Kinvara
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Kinvara Cinn Mhara |
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
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| Irish grid reference M369103 |
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| Province: | Connacht | |
| County: | County Galway | |
| Elevation: | 10 m | |
| Population (2002) | 945 | |
Kinvara (Irish: Cinn Mhara, meaning "head of the sea"), is a sea port village located in the south of County Galway in the province of Connacht on the west coast of Ireland. Kinvara is also the name of the parish in which the village is situated. Kinvara is occasionally spelled Kinvarra in English; this may be seen on some maps and road signs, although Kinvara is the most common spelling used nowadays. Kinvarra is still the official form of the name for the townland and this form is still used on polling cards as the name of the townland while the District Electoral Division (DED) is called Kinvara.
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| Dialing Code: | 091 |
The village lies at the head of Kinvara Bay known in Irish as Cinn Mhara (or more recently Cuan Chinn Mhara) from which the village took its name. This is an inlet in the south-eastern corner of Galway Bay referred to in local lore by its Irish name Loch Lurgain. Kinvara is situated in the territory of Ui Fiachrach Aidhne also known as Aidhne, which is coextensive with the diocese of Kilmacduagh (Cill Mhic Dhuach). Kinvara is situated in the west of the barony of Kiltartan (now obsolete) in County Galway close to the border with Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster. The modern parish of Kinvara is known is Irish as Coill Ua bhFhiachrach ("forest of the clan of Fiachrach") which is a sub-district of Aidhne. This was the territory of the Ó Eidhin / (O Hynes) clan who were also chiefs of Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne. The modern parish of Kinvara contains of the civil parishes of Kinvarradoorus and Killinny or the medieval parishes of Kinvara, Doorus and Killinny(Killina). Kinvara developed around an Ó hEidhin (O Hynes) towerhouse (now completely demolished) close to the main pier and the medieval church of St.Comam better known as St.Caimín (now in ruins) which is situated between Sráid a'Phúca (the main road through the village) and Céibh a'Chéile (the oldest part of the quay). The church of St. Caimín dates to the early 13th century but is built on the site of Saint Caimín's origianal early medieval church. It belongs to the style of architecture known as the School of the West which was a style of building in use in Connacht before the English invasion of the kingdom in the early 1200s. Dún Guaire, the principal towerhouse of the Ó hEidhin clan, is located to the east of the village. This towerhouse is believed to have been built on or close to the site of Ráth Dúrlais—the main residence of Guaire Aidhneach—the 7th century king of Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne and Connachta. The ráth (earthen enclosure) on the small peninsula east of Dún Guaire is thought to be the remains of Ráth Dúrlais.
The Terry Alt agrarian resistance movement of the early 1800s was active in the Kinvara area. In 1831, a large force of Terry Alts gathered on the border between Kinvara parish and Oughtmama parish, Burren, County Clare and challenged the English Crown forces to battle. They, however, dispersed before the arrival of the English forces. They also unsuccessfully attempted to ambush a body of English infantry at Corranroe in the west of the parish, which led to the death of one of their members.
Kinvara's population according to the 2002 Census was 945. The Great Famine in the 1840s and a series of emigrations that continued up until the 1960s reduced the population of the village—once a thriving port and a significant exporter of corn and seaweed—to no more than a few hundred people. From around the 1980s the population of the parish of Kinvara started to increase while the village started to grow in size.
The first shots of the 1916 Easter Rising in County Galway were fired in Kinvara. The incident took place outside the curate's house on the Green Road when the RIC attempted to arrest him and local members of Óglaigh na hÉireann.
Kinvara is home every year to two festivals, Fleadh na gCuach ("the cuckoo festival") at the start of May and Cruinniú na mBád ("gathering of the boats") in August. Of these, the latter festival is the larger and longer-running; it celebrates the traditional sailing craft (Galway Hookers) and the trade they once did between Kinvara, western County Galway and the north of County Clare. Turf was imported into Kinvara from the west of County Galway while barley, lime, and timber was exported from Kinvara. Turf, the main fuel used here prior to coal and oil, had to be imported as Kinvara is in an area without bogs. The festival started in 1979 and features a series of boat races as well as a variety of other events on the pier. The Fleadh na gCuach (started in 1994) is a festival of Irish music that celebrates the old Irish festival of Bealtaine (the First of May), which in Ireland marks the start of Summer.
