An Mám (anglicized as Maum, or sometimes Maam) is a small Gaeltacht village and its surrounding lands in Connemara,

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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Name

An Mám is Irish for "the pass" and as this is a

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 ...

(principally Irish-speaking) area, the area's name formally exists only in Irish - the anglicised form has no official standing, although it has been in use for centuries, too.

Location and access

The village is located at the southern end of the Maam Valley, where it comes to

Lough Corrib Lough Corrib ( ; ) is a lake in the west of Ireland. The River Corrib or Galway River connects the lake to the sea at Galway. It is the largest lake within the Republic of Ireland and the second largest on the island of Ireland (after Lough Nea ...

; the other end lies at

Leenaun Leenaun (), also Leenane, is a village and 1,845 acre townland in County Galway, Ireland, on the southern shore of Killary Harbour and the northern edge of Connemara. Location Leenaun is situated on the junction of the N59 road, and the R336 ro ...

Killary Harbour Killary Harbour or Killary Fjord () is a fjord or fjard on the west coast of Ireland, in northern Connemara. To its north is County Mayo and the mountains of Mweelrea and Ben Gorm; to its south is County Galway and the Maumturk Mountains. Str ...

. The settlement lies at an altitude of around 20 metres, between where the main river of the southern two thirds of the valley, ''Joyce's River'', is captured by the larger Abhainn Beal Atha na mBreac (Bealnabrack River) and where the Failmore River joins that river's mouth at the northern end of the lake. It sits at the edge of a mountainous area, the principal part of which forms the Maumturk or Maamturk Mountains. An Mám lies north of

Maam Cross Maam Cross () is a crossroads in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Shindilla, at the junction of the N59 from Galway to Clifden and the R336 from Galway to the Maam Valley which runs from Maum or Maam to Leenaun ...

, an important crossroads from which the main road serving the settlement, and providing a secondary route through the Maam Valley to Leenaun, the R336, comes, splitting off from the R59

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 ...

to Clifden road. Maam Bridge, built in 1823, takes the R336 across the Bealnabrack River.

History

This area formed part of the wider Joyce Country, named for a key family grouping, the Joy family, originally from

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, which dominated the region for centuries.

Features

Historically there was a castle in the area, and from the 19th century, a small courthouse (closed in 2004) and a post office. Alexander Nimmo built an inn in 1820 at the eastern end of Maam Bridge, and this later became the Maum Hotel, owned by the family of Lord Leitrim for many years; it now operates as Keane's Pub. The area has several B&B establishments, and there is a hotel complex and service station at Maam Cross. Many community facilities are provided from Leenaun. There is free fishing in the river and the nearer parts of the lake, and a jetty was built by Maam Bridge to facilitate angling access.

Name

Location and access

History

Features

See also