Cill Chiaráin (anglicized as Kilkieran) is a coastal village in the Connemara area of
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
.
The
R340 passes through Cill Chiaráin.
Cill Chiaráin lies in a ''
Gaeltacht
A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The districts were first officially recognised ...
'' region (
Irish-speaking
Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...
area), and ''Coláiste Sheosaimh'' hosts Irish language courses within the village.
Name
The village is named after
Saint Ciarán
In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Ortho ...
, "Cill Chiaráin" translates to "Ciarán's church" from Irish. It shares its name with a second Cill Chiaráin in
County Kilkenny
County Kilkenny () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is named after the City status in Ir ...
.
History
On St Ciarán's feast day, there is a
Pattern Day
A pattern () in Irish Roman Catholicism refers to the devotions that take place within a parish on the feast day of the patron saint of the parish, on that date, called a Pattern day, or the nearest Sunday, called Pattern Sunday. In the case of a ...
in honour of the saint held in the village. Organised by the local festival committee, Coiste Fhéile Chill Chiaráin, there is a Roman Catholic
Mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
performed at the well which St Ciarán blessed back in the 6th century.
Amenities
Cill Chiaráin has a number of facilities and public buildings, including a health centre, a "
gastropub
A gastropub or gastro pub is a pub that serves food of high quality, with a nearly equal emphasis on eating and drinking. The term was coined in the 1990s in the United Kingdom.
History
The term ''gastropub'' (derived from gastronomy) was coi ...
" (''Tigh Chadhain''), local supermarket, a national school, community hall, church and fish factory.
The
Arramara Teo seaweed factory is also nearby. The company was previously Irish owned, but has since been bought by a Canadian company.
The village also has a children's playground and the Páirc Peile Chill Chiaráin (
artificial pitch
Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained wi ...
) which opened in 2015. The pitch is used by the local
GAA
Gaa may refer to:
* Gaa language, a language of Nigeria
* gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana
GAA may stand for:
Compounds
* Glacial (water-free), acetic acid
* Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...
team, Carna-Cashel, and the athletics club.
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{County Galway
Towns and villages in Connemara
Gaeltacht places in County Galway
Gaeltacht towns and villages