Country Ireland Irish Grid Reference M130225 Population 1,450 (2011) Province Connacht | County County Galway Elevation 5 m Local time Wednesday 5:18 PM Number of airports 1 | |
Weather 12°C, Wind SW at 14 km/h, 88% Humidity | ||
An Spidéal (Irish: An Spidéal, meaning "the hospital", [ənˠ ˈsˠpʲɪdʲeːlˠ]) is a Gaeltacht village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is 18 km west of Galway city, on the R336 road. An Spidéal is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) and of the Connemara region. It is a tourist centre with a scenic beach, harbour, and shore fishing.
Contents
Map of Spiddal, Co. Galway, Ireland
The village
There are a broad range of shops and services. On the eastern side of the village is the Ceardlann, a craft village. he you can watch expert craftsmen design all thing Irish from Aran Sweaters to old traditional jewelry. Cloon Kein Atelier candles are made in an industrial estate 1 km east of the village. There is a primary school, and a secondary school, in the village.
On most weekend nights, and sometimes during the week in summer, there is live traditional Irish music in the pubs, most of which double as restaurants. On the first Wednesday of every month there is an Alternative Session at 9pm in An Droighneán Donn, one of the pubs.
The village is served by Bus Éireann route 424 from Galway City.
The local river, Abhainn Bhoth Loiscthe, flows south from Loch Bhoth Loiscthe and enters Galway Bay at An Spidéal.
Culture and sport
Each summer, groups of Irish teenagers visit An Spidéal for three-week Irish language courses. American students from the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University in Collegeville Township, Minnesota visit for the autumn semester each year to study Irish-language literature and culture.
Examples of Irish colleges around the Spiddal area are 'Coláiste Chonnacht' and the well-known 'Coláiste Lurgan'.
The English/Irish folk-influenced music group The Waterboys recorded part of their Fisherman's Blues album in An Spidéal. They also recorded a song called Spring Comes to Spiddal on their album Room to Roam. The television series Ros na Rún is filmed in Spiddal and shown on TG4.
The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is CLG An Spidéal. Gaelic football and hurling are the most popular local sports, and there is also a sailing club in the village.
Notable residents
Mairtin Thornton (died 1984) was an Irish heavyweight boxer in the 1940s. He was nicknamed the "Connemara Crusher".
Thornton was a native of Spiddal, Connemara, County Galway.
Thornton was the Irish Heavyweight Boxing champion in 1943. He fought Bruce Woodcock for the British Commonwealth Heavyweight title in 1945.[1]
He boxed from 10 January 1938 until 23 April 1949. He won 14 bouts and lost 8.[2] He doubled for John Wayne in the fight scene in the movie The Quiet Man.
When he retired from boxing he ran a pub in Spiddal ; An Droighnán Donn. He also was a cattle dealer. He died in 1984.