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 | www.roundstonevillage.ie |
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.
Contents
1 Transport
2 Culture
3 Twin village
4 Archaeological discovery
5 Drowning tragedy during the War of Independence
6 Cinema
7 Gallery
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
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 the War of Independence
On February 6, 1921, during the Irish War of Independence, four 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
The Mackintosh Man (1973) by John Huston[5]
Into the West (1992) by Mike Newell
The Matchmaker (1997) by Mark Joffe
Marley & Me (2008) by David Franksl
Love Me No More (2008) by Jean Becker
Gallery
Two hookers at the Roundstone Regatta 2008
Roundstone village during the Roundstone Regatta weekend in 2008
The view of Galway Bay from Roundstone
Northbound on the R341 road in Roundstone
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Gurteen Bay
- List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Galway)
References
^ Tim Robinson, Connemara - Listening to the Wind, 2006.
^ http://buseireann.ie/pdf/1340110589-419.pdf
^ Twinning: Archived 2010-01-24 at the Wayback Machine. Roundstone News, January 2009
^ Irish Military Archives
^ The Mackintosh Man visitgalway.ie, 2018.
- pp. 24–26, "A possible pre-bog field wall and an ancient trackway in Roundstone Bog, County Galway", Archaeology Ireland, Autumn 2002
External links
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roundstone. |
- Tourist information site
