Galway City Museum, Local museum near Spanish Arch, Galway, Ireland

Galway City Museum is an L-shaped building of three levels opened in 2007 behind the site of Comerford House, beside the Spanish Arch on the River Corrib. Its architects, Ciaran O'Connor and Ger Harvey of the Office of Public Works, won the Bank of Ireland Opus Architectural Award in 2006. The design leaves a plaza between the museum and the arch, used at times for civic events.

The museum started in 1976 with a collection of medieval stones and grew into an institution documenting the region's past. It moved to its current location in 2007, becoming an important place for understanding Galway's history and heritage.

The Claddagh collection centres on the Claddagh apron and shawl and a model of the village layout in the early 20th century. The maritime collection holds fishing boats, navigation books, an Aldis lamp and the boat-building tools of John Reney, regarded as the last of the Claddagh's boat builders, whose yard stood beside the museum site.

The museum stands on the banks of the River Corrib, directly beside the Spanish Arch, and its entrance faces a plaza shared with that monument. The building is limited to three levels, with lifts connecting the floors. The plaza between museum and arch is a public space used for civic events, so the approach can be busy on event days.

A special collection holds over 300 objects that document daily life in rural areas, including tools and household items from past generations. These objects reveal how people connected to their work and the places where they lived.