Editing Carraroe

{{Short description|Village in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2007}}
{{Infobox settlement
|name                   = Carraroe
|native_name            = {{lang|ga|An Cheathrú Rua}}
|settlement_type        = Village
|image_skyline          = Coral_Beach,_An_Cheathru_Rua_Theas,_Co_Galway_-_geograph.org.uk_-_338088.jpg 
|image_caption          =
|pushpin_map            = Ireland
|pushpin_label_position = right
|pushpin_map_caption    = Location in Ireland
|subdivision_type       = Country
|subdivision_name       = Ireland
|subdivision_type1      = [[Provinces of Ireland|Province]]
|subdivision_name1      = [[Connacht]]
|subdivision_type3      = [[Counties of Ireland|County]]
|subdivision_name3      = [[County Galway]]
|established_title      =
|established_date       =
|unit_pref              = Metric
|area_footnotes         =
|area_total_km2         =
|population_footnotes   = <ref name=cso2016>{{cite web | url = http://census.cso.ie/sapmap2016/Results.aspx?Geog_Type=ST2016&Geog_Code=7D2B1C2A-B07E-4FC2-92C2-9E03DA5F3024 | title = Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements An Cheathrú Rua | publisher = [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)]] | access-date = 22 February 2019}}</ref>
|population_as_of       = [[2016 census of Ireland|2016]]
|population             = 781 
|coordinates            = {{coord|53.2656|-9.5836|dim:5000_region:IE|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes    =
|elevation_m            =
|blank_name             = [[Irish grid reference system|Irish Grid Reference]]
|blank_info             = {{iem4ibx|L943250}}
|website                =
}}
'''Carraroe''' (in [[Irish language|Irish]], and officially, {{lang|ga|an Cheathrú Rua}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=An Cheathrú Rua/Carrowroe |url=https://www.logainm.ie/en/1165719 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240227114643/https://www.logainm.ie/en/1165719 |archive-date=27 February 2024 |access-date=18 September 2010 |website=[[Placenames Database of Ireland]] |language=en}}</ref> {{IPA|ga|ənˠ ˌça(h)ɾˠuː ˈɾˠuə}},<ref>{{Cite web |title=How to pronounce An Cheathrú Rua |url=http://www.forvo.com/word/an_cheathrú_rua/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130828123111/http://www.forvo.com/word/an_cheathr%C3%BA_rua/ |archive-date=28 August 2013 |access-date=28 August 2013 |website=[[forvo.com]]}}</ref> meaning 'the red quarter') is a village in [[Connemara]], the coastal Irish-speaking region ([[Gaeltacht]]) of [[County Galway]], Ireland. It is known for its traditional fishing boats, the [[Galway Hooker]]s. Its population is widely dispersed over the Carraroe peninsula between ''Cuan an Fhir Mhóir'' (Greatman's Bay) and ''Cuan Chasla'' (Casla Bay). Carraroe has an unusual beach, ''Trá an Dóilín'', a biogenic gravel beach made of [[coralline algae]] known as "[[maerl]]".

== Galway hookers ==
[[File:Carraroe boats.jpg|thumb|Galway hookers in Greatmans Bay]]
{{Main|Galway hooker}}
Galway Hookers are a distinctive form of native Irish boat, and Carraroe hosts an annual regatta of these vessels.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://visitgalway.ie/event/feile-an-doilin-regatta/ | website = visitgalway.ie | title = Féile an Dóilín Regatta | accessdate = 16 February 2021 }}</ref> As of 2006 this event, which is named ''Féile an Dóilín'' after the area's "coral strand", was the largest ever regatta of Galway hookers.{{Citation needed|date=February 2007}} The main boats are the larger ''Báid Mhóra'' (big boats) and ''Leathbháid'' (half-boats), which in earlier times were used for hauling [[peat|turf]] from the peat bogs in Connemara to the [[Aran Islands]] and [[The Burren]] of [[County Clare]], where peat is absent. The smaller boats are the ''Gleoiteoga'', which were traditionally used for fishing. These boats can be found at Sruthán Pier, which is the main pier in Carraroe and in the ''Caladh Thadhg'' area.

The main activity of these boats is racing, and there are several regattas along the Connemara coast.  Currach racing is held on ''Loch an Mhuilinn'', the lake close to the village. Every year at the festival of ''Cruinniú na mBád'', a flotilla of traditional Connemara boats race across Galway Bay from Carraroe to [[Kinvara]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

== Irish language ==
[[Image:Caladh Thadhg lake.jpg|thumb|Caladh Thadhg lake frozen 25 December 2010]]

Irish (specifically the [[Connacht Irish|Connacht dialect]]) is the main spoken language of Carraroe, the settlement being the most populous Irish-speaking village in the Connemara Gaeltacht.{{citation needed|date=May 2012}}

In the 2022 census, Carraroe was a town with one of the highest percentages of daily Irish speakers in Ireland, with 69 percent stating that they spoke it daily.<ref name="2022profile8">{{Cite report |url=https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpp8/census2022profile8-theirishlanguageandeducation/irishlanguageandthegaeltacht/ |title=Irish Language and the Gaeltacht – CSO – Central Statistics Office |date=2023-12-19 |publisher=[[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)|Central Statistics Office]] |language=en |access-date=17 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240814061749/https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpp8/census2022profile8-theirishlanguageandeducation/irishlanguageandthegaeltacht/ |archive-date=14 August 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> Under the ''Gaeltacht Act 2012'', the Gaeltacht was redefined into 26 Language Planning Areas. Of these, Carraroe area recorded the third-largest proportion of daily Irish speakers in Ireland in the 2022 census, at 90 percent.<ref name="2022profile8" />

There are two summer schools that teach Irish to English-speaking secondary-school students from all over Ireland. The Carraroe area is also a centre for Irish-language media, and the former national Irish-language newspaper ''[[Foinse]]'' had its head office in the village. The Irish-language radio station, [[RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta]], is in nearby [[Casla]], and the Irish-language television station, [[TG4]], is based at [[Baile na hAbhann]], a few kilometres east. Roman Catholic church services are in Irish only. All school lessons are conducted in Irish.

