Ruan () is a village and

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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

County Clare County Clare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster in the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern part of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council ...

, Ireland. It is in the Catholic parish of Dysart and Ruan.

Location

Ruan is near

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

and between Corofin, County Clare, Corofin,

Crusheen Crusheen () is a small village in County Clare, Ireland, in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Crusheen (Inchicronan). Location The village is 10 kilometres northeast of Ennis on the R458 road (Ireland), R458 road to Gort. It is in ...

and

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in Cou ...

. Ennis is the nearest major town, 10 km to the south. The name Ruan () is an old Irish term for the alder tree, at one time used to make red dye. The parish contains Dromore Lake. Dromore wood is a wildlife sanctuary, with diverse flora and fauna including badgers, pine martens, squirrels and foxes. There are two self-guiding nature trails. The five lakes of Dromore are rich in fish. Ruan contains the parish church of St Mary's. The church's spire caught fire and collapsed after a lightning strike in December 2024. The Catholic parish of Dysart and Ruan has its parish office in Ruan. In 1977 a new school was opened on the outskirts of Ruan village, and the old school became a Community Hall used for indoor sports and social events.

History

In 1837 fairs were held twice yearly at Ruan. The sheep fair of 26 September was one of the most important in the county. At that time the villages of Ruan and Dysert each held a police station and each had a public school, educating about 660 children in all. Ruan railway station on the West Clare line opened in 1888 and closed on 1 October 1921. Early in the morning of 18 October 1920 Ruan barracks was attacked by 32 men of the

Irish Republican Army The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is a name used by various Resistance movement, resistance organisations in Ireland throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. Organisations by this name have been dominantly Catholic and dedicated to anti-imperiali ...

(IRA) Mid-Clare Brigade. One member of the

Royal Irish Constabulary The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the island was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom. A sep ...

(RIC) was killed and two wounded. The IRA men captured 15 rifles and 14 revolvers.

Notable people

* Mary Francis Bridgeman, nun and nurse * Cyril Lyons, hurler * Sharon Shannon,

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

-player and traditional Irish musician * Jimmy Smyth, hurler

Townlands

The civil parish contains the townlands of Addroon, Ballaghboy, Ballyharraghan, Ballymacrogan East, Ballymacrogan West, Ballyteige East, Ballyteige West, Ballyogan Beg, Ballyogan More, Bealickania, Bealnalicka, Caherlough, Cahermacrea, Cloonfeaghra, Cloonnagloghaun, Cooga, Dromeen, Dromore, Drumcavan, Foilrim, Garvillaun, Gorteen, Gregmoher, Kilkee East, Kilkee West, Killeen, Lisduff, Lisheenvicknaheeha, Lismuinga East, Lismuinga West, Lissyline, Loughaunnaweelaun, Moymore, Moyree Commons, Nooan, Ooankeagh, Portlecka, Ranaghan, Rathcahaun, Rathvergin, Rinelea, Rinneen, Ruan Commons, Teermulmoney, Teernea, Teernea Commons, Tonlegee, Toormore, Tullymackan and Tullyodea.

References

External links