Carraroe (in Irish, and officially, , meaning 'the red quarter') is a village in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, 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, ...

, the coastal Irish-speaking region (

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 ...

) 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 ...

, Ireland. It is known for its traditional fishing boats, the Galway Hookers. 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 re ...

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 is the upper layer of turf that is harvested for transplanting. Turf consists of a variable thickness of a soil medium that supports a community of turfgrasses. In British and Australian English, sod is more commonly known as ''turf'', ...

from the peat bogs in Connemara to the

Aran Islands The Aran Islands ( ; , ) or The Arans ( ) are a group of three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the west coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the historic barony (Ireland), barony of Aran in ...

and

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

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, 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 Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the Barony (Ireland), barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also ...

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 the 2022 census, Carraroe was a town with one of the highest percentages of daily Irish speakers in Ireland, with 69 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 the 2022 census, at 90 percent. There are two summer schools that teach Irish to English-speaking secondary-school students from all over Ireland. The Carraroe area is also a centre for Irish-language media, and the former national Irish-language newspaper ''

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

'' 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 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

, is based at

Baile na hAbhann Baile na hAbhann, anglicised as Ballynahown, is a Gaeltacht village about west of Galway, Ireland, on the R336 road (Ireland), R336 Regional road (Ireland), regional road between Inverin, Indreabhán and Casla. The name means "town of the rive ...

, 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 The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a Not-for-profit organi ...

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 University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

. The facility opened in 1977. The centre is named in honour of

Máirtín Ó Cadhain Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 20 January 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel , ÓCadhain played a key role in reintroducing modernist literatur ...

, 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 Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club CLG An Cheathrú Rua and An Ghaeltacht RFC

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

club. It also hosted Galway United F.C.'s

1986–87 UEFA Cup The 1986–87 UEFA Cup was the 16th season of the UEFA Cup, the third-tier club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The final was played over two legs at the Ullevi, Gothenburg, Sweden, and at ...

soccer match against

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, Groningen (province), Groningen province. Founded in 1971 as the successor of GVAV-Rapiditas, GVAV, Groningen compete in the Eredivisie, the first t ...

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.

Transport

Carraroe is served by

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

route 424 from

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

Popular culture

The village is mentioned in the lyrics of the Waterboys' 1993 hit " Glastonbury Song", 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, Mick Moloney and The Corrs. 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 * Tomás Mac Eoin, sean-nós singer, lives in An Cheathrú Rua

References

External links

CLG An Cheathrú Rua

Carraroe Population Stats 2006
(archived)
AnCheathrúRua.ie
{{County Galway Towns and villages in Connemara Gaeltacht places in County Galway Gaeltacht towns and villages