner !

hairyfairy00

Daithi O Se

inisboffin

Tommy is from Navan
Sharon from Clare
and 'the Galway girl' was born in Dublin!:p

Most famous Galwegian (we are counting the County, right?)

imo: Peter O'Toole

Some notables

Norah Barnacle
Mary Coughlan
Siobhán McKenna
Dolores Keane

** sorry, just saw living - obviously a couple aren't!

happyoutscan

d-gal wrote: »

Hector!

No.

brainyneuron

Tommy and Hector are both from Navan and Dathai o Shea is from Dingle. All adopted Galwegians but don't think thats what the OP is looking for

padi89

brainyneuron wrote: »

Tommy and Hector are both from Navan and Dathai o Shea is from Dingle. All adopted Galwegians but don't think thats what the OP is looking for

If i were stuck in a room with those three id kill myself ...

brainyneuron

padi89 wrote: »

If i were stuck in a room with those three id kill myself ...

Haha I'd love it, that'd be some party

Seaneh

I read this as living in Galway...

martyboy48

I'll come back to this after a think.... (I was listing hurlers/footballers)

tonyhiggins

fergpie wrote: »

Martin Sheen went to NUIG for 1 whole semester. surely that must make him a galwegian?!

Heard a good story about his time here there last week.. he went into some restaurant around Quay St I think for dinner, and realising he would get hassled, he said a quick hello to everyone there, signed any autographs wanted then said, it's my dinner time, me time. Very cool!

loser2old4board

Stephen Cullinane was one of the founders of both Macra na Feirme and The Farmer's Journal.
Walter Macken, a well known author from fifties and sixties.
Liam O'Flaherty (August 28, 1896 – September 7, 1984) was a significant Irish Author
from way back (Born on Inis Mór, Aran Island.
John Mc Gahern (Author) lived in Leitrim, but had strong links with NUIG,
so probably lived in Galway for a while. (I want to list him anyway).
Steve Earle ( Galway Girl) lived in Galway for a while.
The Waterboys lived in Spiddal for a while or at least Mike Scott did.

Not clear from original post if it has to be a living person,
if so scratch the first four above.

The Sparrow

Thanks everyone. Galway county or city is fine and living in either area is grand as well if they are not from Galway originally.

Cheers.:)

doubleglaze

Michael D.

Bishop Casey

Angelica Huston

Peter o'Toole

Sharon Shannon

Nick Leeson

Xiney

Angelica Huston, maybe.

I'd defintely heard of her before I ever heard of Tommy Tiernan. Or Galway, for that matter.

Arnold Layne

Vinny Dodd

inisboffin

Xiney wrote: »

Angelica Huston, maybe.

She does stay here a fair bit, and lived here a lot when her Dad was alive. Born in US though as far as I remember.

I'm still going with Lawrence of Arabia! :P (although the two families are friends!)

phelixoflaherty

Grand there are all these cool people with past achievements but Paul Hession the fastest white man.
Outside of that Mrs. Turnip

Jamey

Tuam man, John 'Johnny Rotten' Lydon?

ronnie3585

Jamey wrote: »

Tuam man, John 'Johnny Rotten' Lydon?

Johnny Rotten was born and raised in London.

His father was from Tuam.

Declan Ganley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Galway_people
A long list of people I mostly don't recognise or know.

As said before, Nick Leeson. He's known all around the world and there's a movie based on his life with Ewan McGregor.

Mars Bar

Eh, The Saw Doctors?

I'd say the Keane's from Caherlistrane myself. I'm on a Bruce Springsteen forum that's very popular and when Rita Keane died, they had a thread on it and loads of Americans were saying that they love the Keane's music. I was pretty shocked they are that well known...

and as said above, Nick Leeson is famous...only for the wrong reasons!

inisboffin

mars bar wrote: »

I'd say the Keane's from Caherlistrane myself. I'm on a Bruce Springsteen forum that's very popular and when Rita Keane died, they had a thread on it and loads of Americans were saying that they love the Keane's music. I was pretty shocked they are that well known...

Forgot about the Aunts!

inisboffin

Oh, forgot about Commander Bill down the road

snubbleste

Nick Leeson is english

The most famous Galway person is milliner Philip Treacy from Ahrascragh whose creations have adorned royalty and movie stars

dlofnep

Ted Crilly.

Cathal01

I would definitely say Anjelica Huston.....She lived in Craughwell, went to school in Loughrea and Kylemore and still has ties with Galway.

snubbleste

snubbleste wrote: »

Nick Leeson is english

The most famous Galway person is milliner Philip Treacy from Ahrascragh whose creations have adorned royalty and movie stars

The Sparrow wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Galway county or city is fine and living in either area is grand as well if they are not from Galway originally.

Cheers.:)

..

fend

Declan Moffit -- Glenamaddy -- The best of luck

Toplink

Bunker Lydon

ErnieBert

Of ll the people suggested, Nick Leeson is the only one who made front page news in every country in the world. He also had a movie made about him. He is a regular contributor in the media most especially on CNN and Sky.

loser2old4board

Sean Tyrrell, Folk singer songwriter.
Seosamh Ó hÉanaí ( aka Joe Heaney or Joe Éinniú), Sean Nós singer, 1919 – 1984.

The Stunning.
Blaze X (1979-1981) were an Irish punk band. The band was formed in Tuam, Co. Galway.

Lady Gregory, Coole park near Gort.
A number of famous people stayed there for a while
like William Butler Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, John Millington Synge and Sean O'Casey but maybe that's stretching it a bit.

Still not clear on whether the OP meant people still alive today or not.

antonf

Ken Bruen lives in Newcastle, near UCHG.