Official Name: | Cill Chiaráin |
Settlement Type: | Village |
Pushpin Map: | Ireland |
Pushpin Label Position: | right |
Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Ireland |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Ireland |
Subdivision Type1: | Province |
Subdivision Name1: | Connacht |
Subdivision Type3: | County |
Subdivision Name3: | County Galway |
Unit Pref: | Metric |
Population As Of: | 2002 |
Population Density Km2: | auto |
Coordinates: | 53.3258°N -9.7353°W |
Elevation M: | 0 |
Blank Name: | Irish Grid Reference |
Footnotes: | Cill Chiaráin is the only official name. The anglicized spelling Kilkieran has no official status. |
Cill Chiaráin (anglicized as Kilkieran) is a coastal village in the Connemara area of County Galway in Ireland.[1] The R340 passes through Cill Chiaráin.
Cill Chiaráin lies in a Gaeltacht region (Irish-speaking area), and Coláiste Sheosaimh hosts Irish language courses within the village.[2]
The village is named after Saint Ciarán, "Cill Chiaráin" translates to "Ciarán's church" from Irish. It shares its name with a second Cill Chiaráin in County Kilkenny.
On St Ciarán's feast day, there is a Pattern Day in honour of the saint held in the village. Organised by the local festival committee, Coiste Fhéile Chill Chiaráin, there is a Roman Catholic Mass performed at the well which St Ciarán blessed back in the 6th century.
Cill Chiaráin has a number of facilities and public buildings, including a health centre, a "gastropub" (Tigh Chadhain), local supermarket, a national school, community hall, church and fish factory.
The Arramara Teo seaweed factory is also nearby. The company was previously Irish owned, but has since been bought by a Canadian company.
The village also has a children's playground and the Páirc Peile Chill Chiaráin (artificial pitch) which opened in 2015. The pitch is used by the local GAA team, Carna-Cashel, and the athletics club.