Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also an electoral division.

Geography

The village lies at the head of Kinvara Bay, known in Irish as ''Cinn Mhara'' (or more recently ''Cuan Cinn Mhara''), an inlet in the south-eastern corner of

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 ...

, from which the village took its name. It lies in the north of the barony of

Kiltartan Kiltartan is a barony and civil parish in County Galway, Ireland. The southern portion of this barony was formerly known as Cenél Áeda na hEchtge or O'Shaughnessy's Country, the northern portion was called Coill Ua bhFiachrach (the territory o ...

, close to the border with

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

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 118,81 ...

, in the province of Munster. The townland of Kinvarra lies in the

of Kinvarradoorus. This civil parish is bounded on the north by

, on the east by the parishes of Ballinderreen (Killeenavarra) and Ardrahan, on the south by the parishes of

Gort Gort ( or ) is a town of around 3,000 inhabitants in County Galway in the west of Ireland. Located near the border with County Clare, the town lies between the Burren and the Slieve Aughty and is served by the R458 and R460 regional roads, wh ...

( Kilmacduagh) and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

( Kilkeedy) and on the west by the parishes of

Carron Carron may refer to: Rivers * River Carron, Forth, a river in Central Scotland * River Carron, Wester Ross * River Carron, Sutherland * Carron River (Queensland), a river in Australia * Carron Water, Aberdeenshire, a river that flows into the Nort ...

and New Quay (

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The con ...

and Oughtmama). It is roughly coextensive with the Ó hEidhin territory of Coill Ua bhFiachrach (wood of the Uí Fhiachrach), and this name was still in use in the mid-19th century as recorded by John O'Donovan in his Ordnance Survey letters.

History

Early history

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include a number of promontory fort and

ring fort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

sites in the surrounding townlands of Dungory West, Ballybranagan and Loughcurra North. There are similar sites, as well as the ruins of lime kiln and 18th century

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in some ...

, within Kinvarra townland itself.

Dunguaire Castle

Dunguaire Castle ( 'lit'', the Castle of Guaire, a 16th-century towerhouse of the ' (O'Hynes) clan, is located to the east of the village. A Fearadhach Ó hEidhin (Faragh O'Hynes) is recorded as the owner of the castle in a 1574 list of castles and their owners covering County Galway. This list was thought to have been compiled for the use of the Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney who planned the composition of Connacht. Viewofkinvara

Terry Alts

The Terry Alt agrarian resistance movement of the early 19th century was active in the Kinvara area. In 1831, a large force of Terry Alts gathered on the Galway/Clare border on Abbey Hill between Kinvara and New Quay in County Clare, and challenged the (British) army to battle. They, however, dispersed before the arrival of the soldiers. They also unsuccessfully attempted to ambush a body of infantry at Corranroo in the west of the parish, which led to the death of one of their members.

Population

The Great Famine in the 1840s, and a series of emigrations that continued until the 1960s, reduced the population of the village – once a thriving port and exporter of corn and seaweed – to no more than a few hundred people. In the 25 years between the 1991 and 2016 census, the population of Kinvara increased by 170%, from 425 to 734 people.

Religion

In the Catholic Church, the

ecclesiastical parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of Kinvara is part of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora The Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora ( ga, Deoise na Gaillimhe, Chill Mhic Duaich agus Chill Fhionnúrach) is a Roman Catholic diocese in the west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject ...

. Churches within Kinvara parish include Saint Colman's Church (built 1819) and Saint Joseph's Church (built 1877). Saint Joseph's Presbytery, formerly a convent, dates to . Kinvara lies within the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...

united

Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe The Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe (''Full title'': The United Dioceses of Limerick, Ardfert, Aghadoe, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh and Emly) was a former diocese of the Church of Ireland that was located in mid-western Irel ...

Festivals

Kinvara is home every year to two festivals, ' ("the cuckoo festival") an Irish music festival at the start of May and the ''Cruinniú na mBád'' ("gathering of the boats") in mid August.

Sports

Kinvara is home to

Kinvara GAA Kinvara GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in the town of Kinvara in County Galway, Ireland. The club is almost exclusively concerned with hurling but also plays Gaelic Football at Junior level. History The club was formed as K ...

, a Gaelic Athletic Association club. The club is almost exclusively concerned with hurling but also plays Gaelic football at Junior level.

Notable people

* Ailbhe of Ceann Mhara, 9th century cleric * Coman of Kinvara, early medieval saint * Francis Fahy, composer and poet, wrote the song "

" * Celia Lynch, politician * P. J. Mara, public affairs consultant and senator, was buried in Kinvara * Peter Martyn, judge * Eoghan Ó hEidhin, died 1340, King of Uí Fiachrach Aidhne *

John Prine John Edward Prine (; October 10, 1946 – April 7, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter of country-folk music. He was active as a composer, recording artist, live performer, and occasional actor from the early 1970s until his death. He ...

, American country country folk singer-songwriter, had a home in Kinvara. * Mathilda Twomey, Chief Justice of the Seychelles, first female holder of that office * Conor Whelan, hurler * Máire Whelan, judge and 30th

Attorney General of Ireland The Attorney General of Ireland ( ga, An tArd-Aighne) is a constitutional officer who is the legal adviser to the Government and is therefore the chief law officer of the State. The attorney general is not a member of the Government but does pa ...

from 2011 to 2017; first woman to hold this position.

References

{{Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Towns and villages in County Galway