Connemara

This article is about the district in the west of Ireland. For other uses of the term "Connemara" or "Conamara", see Connemara (disambiguation).
Twelve Bens.
Connemara on a cloudy day.
A view of Connemara, taken from the N59 road.

Connemara (Irish: Conamara pronounced [ˈkɔnˠamˠaɾˠa]) is a district in the west of Ireland, the boundaries of which are not well defined. Some define it to be the land contained by Killary Harbour, the Maam Valley, Lough Corrib (as far as Moycullen); a line from there to the sea at Barna and the Atlantic Ocean. The historical territory of Connemara, as defined by the 17th century historian Ruaidhrí Ó Flaithbheartaigh in his book West or H-Iar Connaught, was coextensive with the barony of Ballynahinch, This is a broad peninsula stretching from Killary Harbour on the north to Kilkieran Bay on the south. The boundary runs from the north along the spine of the Maumturk Mountains then along a series of small rivers and across upland west of Maam Cross eventually following the course of the Invermore river before meeting the sea west of the Ros Muc peninsula.

Overview

The term Connemara is frequently used to describe all of County Galway west of Lough Corrib; some argue that this is incorrect. It is also used to describe the Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking areas) of western County Galway; again some argue that this too is inaccurate as some of these areas are outside of the traditional boundary of Connemara. Some also argue that it is not correct to say that Connemara's eastern boundary ends around Barna just on the outskirts of Galway City or at Maam Cross.

Etymology

"Connemara" derives from the tribal name Conmacne Mara, which designated a branch of the Conmacne, an early tribal grouping that had a number of branches located in different parts of Connacht. Since this particular branch of the Conmacne lived by the sea, they became known as the Conmacne Mara. (Sea in Irish is muir, genitive mara, hence "of the sea".) The area in the east of what is now Connemara was called Delbhna Tír Dhá Locha.

Geography

Green indicates Joyce Country, with pale green showing it at its greatest defined extent; Red indicates Connemara, with pink showing it at its greatest defined extent (not including those who consider anywhere west of the Corrib to be in Connemara)

Connemara lies in the territory of Iar Connacht, "West Connacht", which is the portion of County Galway west of Lough Corrib. Connemara was traditionally divided into North Connemara and South Connemara. The mountains of the Twelve Bens and the Owenglin River, which flows into the sea at An Clochán/Clifden, marked the boundary between the two parts. Connemara is bounded on the west, south and north by the Atlantic Ocean. Connemara's land boundary with the rest of County Galway is marked by the Invermore River (which flows into the north of Kilkieran Bay), Loch Oorid, (which lies a few miles west of Maam Cross) and the western spine of the Maumturks mountains. In the north of the mountains, the boundary meets the sea at Killary, a few miles west of Leenaun.

Connemara is composed of the Catholic parishes of Carna, Clifden (Omey and Ballindoon), Ballynakill, Roundstone and Inishbofin. The territory contains the civil parishes of Moyrus, Ballynakill, Omey, Ballindoon and Inishbofin (the last parish was for a time part of the territory of the Clann Uí Mháille, the O Malleys of the territory of Umhall, County Mayo.)

History

The Ó Cadhla (Kealy) clan were the rulers of Connemara up until the 13th century, when they were displaced by the Ó Flaithbertaighs. The latter had fled into Iar Connacht from Maigh Seola during the English invasion of Connacht in the early 13th century.

Like the Ó Cadhla clan, the Mac Conghaile (Conneely) clan was also a branch of the Conmhaicne Mara. Comedian Billy Connolly visits Connemara, looking for his descendants, during his 2002 World Tour of England, Ireland and Wales series.

The coast of Connemara consists of a number of peninsulas. The peninsula of Iorras Ainbhtheach (sometimes corrupted to Iorras Aithneach) in the south is the largest and contains the villages of Carna and Kilkieran. The peninsula of Errismore consists of the area west of the village of Ballyconneely. Errisbeg peninsula lies to the south of the village of Roundstone. The Errislannan peninsula lies just south of the town of Clifden. The peninsulas of Kingstown, Coolacloy, Aughrus, Cleggan and Renvyle are found in the north-west of Connemara. Of the numerous islands off the coast of Connemara, Inishbofin is the largest; other islands include Omey, Inishark, High Island, Friars Island, Feenish and Maínis.

The main town of Connemara is Clifden. The area around the town is rich with megalithic tombs. The famous "Connemara Green marble" is found outcropping along a line between Streamstown and Lissoughter. It was a trade treasure used by the inhabitants of the prehistoric time. It continues to be of great value today. It is available in large dimensional slabs suitable for buildings as well as for smaller pieces of jewellery. It is used for the pendant for the Scouting Ireland Chief Scout's Award, the highest award in Irish Scouting.

Transport

Connemara is accessible by the Bus Éireann and City Link bus services. From 1895 to 1935 it was served by the Midland Great Western Railway branch that connected Galway City to Clifden. The railway line is still visible on the N59.

Aer Arann Islands serves the Aran Islands from Connemara Airport in the south of Connemara also known as Aerfort na Minna.

Irish language

The population of Connemara is 32,000. There are between 20,000-24,000 native Irish speakers in the region making it the largest Irish-speaking Gaeltacht.

Notable towns and villages

Notable islands

Other uses

Annalistic references

Notable people associated with Connemara

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Connemara.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Connemara.

References

  1. ↑ Ordnance Survey of Ireland map 44 spells it Sraith Salach.

Coordinates: 53°30′N 9°45′W / 53.500°N 9.750°W / 53.500; -9.750

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 13, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.