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Claregalway

Village in County Galway, Ireland

Field	Value
official_name	Baile Chláir
other_name	Claregalway
settlement_type	Village
image_skyline	Claregalway friary 02 (cropped).jpg
image_caption	Claregalway's friary (left), castle (centre) and bridge (right)
pushpin_map	Ireland
pushpin_label_position	none
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Ireland
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Ireland
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Connacht
subdivision_type3	County
subdivision_name3	County Galway
unit_pref	Metric
population_as_of	2022
population_total	1,632
population_density_km2	auto
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_m	12
blank_name	Irish Grid Reference
blank_info
footnotes	As this is a Gaeltacht village, the Irish Baile Chláir is the only official name. The anglicized name Claregalway has no official standing.

Baile Chláir or Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe (anglicised Claregalway) is a Gaeltacht village about 10 km north of Galway city in County Galway, Ireland. Claregalway was founded on the banks of the River Clare, hence the derivation of its name: Baile Chláir na Gaillimhe meaning "town on the Clare, in Galway". Claregalway lies within a Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) area and most locals traditionally spoke English only as a second language. The village is in a civil parish and barony of the same name.

History

Among the larger historical sites, within the village bounds on the banks of the River Clare, are Claregalway Friary, founded in mid-13th century, and a Norman tower house dating to the 16th century.

According to the Annals of Connacht, O'Domnaill (of the O'Donnell's of Tírconnell) and Macwilliam Burke (of the Burkes of Mayo "burnt the town" of Claregalway in

In 2001, a restoration of an old bridge over the old course of the River Clare was completed. These nine stone arches are above the level of the current road.

19th-century view showing the abbey, the old bridge and the tower

The civil parish of Claregalway (Baile Chláir) is approximately 50 km2 in area and spans 29 townlands. Some of the larger townlands include Carnmore, Lydican, Loughgeorge and Cregboy. Lydican is notable as the origin of the Irish ancestors (Patrick Lynch) of Che Guevara. Lydican was the site of an O'Heyne Castle and the last of the chieftains, Connor Crone O Heyne, was living there in 1612. The lands of the O'Heyne chieftains were confiscated in the late 17th century and it was then that the Lynches took up residence there. The Lynches principal holdings were in the city of Galway.

Until September 2017, the village sat at the junction of the busy N17 and N18 national primary routes with over 27,000 vehicles having formerly passed through the village every day.

Demographics

The population of the village more than tripled in size in the 20 years between the 2002 and 2022. The village is within the commuter belt of Galway City, with the 2022 census indicating that over 50% of people in the village had commutes of more than 15 minutes.

Irish language

According to the 2022 census, there were 1,632 people living in Baile Chláir, of which less than 2% indicated that they spoke Irish every day outside of the education system. This makes Baile Chláir one of the weakest Gaeltacht towns in the country, with the majority of the population speaking English.

Culture

Claregalway hosts a drama festival each year in March. Compántas Lir is an amateur drama group which is based in Claregalway and Carnmore.

Education

Coláiste Bhaile Chláir is a co-educational secondary school in Claregalway. As of December 2024, it had an enrollment of over 1,270.

Sport

Claregalway CLG is the local Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club.

The local basketball club participates in local leagues at underage through to senior level.

Claregalway Handball club opened a new-arena style handball alley in 2018.

Notable residents

Dana Rosemary Scallon, Irish singer and former MEP.

References

"Interactive Data Visualisations: Towns: Baile Chláir". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
[https://www.logainm.ie/18591.aspx Placenames Database of Ireland]
(1997). "Record of Monuments and Places - County Galway". National Monuments and Historic Properties Service.
"Claregalway".
"Annála Connacht".
"Civil Parish of Baile Chláir, Co. Galway".
"Baile Chláir (Ireland) Census Town".
"Compantas Lir Drama Group".
(18 December 2024). "School - Coláiste Bhaile Chláir". Department of Education.
(27 March 2018). "New Alley Officially Opened in Claregalway".
(22 September 2011). "Claregalway Resident Dana Intends To Run For President".

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

towns-and-villages-in-county-galway gaeltacht-places-in-county-galway civil-parishes-of-county-galway baronies-of-county-galway

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