Spiddal
Spiddal (Irish: An Spidéal) is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway in the Republic of Ireland. The town is 12 miles west of Galway city on the R336 road. Spiddal lies in a Gaeltacht area where Irish is spoken as the main language by most people. The language is coming under increasing pressure from the large number of English speakers moving into the area. Nowadays the majority of native speakers in the town will willingly address visitors in English, but do not wish to switch from Irish to English as the daily vernacular. Also, surprisingly in this area of Cois Fharraige, this view is held reasonably strongly by young families in the town too.
Spiddal is a vibrant friendly town where the people are bilingual in Irish and English. Every summer groups of teenagers come to Spiddal for 3 week Irish language courses. Signposts are in the Irish language. The town has 2 shops (one with a petrol station), and 4 restaurants (including a Supermac's franchise outlet). There are also a number of pubs in the town. On most weekend nights and sometimes during the week in summer time there is live traditional Irish music in the pubs. Hughes' pub in the centre of the village is famous for its traditional music sessions - don't be surprised to find some of the most famous traditional musicians in the country playing in a session here on one of the music nights. An Cruiscin Lan was another fantastic spot for music but it was recently transformed into a hotel by John Foye. The local Gaelic football team are the heart and soul of the parish. The players are currently managed by Headford man, Mike Buckley.
See also
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