Kinvara

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Village in south County Galway, Ireland

title: "Kinvara" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["mass-rocks", "massacres-in-the-wars-of-the-three-kingdoms", "towns-and-villages-in-county-galway"] description: "Village in south County Galway, Ireland" topic_path: "general/mass-rocks" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinvara" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Village in south County Galway, Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

FieldValue
settlement_typeVillage
nameKinvara
native_name
native_name_langga
image_skylineDungory Castle - geograph.org.uk - 887251.jpg
image_captionDunguaire Castle
pushpin_mapIreland
pushpin_label_positionright
pushpin_map_captionLocation in Ireland
coordinates
blank_name_sec1Irish Grid Reference
blank_info_sec1
subdivision_typeCountry
subdivision_nameIreland
subdivision_type1Province
subdivision_name1Connacht
subdivision_type2County
subdivision_name2County Galway
unit_prefMetric
elevation_m10
population_as_of2022
population_total721
population_footnotes
area_code_typeDialing code
area_code091
::

::callout[type=note] the village in south County Galway ::

|settlement_type = Village |name = Kinvara |native_name = |native_name_lang = ga |image_skyline = Dungory Castle - geograph.org.uk - 887251.jpg |image_caption = Dunguaire Castle |pushpin_map = Ireland |pushpin_label_position = right |pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland |coordinates = |blank_name_sec1 = Irish Grid Reference |blank_info_sec1 = |subdivision_type = Country |subdivision_name = Ireland |subdivision_type1 = Province |subdivision_name1 = Connacht |subdivision_type2 = County |subdivision_name2 = County Galway |unit_pref = Metric |elevation_m = 10 |population_as_of = 2022 |population_total = 721 |population_footnotes = |area_code_type = Dialing code |area_code = 091

Kinvara or Kinvarra () is a sea port village in the southwest of County Galway, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of Kinvarradoorus in the north of the barony of Kiltartan. Kinvarra is also an electoral division.

Geography

The village lies at the head of Kinvara Bay, known in Irish as Cinn Mhara (or more recently Cuan Cinn Mhara), an inlet in the south-eastern corner of Galway Bay, from which the village took its name. It lies in the north of the barony of Kiltartan, near the Burren.

The townland of Kinvarra lies in the civil parish of Kinvarradoorus. This civil parish is bounded on the north by Galway Bay, on the east by the parishes of Ballinderreen (Killeenavarra) and Ardrahan, on the south by the parishes of Gort (Kilmacduagh) and Boston (Kilkeedy) and on the west by the parishes of Carron and New Quay (Abbey and Oughtmama). It is roughly coextensive with the Ó hEidhin territory of Coill Ua bhFiachrach (wood of the Uí Fhiachrach), and this name was still in use in the mid-19th century as recorded by John O'Donovan in his Ordnance Survey letters.

History

Early history

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area include a number of promontory fort and ring fort sites in the surrounding townlands of Dungory West, Ballybranagan and Loughcurra North. There are similar sites, as well as the ruins of lime kiln and 18th century windmill, within Kinvarra townland itself.

Dunguaire Castle

Main article: Dunguaire Castle

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c5/Dunloe_Castle.jpg" caption="Dún Guaire castle]]"] ::

Dunguaire Castle ( [lit, the Castle of Guaire]), a 16th-century towerhouse of the Ó hEidhin (O'Hynes) clan, is located to the east of the village. A Fearadhach Ó hEidhin (Faragh O'Hynes) is recorded as the owner of the castle in a 1574 list of castles and their owners covering County Galway. This list was thought to have been compiled for the use of the Lord Deputy Sir Henry Sidney who planned the composition of Connacht.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Viewofkinvara.JPG" caption="View of Kinvara from Dún Guaire Castle"] ::

Mass rock

The Poulnegan Altar, a Mass rock located near Kinvara, is known in Connaught Irish as Poll na gCeann ("chasm of the heads") and is said to have been the location of a massacre by the soldiers of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army. Historian Tony Nugent states that, "According to local tradition, there was a college nearby and some of the student monks were killed there by Cromwellian soldiers while attending Mass and their heads were thrown into a nearby chasm".

