Roundstone () is a village on the west coast of

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 ...

, in the

Connemara Connemara (; )( ga, Conamara ) is a region on the 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-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

region of County Galway. Lying opposite the island of Inishnee on Roundstone Bay, by road it is northwest of

Galway 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 on ...

and southeast 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 Capi ...

. Known as a haven for people in the creative arts, it hosts an annual regatta in July.

Etymology

The anglicised name is usually considered an error on the part of the British colonial

Ordnance Survey Ordnance Survey (OS) is the national mapping agency for Great Britain. The agency's name indicates its original military purpose (see ordnance and surveying), which was to map Scotland in the wake of the Jacobite rising of 1745. There was a ...

, which translated the village name; while ''Cloch'' certainly means "stone" or "rock", ''Rón'' means "

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to imp ...

", not "round". Still, the names Cloch na Rón and Roundstone may be totally independent. The bay is referred to as Round-stone Haven as early as 1684 (Roderick O'Flaherty), and the rock after which it is named stands like a marker at the entrance and is strikingly round.

History

The area to the north of Roundstone was occupied by the O'Flaherty family, who built a Dominican Priory about to the north of what is now Roundstone in the 15th century. Roundstone was established by 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 in ...

in the 1820s, while building houses, roads and harbours throughout the West of Ireland. Fishermen from Scotland settled here, and in 1835 a Franciscan Monastery was built. By the end of 1840s it had a thriving fishing industry and a population of 400 people.roundstonevillage.ie
Retrieved 17 March 2020.

Culture

Roundstone is known as a home for creativity and the arts. For many years some of the most important figures in Irish Art have painted there, including Paul Henry, Jack B. Yeats, Gerard Dillon and

Nano Reid Nano, Nano-, NANO or NaNo may refer to: People * Nano (singer) (born 1988), Japanese-American J-pop singer * Nano Omar (born 1986), Swedish singer * Nano Riantiarno (born 1949), Indonesian director * Agnese Nano (born 1965), Italian actress * ...

. Yvonne Kings Studio and the Stable Gallery are notable galleries in the village. The local Summerfest and regatta is held in July. Traditional Irish Nights are held weekly throughout July and August and offers music, song and dance from the Connemara area. Rock star Sting had a home in Roundstone in the early 1980s, where he wrote most of the songs for

The Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...

’s third album, ''

Zenyatta Mondatta ''Zenyatta Mondatta'' (stylised as ''Zenyattà Mondatta'' on the album cover artwork) is the third studio album by English rock band the Police, released on 3 October 1980 by A&M Records. It was co-produced by the band and Nigel Gray. ''Zenyatt ...

''. Roundstone is twinned with the village of Noyelles-sous-Lens (a suburb of Lens, Pas-de-Calais) in France. Films shot in Roundstone include ''

The Mackintosh Man ''The Mackintosh Man'' is a 1973 British Cold War neo noir Spy film, spy thriller film, directed by John Huston and starring Paul Newman, Dominique Sanda and James Mason. Huston called it "a spy thriller with some amusing moments" that was simil ...

'' (1973) by John Huston, '' Into the West'' (1992) by Mike Newell, ''

The Matchmaker ''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been exte ...

'' (1997) by Mark Joffe, ''

Marley & Me ''Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog'' is an autobiographical book by journalist John Grogan, published in 2005, about the 13 years he and his family spent with their yellow Labrador Retriever, Marley. The dog is poorly be ...

'' (2008) by

David Frankel David Frankel (born April 2, 1959) is an American filmmaker. Most known as the director of 2006 film, '' The Devil Wears Prada'', he is an executive producer and the director of the first and fourth episodes of the Netflix miniseries ''Inventing ...

and '' Love Me No More'' (2008) by Jean Becker. The six-part drama series, ''North Sea Connection'' was filmed there in 2021.

Transport

The village is connected to the rest of the national road network via a regional road, the R341, which connects it to the N59.

Gallery

Image:Roundstone_Regatta_2008_0001.jpg, Two hookers at the Roundstone Regatta 2008 Image:Roundstone Village during the annual Roundstone Regatta.jpg, Roundstone village during the Roundstone Regatta weekend in 2008 Image:Roundstone - geograph.org.uk - 305758.jpg, The view of Galway Bay from Roundstone Image:Roundstone_01.jpg, Northbound on the R341 road in Roundstone

References

External links

Tourist information site
{{County Galway Towns and villages in County Galway