Toombeola, (

Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was ...

- ''Tuaim Beola''), is a village in

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 ...

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 ...

. It is located near the Atlantic Coast, west of

Galway City Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city o ...

, east of Roundstone, and south east of

Clifden Clifden (, meaning "stepping stones") is a coastal town in County Galway, Ireland, in the region of Connemara, located on the Owenglin River where it flows into Clifden Bay. As the largest town in the region, it is often referred to as "the Cap ...

. The village is also known locally as ''The Fishery.'' The Owenmore River of the nearby fishery at

Ballynahinch, County Galway Ballynahinch or Ballinahinch () is a village in County Galway in the west of Ireland. It is situated close to Recess, on the road from Recess to Roundstone. It also lies on the route of the former railway line from Galway city to Clifden (th ...

, enters the sea at Toombeola Bridge. The bridge was completed in the early 1830s as part of road improvements in the Connemara area carried out by the Scottish engineer,

Alexander Nimmo Alexander Nimmo FRSE MRIA MICE HFGS (1783 – January 20, 1832) was a Scottish civil engineer and geologist active in early 19th-century Ireland. Life and career Nimmo was born in Cupar, Fife in 1783, the son of a watchmaker, and grew up i ...

History

The literal translation of Toombeola is ''Tomb of Beola''. Beola was an ancient chieftain in the

area. It is also the site of a Dominican Abbey, St Patricks, founded in 1427. The Abbey is now in ruins, although the surrounding cemetery remains in use. The abbey was built with the help of a local

Chieftain A tribal chief or chieftain is the leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribe The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of western Afroeurasia. Tribal societies are sometimes categori ...

of the O'Flaherty Clan (or

gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

Ó Flaithbertaigh Ó, ó ( o-acute) is a letter in the Czech, Emilian-Romagnol, Faroese, Hungarian, Icelandic, Kashubian, Polish, Slovak, and Sorbian languages. This letter also appears in the Afrikaans, Catalan, Dutch, Irish, Nynorsk, Bokmål, Occitan, Po ...

), who ruled over the Connemara region until the time of

King James II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

of England. The abbey was deserted by the Dominican Brothers between 1558 and 1559, during the early reign of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, following an attack by soldiers of the Crown. According to local lore, one of the last known Brothers to serve at the abbey, Fr. John Tully, swam across the Owenmore River in an effort to escape the attack, but was shot and killed by soldiers on the other side. Locals buried him at the site of his death, although traces of the grave no longer remain. Stones from the abbey were used by local chieftain, ''Tadgh na Buile O'Flaherty'', to build his castle, located at a small island on

Ballynahinch Lake Ballynahinch Lake () is a freshwater lake in the west of Ireland. It is located in the Connemara area of County Galway. Geography Ballynahinch Lake measures about long and wide. It is located about east of Clifden and about northwest of Gal ...

. A dispute over the ownership of the castle, led to a feud between Tadgh na Buile O'Flaherty and his cousin Teige Ó Flaithbheartaigh.

References

*http://places.galwaylibrary.ie/asp/fullresult.asp?id=49628 *http://www.geograph.ie/photo/836961 Towns and villages in County Galway {{Galway-geo-stub