Terry Alts

The Terry Alts, an Irish agrarian secret society of the early 19th century, was active in the Kinvara area. In 1831, a large group of Terry Alts gathered between Kinvara and New Quay on Abbey Hill in County Clare, and challenged government troops to battle. The group dispersed before the troops arrived. They also unsuccessfully attempted to ambush a detachment of soldiers at Corranroo in the west of the parish, which led to the death of one of their members.

Population

The Great Famine in the 1840s, and a series of emigrations that continued until the 1960s, reduced the population of the village – once a thriving port and exporter of corn and seaweed – to no more than a few hundred people.

In the 25 years between the 1991 and 2016 census, the population of Kinvara increased by 70%, from 425 to 734 people.

Religion

In the Catholic Church, the ecclesiastical parish of Kinvara is part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora. Churches within Kinvara parish include Saint Colman's Church (built 1819) and Saint Joseph's Church (built 1877). Saint Joseph's Presbytery, formerly a convent, dates to .

Kinvara lies within the Church of Ireland united Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe.

Festivals

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Kinvara_Cinn_Mhara.jpg" caption="Street of Kinvara in 2007"] ::

Kinvara is home every year to two festivals, Fleadh na gCuach ("cuckoo festival") an Irish traditional music festival at the start of May and the Cruinniú na mBád ("gathering of the boats") in mid August.

Sports

Kinvara is home to Kinvara GAA, a Gaelic Athletic Association club. The club is almost exclusively concerned with hurling but also plays Gaelic football at Junior level.

Notable people

References

References

  1. "Profile 1 - Population Distribution and Movement F1015 - Population: Kinvara, Co. Galway". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland)]].
  2. "Cinn Mhara / Kinvarra (town)". Placenames Database of Ireland.
  3. "Kinvarra, 1:50,000". [[Ordnance Survey Ireland]].
  4. "Kinvarradoorus civil parish". Placenames Database of Ireland.
  5. "Cinn Mhara / Kinvarra (electoral division)". Placenames Database of Ireland.
  6. "Kinvarra Townland, Co. Galway".
  7. (1997). "Recorded Monuments Protected under Section 12 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1994 - County Galway". Archaeological Survey of Ireland.
  8. Westropp, T.J.. (1919). "Notes on several forts in Dunkellin and other parts of southern Co. Galway". Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.
  9. "Windmill, Kinvarra (Kiltartan By), Kinvara, Galway". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
  10. (2019). "Dunguaire Castle".
  11. Nugent, Tony. (2013). "Were You at the Rock? The History of Mass Rocks in Ireland". Liffey Press.
  12. "Kinvara (Ireland) Census Town".
  13. (April 2016). "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Kinvara". Central Statistics Office.
  14. "Diocese of Galway & Kilmacduagh - Parishes - Kinvara".
  15. "Saint Colman's Church, Ballybranagan, Kinvara, Galway". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
  16. "Saint Joseph's Church, Kinvarra (Kiltartan By), Kinvara, Galway". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
  17. "Saint Joseph's Presbytery, Convent Road, Kinvarra (Kiltartan By), Kinvara, Galway". National Inventory of Architectural Heritage.
  18. "Fleadh na gCuach – Kinvara".
  19. "Cruinniú na mBád – Kinvara".
  20. Rouse, Paul. (October 2009). "Fahy, Francis Arthur". Dictionary of Irish Biography.
  21. "Path Breaking Women". NUI Galway.
  22. "Former taoisigh among mourners at PJ Mara's burial".
  23. Ball, F. Elrington. (1926). "The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 (Volume 1)". John Murray.
  24. Breen, Joe. (14 August 2017). "John Prine: 'The country music they play now is just bad pop'". Irish Times.
  25. Corless, Nicholas. "Kinvara woman new Chief Justice in Seychelles". The Clare Champion.
  26. Farrell, Sinead. (3 April 2020). "'They were proactive to stop the spread' - Galway star praises locals at home after spate of Covid-19 cases".
  27. Cullen, Paul. (10 March 2011). "First female Attorney General a 'smart and able advocate'". [[The Irish Times]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

mass-rocksmassacres-in-the-wars-of-the-three-kingdomstowns-and-villages-in-county-galway