== Beach ==
''Trá an Dóilín'' is a [[Blue Flag beach]] near the village which is noted for its fine "coral".<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.discoverireland.ie/galway/tra-an-doilin-coral-strand| website = discoverireland.ie | title = Trá an Dóilín (Coral Strand) | accessdate = 16 February 2021 }}</ref> Though the beach is known in English as "Coral Strand", it is actually made of [[coralline algae]] known as [[maerl]]. This biogenic gravel beach is rare and of great conservation importance.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

== Education ==
[[File:Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain.jpg|thumb|upright|Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain]]
''Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain'' (Máirtín Ó Cadhain House) is one of the Gaeltacht centres of ''Oifig na Gaeilge Labhartha'' (the Department of Spoken Irish) of the [[National University of Ireland, Galway]].<ref name="nuig">{{cite web|url = https://www.nuigalway.ie/acadamh/ionaid/ancheathrurua/ | language = Irish | title = NUIG – Colleges & Schools – Ionaid – An Cheathrú Rua | website = nuigalway.ie | accessdate = 16 February 2021 }}</ref> The facility opened in 1977.<ref name="nuig"/> The centre is named in honour of [[Máirtín Ó Cadhain]], author of ''[[Cré na Cille]]'' ('Graveyard Clay').{{citation needed|date=May 2013}}

== Sport ==
{{anchor|Páirc an Chathanaigh}}<!-- [[Páirc an Chathanaigh]] redirects here --> ''Páirc an Chathanaigh'' is a community-owned sports ground in the village. It is the home ground of both [[Gaelic football]] club [[CLG An Cheathrú Rua]] and An Ghaeltacht RFC [[rugby union]] club.<ref name="irishexaminer858614">{{cite news |last1=Leogue |first1=Joe |title=Questions linger but Páirc saga resolved for now |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/specialreports/questionslinger-but-pairc-saga-resolved-for-now-858614.html |access-date=30 July 2018 |work=Irish Examiner |date=30 July 2018}}</ref> It also hosted [[Galway United F.C.]]'s [[1986–87 UEFA Cup]] soccer match against [[FC Groningen]] when [[Terryland Park]] failed to meet UEFA standards.<ref name="irishexaminer858614"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Galway United v FC Groningen – Thirty Years Later |url=https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-united-v-fc-groingen-thirty-years-later/ |publisher=Galway Bay FM |access-date=30 July 2018 |date=14 September 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730203020/https://galwaybayfm.ie/galway-united-v-fc-groingen-thirty-years-later/ |archive-date=30 July 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Local soccer club C.S. Mac Dara competes in the [[Galway & District League]]. Connemara Isles Golf Club is a nine-hole course in nearby [[Lettermore]].{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

== Transport ==
Carraroe is served by [[Bus Éireann]] route 424 from [[Galway]].<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.buseireann.ie/timetable/1264.pdf| website = buseireann.ie | title = Timetable (Galway – Carraroe – Lettermullen/Carna) Route 424 | accessdate = 16 February 2021 }}</ref>

== Popular culture==
The village is mentioned in the lyrics of the [[The Waterboys|Waterboys]]' 1993 hit "[[Glastonbury Song]]", which refers to several Irish and British sites associated with ancient Celtic ritual:{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}
:''We came down from the hill of dreams''
:''Bernadette, mother earth and you and me''
:''Through Carraroe, down the wildwood side.''

The town gives its name to the traditional tune "Carraroe Jig". The jig has been recorded by several artists, including [[Patrick Street]], [[Mick Moloney]] and [[The Corrs]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thesession.org/tunes/771|title=The Carraroe (Jig) on the Session}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=February 2021}}

Carraroe is the home of the fictional Nuala Anne McGrail, heroine of novelist Andrew Greeley's "Irish" series which began with ''Irish Gold'' in 1994.{{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

== Notable people ==
{{See also|Category:People from Carraroe}}

*[[Charles Lamb (painter)|Charles Lamb]] (1893–1964), artist, lived in Carraroe from 1921 until his death<ref>{{Cite book |last=McConkey |first=Kenneth |url=http://archive.org/details/irishart186019600000mcco |title=Irish art, 1860–1960: a free spirit |publisher=Antique Collectors' Club in association with Pyms Gallery |others=Internet Archive |year=1990 |isbn=978-1-85149-127-8 |location=London |pages=155}}</ref>
*[[Tomás Mac Eoin]], sean-nós singer, lives in An Cheathrú Rua<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.rte.ie/news/connacht/2020/1103/1175664-connemara-singer/ | publisher = RTÉ | title = Connemara singer receives lifetime achievement award | date = 3 November 2020 | accessdate = 17 May 2024 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland|List of towns and villages in Ireland]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Wikivoyage}}
{{commons category|Carraroe}}
*[http://www.clgcrua.com CLG An Cheathrú Rua] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210416151523/http://www.clgcrua.com/ |date=16 April 2021 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20130227005844/http://anghaeltacht.net/ctg/catagoira.pdf Carraroe Population Stats 2006] (archived)
*[http://ancheathrurua.ie/ AnCheathrúRua.ie]

{{Gaeltacht}}
{{County Galway}}

[[Category:Towns and villages in Connemara]]
[[Category:Gaeltacht places in County Galway]]
[[Category:Gaeltacht towns and villages]]