Cashel () is a village in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, in the province of

Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is located west of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

city and southeast of

Clifden Clifden () 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 Capital of Connemara". Frequen ...

, on the coast.

History

The name ''Cashel'' derives from the Irish ''Caiseal'', referring to the stone

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

surrounding the old part of the cemetery in Caiseal Ard/High Cashel, whose remains lie on the slope of a mountain about 1 km north-east of the town. To the west is Toombeola Bridge, near which are the remains of a Dominican Abbey, founded in 1427, by one of the O'Flaherty clan which held sway over Connemara until the rule of

James II of England James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Monarchy of Ireland, Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II of England, Charles II, on 6 February 1 ...

. In 1969, the Général de Gaulle spent two weeks in Cashel, between 23 May and 3 June after he resigned the presidency of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, in Cashel House Hotel.http://www.connemaraireland.com/cashel/ Connemara Ireland: Cashel. Retrieved 27 December 2006. File:Cashel House Hotel-001.JPG, Cashel House Hotel File:Cashel House Hotel-012.JPG, Guestbook File:Cashel House Hotel-003.JPG, Plaque File:Cashel (comté de Galway) - Vue panoramique.JPG, Coastal panorama

References

{{coord, 53.3701, N, 9.82244, W, source:kolossus-dewiki, display=title Towns and villages in County Galway