Furbo or Furbogh (officially known as Na Forbacha in both Irish and English) is a settlement in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) 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-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

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 ...

, Ireland. As of the 2022 census, it had a population of 868 people. It lies along the coast, overlooking

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; Galway ...

, in a

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

( Irish speaking) area.

Location

Furbo lies between

Barna Barna (Bearna officially and in Irish) is a coastal village on the R336 regional road in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. 7 km west of the centre of Galway city, it has become a satellite village of Galway. The village is Irish speaki ...

and

Spiddal Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish language, Irish and official name: , , meaning 'the hospital'), is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road (Ireland), R336 road. It is o ...

on the coastal R336 road. It is a typical Gaeltacht-style settlement with no village centre, but rather comprises around fourteen

townlands A townland (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Outer Hebrides, Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Middle Ages, medieval Gael ...

, most of which run north to south from the bog to the foreshore. Furbo (officially ''Na Forbacha'') spans the townlands of Cnocán an Bhodaigh, an Straidhp, an tSaoirsin, Baile na hAbhann, na Poillíní, Doire Uachtair, Aill an Phréacháin, an Coisméig Mór, na Forbacha Garbha, Seanadh Fhréachóg, and Cnoc na Gréine.

Irish language

Located in a

area, Irish is the main language used in the local school, church and at community meetings. The headquarters of the Gaeltacht Authority,

Údarás na Gaeltachta Údarás na Gaeltachta (; meaning "Gaeltacht Authority"), abbreviated UnaG, is a regional state agency which is responsible for the economic, social and cultural development of Irish-speaking (Gaeltacht) regions of Ireland. Its stated purpose i ...

, is located in Na Forbacha. The figure for those who self-report as speaking Irish daily is 39%. Housing developments in the area have a requirement that 80% plus of housing units are reserved for Irish speakers.

Amenities

Furbo has a large community pitch (the Sportlann) which is used by several sports groups. These include the local

hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...

club (

Bearna/Na Forbacha GAA Bearna/Na Forbacha GAA is a hurling club located in the Barna and Furbo areas of County Galway, Ireland. It is a member of the Galway GAA branch of the Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish in ...

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

club ( CLG Bhearna), and soccer club (Bearna Na Forbacha Aontaithe). The local

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church is Our Lady Star of the Sea church (''Séipéal Mhuire Réalt na Mara''). It is in the parish of Bearna & na Forbacha in the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora The Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora () is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in the west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Tuam and is subject to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Roma ...

. A

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

, alongside the church, dates to . The national (primary) school, Scoil na bhForbacha, had an enrollment of over 200 pupils as of 2023.

Notable people

John Henry Blake John Henry Blake (1808 – 29 June 1882) was a murdered Irish land agent. Biography John Henry Blake was the third and youngest son of Lieutenant-Colonel John Blake of Furbo, County Galway and Maria Galway of Cork. He was a member of one of Th ...

(1808–1882), land agent *

Diarmuid Ó Gráinne Diarmuid Ó Gráinne (10 May 1950 – 28 August 2013) was an Irish-language writer and journalist from the County Galway Gaeltacht. He wrote for the newspaper, ''Lá'' and featured on Raidió na Gaeltachta. He released a number of books, perhap ...

(1950–2013), writer and journalist *

Helenus Milmo Sir Helenus Patrick Joseph Milmo, DL (born Helenus Padraic Seosamh Milmo; 24 August 1908 – 30 August 1988)"Ireland, Civil Registration Indexes, 1845–1958" index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FBPQ-R6B; accessed 12 M ...

(1908–1988), Irish lawyer in Britain and High Court judge, and member of

MI5 MI5 ( Military Intelligence, Section 5), officially the Security Service, is the United Kingdom's domestic counter-intelligence and security agency and is part of its intelligence machinery alongside the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6), Gov ...

References

{{County Galway Towns and villages in County Galway Gaeltacht places in County Galway Gaeltacht towns and villages

Location

Irish language

Amenities

Notable people

See also

References