Jump to content

Spiddal: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 53°14′39″N 9°18′21″W / 53.24418°N 9.3059°W / 53.24418; -9.3059
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
AnomieBOT (talk | contribs)
m Dating maintenance tags: {{Fact}}
Add refs. Update text to match refs. Other copyedits.
Line 44: Line 44:
==Facilities==
==Facilities==
[[File:An Spidéal 131104-1.jpg|thumb|Old harbour]]
[[File:An Spidéal 131104-1.jpg|thumb|Old harbour]]
There are a number of shops and services in the area. On the eastern side of the village is ''An Cheardlann'' ('the workshop' in [[Irish language|Irish]]), a craft village.
There are a number of pubs, shops and other services in the area. Spiddal's [[Garda Síochána|Garda]] station is on Mountain Road.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://vha.ie/project/spiddal-garda-station/ | website = vha.ie | publisher = Vincent Hannon Architects | title = Spiddal Garda Station | accessdate = 3 April 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.galwaydaily.com/news/planning-permission-sought-for-new-garda-station-in-spiddal/ | work = Galway Daily | title = Planning permission sought for new Garda station in Spiddal | date = 28 May 2021 | accessdate = 3 April 2024 }}</ref> On the eastern side of the village is ''An Cheardlann'' ('the workshop' in [[Irish language|Irish]]), a craft village.


There is a primary school and a secondary school in the village. Coláiste Chonnacht and Coláiste Lurgan are two local [[Irish medium education|Irish language schools]].
There is a primary school and a secondary school in the village. Coláiste Chonnacht and Coláiste Lurgan are two local [[Irish medium education|Irish language schools]].

Revision as of 12:02, 3 April 2024

Spiddal
An Spidéal
Spiddle
Village
Main Street (R336 road)
Main Street (R336 road)
Spiddal is located in Ireland
Spiddal
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°14′39″N 9°18′21″W / 53.24418°N 9.3059°W / 53.24418; -9.3059
CountryIreland
ProvinceConnacht
CountyCounty Galway
Population254
Irish grid referenceM130225
In statute law, the village's official name is An Spidéal, or in the English language, Spiddle.[2]
The Pier, Spiddal

Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish and official name: An Spidéal, pronounced [ənˠ ˈsˠpʲɪdʲeːlˠ], meaning 'the hospital'),[3] is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is 18 kilometres (11 mi) west of Galway city, on the R336 road. It is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) and of the Connemara region. According to the 2022 census, approximately 75% of the population are Irish-speaking and, of these, approximately 40% speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system.[1] It is a centre for tourism with a beach, harbour, and shore fishing. The village is part of the civil parish of Moycullen.

Name

The name of the village in Irish, An Spidéal, derives from the word ospidéal, which in turn derived from the Insular French, or Anglo-Normand, word 'ospitel'.[4]

The name originates from a medieval leper hospital situated in An Spidéal Thiar. A number of other hospital facilities were based in the area over the years, including a famine hospital during the Great Famine of the mid-1840s. While 'Spiddle' is recorded, in the Placenames Database of Ireland, as the English variant of the name, 'Spiddal' is used locally.[5]

History

Spiddal like much of the west of Ireland suffered greatly during the Great Famine, with many people being evicted and many people starving. Appeals were made by the parish priest John O'Grady and by A.W. Blake, as a result the board of works employed some local men in the improvements to the harbour in Spiddal.[6]

From 1848 the evangelical Protestant Irish Church Missions were active, establishing the Connemara Orphan's Nursery (Spiddal Orphanage/Nead Le Farrige) in the early 1850s,[7][8] the home could accommodate up to 90 boys and girls, and became affiliated to the Protestant-run Smyly Homes (and was even referred to as The Bird's Nest, the name of the Dublin home).[9] Following its closure as an orphanage, it became a secondary school for girls run by the Catholic Sisters of Mercy.

Facilities

Old harbour

There are a number of pubs, shops and other services in the area. Spiddal's Garda station is on Mountain Road.[10][11] On the eastern side of the village is An Cheardlann ('the workshop' in Irish), a craft village.

There is a primary school and a secondary school in the village. Coláiste Chonnacht and Coláiste Lurgan are two local Irish language schools.

The village is served by Bus Éireann route 424 from Galway City. The Boluisce river flows south from Boluisce Lake and enters Galway Bay at Spiddal.[12]

Culture and sport

Each summer, groups of Irish teenagers visit Spiddal for three-week Irish language courses. American students visit for the autumn semester each year to study Irish-language literature and culture.[citation needed]

Live traditional Irish music is regularly performed in the village's pubs.[citation needed] The music group The Waterboys recorded part of their Fisherman's Blues album in Spiddal. They also recorded a song called Spring Comes to Spiddal on their album Room to Roam. The television series Ros na Rún is filmed there, and broadcast on TG4.

The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Cumann Lúthchleas Gael An Spidéal, with Gaelic football and hurling being the most popular sports. There is also a sailing club in the village.

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Census Mapping - Towns: An Spidéal - 2022 - Population Snapshot". Census 2022. Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  2. ^ "I.R. Uimh. 872/2004 -An tOrdú Logainmneacha (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) 2004". irishstatutebook.ie (in Irish). 2004.
  3. ^ "An Spidéal / Spiddle". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
  4. ^ "oispidéal". Wiktionary. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  5. ^ "An Spidéal". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 31 March 2024. town [..] An Spidéal [..] Spiddle (English) [..] Other names: Spiddal local name (English)
  6. ^ "Spiddal". www.oughterardheritage.org.
  7. ^ "The Protestant Missions in Connemara, Miriam Moffitt". www.connemaraheritage.org. 28 January 2012.
  8. ^ "An unseemly brawl of god and scripture". Galway Advertiser. 13 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Spiddal Orphan Home". childrenshomes.org.uk.
  10. ^ "Spiddal Garda Station". vha.ie. Vincent Hannon Architects. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  11. ^ "Planning permission sought for new Garda station in Spiddal". Galway Daily. 28 May 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Owenboliskey River". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  13. ^ "Death of TV producer and Tourmakeady native". mayonews.ie.