An Clochán (anglicized as Cloghane; from ''
clochán
A clochán (plural clocháin) or beehive hut is a dry-stone hut with a corbelled roof, commonly associated with the south-western Irish seaboard. The precise construction date of most of these structures is unknown with the buildings belonging ...
'', a local type of dry-stone hut) is a village and
townland
A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...
on the
Dingle Peninsula
The Dingle Peninsula ( ga, Corca Dhuibhne; anglicised as Corkaguiny, the name of the corresponding barony) is the northernmost of the major peninsulas in County Kerry. It ends beyond the town of Dingle at Dunmore Head, the westernmost point ...
of
County Kerry
County Kerry ( gle, Contae Chiarraí) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and forms part of the province of Munster. It is named after the Ciarraige who lived in part of the present county. The population of the co ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...
, at the foot of
Mount Brandon
Mount Brandon or Brandon (), at , is one of the ten highest peaks in Ireland, being the 8th–highest peak in Ireland on the Arderin list, and the 9th–highest on the Vandeleur-Lynam list. Brandon is the highest Irish mountain outside the Ma ...
. In 1974 the village was added to the Corca Dhuibhne
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 reco ...
(Irish-speaking region). It has a population of 297 (2011 Census).
Cloghane and
Brandon (''An Clochán agus Cé Bhréanainn'') are jointly
twinned with the village of
Plozévet in
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
(
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
).
The village is set at the foot of Mount Brandon, on the north of the Dingle Peninsula and overlooking Brandon Bay. The village is on the Wild Atlantic Way tourism trail.
An Clochán was the subject of a controversial and influential anthropological study by Nancy Scheper Hughes in the early 1970s, published as "Saints, Scholars and Schizophrenics: Mental Illness in Rural Ireland".
History
According to ''
A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland
Samuel Lewis (c. 1782 – 1865) was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in 'a condensed form', a faithful and impartial description ...
'' by
Samuel Lewis, the town's population stood at around 222 people in 1837.
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
Towns and villages in County Kerry
Gaeltacht towns and villages
Gaeltacht places in County Kerry
{{Kerry-geo-stub