Claddagh () is an area close to the centre of

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 ...

city, where the

River Corrib The River Corrib ( Irish: ''Abhainn na Gaillimhe'') in the west of Ireland flows from Lough Corrib through Galway to Galway Bay. The river is among the shortest in Europe, with only a length of six kilometres from the lough to the Atlantic. I ...

meets

Galway Bay Galway Bay ( Irish: ''Loch Lurgain'' or ''Cuan na Gaillimhe'') is a bay on the west coast of Ireland, between County Galway in the province of Connacht to the north and the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster to the south; Galw ...

. It was formerly a fishing village, just outside the old city walls. It is just across the river from the

Spanish Arch Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

, which was the location of regular fish markets where the locals supplied the city with seafood as recently as the end of the 19th century. People have been gathering seafood and fishing from the area for millennia. It is one of the oldest former fishing villages in Ireland - its existence having been recorded since the arrival of Christianity in the 5th century. During the 19th century the Claddagh attracted many visitors, including writers who spread its fame. The original village of thatched cottages was razed in the 1930s and replaced by a council-housing scheme. The Claddagh is most famous internationally for the

Claddagh ring A Claddagh ring ( gle, fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional Irish ring in which a heart represents love, the crown stands for loyalty, and two clasped hands symbolize friendship.George Frederick Kunz (1911). Rings for the Finger: From the Earlie ...

, which is popular among those of Irish heritage as both a friendship and wedding ring. This traditional design consists of two clasped hands holding a crowned heart, and symbolises love, friendship and loyalty. The Claddagh area contains a national school, Community Centre and a

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as well as the new Claddagh Arts Centre.

Notable people

* Thomas Grady, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

. * Bobby Beggs, Dublin-born Gaelic footballer who later played for Galway.

References

External links

Photos of Claddagh Galway

Albertkahn.co.uk
* http://homepage.eircom.net/~claddaghns/oldcladdagh.htm * https://web.archive.org/web/20130729201342/http://www.kennys.ie/News/OldGalway/05062008-TheGreenGrassintheCladdagh/ * http://www.libraryireland.com/IrishPictures/VII-Claddagh.php * https://archive.today/20130218003431/http://www.kennys.ie/booktalk/old-galway/the-garra-glas-in-the-claddagh.html * http://www.irishhistorylinks.net/pages/Old_Photos.html#Claddagh Geography of Galway (city) {{Galway-geo-stub

Notable people

See also

References

External links