Carraroe (in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

, and officially, , meaning 'the red quarter') is a village in County Galway, Ireland, in the Irish-speaking region (

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially reco ...

) of

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

. It is known for its traditional fishing boats, the

Galway Hooker The Galway hooker (''Irish'': ''húicéir'') is a traditional fishing boat used in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. The hooker was developed for the strong seas there. It is identified by its sharp, clean entry, bluff bow, marked tumbleh ...

s. Its population is widely dispersed over the Carraroe peninsula between ''Cuan an Fhir Mhóir'' (Greatman's Bay) and ''Cuan Chasla'' (Casla Bay). Carraroe has an unusual beach, ''Trá an Dóilín'', a biogenic gravel beach made of

coralline algae Coralline algae are red algae in the order Corallinales. They are characterized by a thallus that is hard because of calcareous deposits contained within the cell walls. The colors of these algae are most typically pink, or some other shade of ...

known as " maerl".

Galway hookers

Galway Hookers are a distinctive form of native Irish boat, and Carraroe hosts an annual regatta of these vessels. As of 2006 this event, which is named ''Féile an Dóilín'' after the area's "coral strand", was the largest ever regatta of Galway hookers. The main boats are the larger ''Báid Mhóra'' (big boats) and ''Leathbháid'' (half-boats), which in earlier times were used for hauling

turf Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls. In Australian and British English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', and the word "sod" is limited mainly to agricult ...

from the peat bogs in Connemara to the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; gle, Oileáin Árann, ) or The Arans (''na hÁrainneacha'' ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony of Aran i ...

and

The Burren The Burren (; ) is a karst/ glaciokarst landscape centred in County Clare, on the west coast of Ireland.
Burr ...

County Clare County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,81 ...

, where peat is absent. The smaller boats are the ''Gleoiteoga'', which were traditionally used for fishing. These boats can be found at Sruthán Pier, which is the main pier in Carraroe and in the ''Caladh Thadhg'' area. The main activity of these boats is racing, and there are several regattas along the Connemara coast. Currach racing is held on ''Loch an Mhuilinn'', the lake close to the village. Every year at the festival of ''Cruinniú na mBád'', a flotilla of traditional Connemara boats race across Galway Bay from Carraroe to Kinvara.

Irish language

Irish (specifically the Connacht dialect) is the main spoken language of Carraroe, the settlement being the most populous Irish-speaking village in the Connemara Gaeltacht. In 2016, Carraroe was a town with one of the highest percentages of daily Irish speakers in Ireland, with 61.6 percent stating that they spoke it daily. Under the ''Gaeltacht Act 2012'', the Gaeltacht was redefined into 26 Language Planning Areas. Of these, Carraroe area recorded the third largest proportion of daily Irish speakers in Ireland in 2016, at 65.1 percent. There are two summer schools, (one of which is Coláiste Aodáin), that teach Irish to English-speaking secondary-school students from all over Ireland. Carraroe is also a centre for the Irish-language media. The main national Irish-language newspaper ''

Foinse ''Foinse'' (; Irish for "''Source''") was an Irish-language newspaper in Ireland. It was first published October 1996 and had both print and online editions until September 2013 when its publisher, Móinéar Teo, announced that it would become ...

'' had its head office in the village; the Irish-language radio station,

RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta (; "Radio of the Gaeltacht"), abbreviated RnaG, is an Irish language radio station owned and operated by Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). The station is available on FM in Ireland and via satellite and on the Inter ...

, is in nearby Casla, and the Irish-language television station,

TG4 TG4 ( ga, TG Ceathair, ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television network. The channel launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was formerly known ...

, is based at Baile na hAbhann, a few kilometres east. Roman Catholic church services are in Irish only. All school lessons are conducted in Irish.

Beach

''Trá an Dóilín'' is a Blue Flag beach near the village which is noted for its fine "coral". Though the beach is known in English as "Coral Strand", it is actually made of

known as maerl. This biogenic gravel beach is rare and of great conservation importance.

Education

''Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain'' (Máirtín Ó Cadhain House) is one of the Gaeltacht centres of ''Oifig na Gaeilge Labhartha'' (the Department of Spoken Irish) of the National University of Ireland, Galway. The facility opened in 1977. The centre is named in honour of Máirtín Ó Cadhain, author of '' Cré na Cille'' ('Graveyard Clay').

Sport

''Páirc an Chathanaigh'' is a community-owned sports ground in the village. It is the home ground of both Gaelic football club Carraroe GAA and An Ghaeltacht RFC

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

club. It also hosted Galway United F.C.'s 1986–87 UEFA Cup soccer match against FC Groningen when Terryland Park failed to meet UEFA standards. Local soccer club C.S. Mac Dara competes in the Galway & District League. Connemara Isles Golf Club is a nine-hole course in nearby

Lettermore Lettermore () is a Gaeltacht village in County Galway, Ireland. It is also the name of an island, linked by road to the mainland, on which the village sits. The name comes from the Irish ''Leitir Móir'' meaning ''great rough hillside'' (''leiti ...

Transport

Carraroe is served by Bus Éireann route 424 from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

Popular culture

The village is mentioned in the lyrics of the

Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

' 1993 hit "

Glastonbury Song "Glastonbury Song" is a song by Scottish-Irish folk rock band the Waterboys, released in July 1993 as the second single from their sixth studio album, ''Dream Harder'' (1993). It was written by Mike Scott and produced by Scott and Bill Price. T ...

", which refers to several Irish and British sites associated with ancient Celtic ritual: :''We came down from the hill of dreams'' :''Bernadette, mother earth and you and me'' :''Through Carraroe, down the wildwood side.'' The town gives its name to the traditional tune "Carraroe Jig". The jig has been recorded by several artists, including

Patrick Street Patrick Street is an Irish folk group founded by Kevin Burke (formerly of The Bothy Band) on fiddle, Andy Irvine (Sweeney's Men, Planxty) on mandolin, bouzouki, harmonica and vocals, Jackie Daly ( De Dannan) on button accordion, and Art ...

Mick Moloney Michael Moloney (15 November 1944 – 27 July 2022) was an Irish-born American musician and scholar. He was the artistic director of several major arts tours and co-founded Green Fields of America. Early life Moloney was born in Limerick, Ire ...

and

The Corrs The Corrs are an Irish family band that combine pop rock with traditional Irish themes within their music. The group consists of the Corr siblings, Andrea (lead vocals, tin whistle, mandolin, ukulele), Sharon (violin, keyboards, vocals), Carol ...

. Carraroe is the home of the fictional Nuala Anne McGrail, heroine of novelist Andrew Greeley's "Irish" series which began with ''Irish Gold'' in 1994.

Notable people

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

(1893–1964), artist, lived in Carraroe from 1921 until his death

References

External links

CLG An Cheathrú Rua

Carraroe Population Stats 2006
(archived)
AnCheathrúRua.ie
{{County Galway Towns and villages in County Galway Gaeltacht places in County Galway Gaeltacht towns and villages Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names