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 "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, 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 recog ...

) of

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) 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-speak ...

. 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 re ...

known as "

maerl Maerl (also rhodolith) is a collective name for non-geniculate coralline red algae with a certain growth habit. Maerl grows at a rate of c. 1 mm per year. It accumulates as unattached particles and forms extensive beds in suitable sublitto ...

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 agricultu ...

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 Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with a total area around . They constitute the histo ...

and

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

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 118,817 ...

, 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 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 Intern ...

, is in nearby

Casla Casla (Costello or Costelloe) is a Gaeltacht village between Indreabhán (Inverin) and An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe) in western County Galway, Ireland. The headquarters of RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta is located there. The village lies on the R3 ...

, 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 Baile na hAbhann, anglicised as Ballynahown, is a Gaeltacht village about west of Galway, Ireland, on the R336 regional road between Indreabhán and Casla. The name means "town of the river". The village is in the townland of Baile na hAbha ...

, 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 non-gov ...

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

. 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 ( ga, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe) is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. A tertiary education and research institution, the university was awarded the full five QS stars for excellence in 201 ...

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

Máirtín Ó Cadhain Máirtín Ó Cadhain (; 1906 – 18 October 1970) was one of the most prominent Irish language writers of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his 1949 novel ''Cré na Cille'', Ó Cadhain played a key role in reintroducing literary mod ...

, author of ''

Cré na Cille () is an Irish language novel by Máirtín Ó Cadhain. It was first published in 1949. It is considered one of the greatest novels written in the Irish language. Title ''Cré na Cille'' literally means "Earth of the Church"; it has also been ...

'' ('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 ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

club

Carraroe GAA CLG An Cheathrú Rua (Irish language, Irish: ) is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in the Gaeltacht area of Carraroe, County Galway, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The club is a member of the Galway GAA. Notable players include Seán Óg ...

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 its m ...

club. It also hosted

Galway United F.C. Galway United Football Club (Irish: ''Cumann Peile Ghaillimh Aontaithe'') is an Irish association football club based in Galway. They play in the League of Ireland First Division. They were founded as Galway Rovers F.C. during the 1930s. They m ...

1986–87 UEFA Cup The 1986–87 UEFA Cup was the 16th season of the UEFA Cup, a football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for clubs affiliated to its member associations. The competition was won by IFK Göteborg of Sweden, ...

soccer match against

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...

when

Terryland Park Eamonn Deacy Park, formerly known as Terryland Park, is an association football stadium in the Republic of Ireland based in the Terryland district of Galway. It is owned by the Galway Football Association and is the home ground of both Galway ...

failed to meet UEFA standards. Local soccer club C.S. Mac Dara competes in the

Galway & District League The Galway & District League is an association football league organized by the Galway Football Association. It features amateur and junior clubs from County Galway. It currently features six divisions. Its top division, the Premier Division, i ...

. 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'' (''leitir ...

Transport

Carraroe is served by

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

route 424 from

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

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 Arty McGl ...

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), Car ...

. 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 (1764–18 ...

(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