Roundstone, County Galway

Roundstone
Cloch na Rón
Village

View of harbour towards Roundstone village
Roundstone

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°23′42″N 9°55′05″W / 53.395°N 9.918°W / 53.395; -9.918Coordinates: 53°23′42″N 9°55′05″W / 53.395°N 9.918°W / 53.395; -9.918
Country Ireland
Province Connacht
County County Galway
Elevation 20 m (70 ft)
Population (2002)
 • Urban 239
 • Environs 423
Irish Grid Reference L725405
Website roundstone-connemara.com

Roundstone (Irish: Cloch na Rón, meaning "seal's rock") is a village on the west coast of Ireland, in the Connemara region of County Galway. The town of Clifden is nearby to the north.

The anglicised name is usually considered an error on the part of the British colonial Ordnance Survey which translated the village name; while Cloch certainly means "stone" or "rock", Rón means "seal", not "round". Still, the names Cloch na Rón and Roundstone may be totally independent.[1] The bay is referred to as Round-stone Haven as early as 1684 (Roderick O'Flaherty), and the rock after which it is named stands like a marker at the entrance and is strikingly round.

Transport

The Bus Éireann Clifden to Galway route serves Roundstone three days a week during the winter and daily during the summer.[2] The village is connected to the rest of the national road network via a regional road, the R341. This connects it to the N59.

Culture

Roundstone is known as a home for creativity and the arts. For many years some of the most important figures in Irish Art have painted there, including Paul Henry, Jack B. Yeats, Gerard Dillon and Nano Reid. The Roundstone Arts Week celebrates youth and environment on an annual basis. The local Summerfest, is held in July. Traditional Irish Nights are held weekly throughout July and August and offers music, song and dance from the Connemara area.

Twin village

Roundstone is twinned with the village of Noyelles-sous-Lens (a suburb of Lens, Pas-de-Calais) in France.[3]

Archaeological discovery

In 1998 Sean Gorham of Inishnee, Roundstone, County Galway, was engaged in turf-cutting in Roundstone Bog "when he noticed what appeared to be a series of flat stones laid at regular intervals ... Believing them to be the remains of an ancient trackway, Mr. Gorham left the stones undisturbed, and through the good offices of Martin O'Malley, Roundstone, and Michael Gibbons, Clifden, his discovery was brought to the attention of the National Museum of Ireland."

Gorham's find was located in the townland of Derrycunlagh. Investigation revealed that earlier turf-cutters had removed part of the trackway but its two extant stretches determine its route. The trackway appeared to date from the early Bronze Age, while the field wall may have been of an earlier date.

In an article of 2002, it was stated that "Thanks are due to the late Sean Gorham, whose keen eye and interest save the trackway from destruction and brought it to scientific attention."

Drowning Tragedy During War of Independence

On February 6th, 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, 4 Volunteers of the Old IRA were making their way by boat from Carna to Roundstone for a Battalion meeting, when they were caught by a violent storm and drowned on the shore of Inishlaken Island.[4]

Cinema

Films shot in Roundstone

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tim Robinson, Connemara - Listening to the Wind, 2006.
  2. ↑ http://buseireann.ie/pdf/1340110589-419.pdf
  3. ↑ Twinning: Roundstone News, January 2009
  4. ↑ Irish Military Archives
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