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County Galway · Connacht

About Carna

Carna is a village in County Galway, 53 km west of Galway city. The focal point of Iorras Aithneach, far to the west of Galway in the strongest Gaeltacht, where in 1935 it was agreed there were more unrecorded folktales than anywhere else in western Europe.

Where
53 km from Galway, 237 km from Dublin
Position
53.3248° N, 9.8357° W
On the model
356 buildings, 2 streets, 134 places in 25 kinds
Read more
Carna on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Carna with every named place pinned
Beach on the island. Equatorial tropical thunderstorm clouds over the Lombok Strait, Gili Meno Island,…
Beach on the island. Equatorial tropical thunderstorm clouds over the Lombok Strait, Gili Meno Island,…
Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Coffee shop and cafe in Carna
Coffee shop and cafe in Carna
Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Carna Church
Carna Church
Gordon Hatton, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
County Galway, Carna Quay.
County Galway, Carna Quay.
Newbert12, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. 1650s
    To hell or to Connacht. After the Cromwellian war and the Down Survey confiscations, many of the dispossessed settled in Connacht; the saying comes from that migration.
  2. Before the Famine
    8,000 people. The population averaged about 8,000 before the Great Famine and fell dramatically after it; the average resident today is well above the national age.
  3. 1930s
    The Folklore Commission. After the War of Independence and the Civil War, Carna became a main centre for recording endangered stories, myths and oral literature.
  4. 1919 to 1984
    Joe Heaney. The sean-nós singer from Carna is said to have known more than 500 songs, most learned growing up here; the Féile Chomórtha Joe Éinniú is held every year.
  5. 1998
    All-Ireland. Michael Cloherty of Carna was with Galway when the county ended a 32-year wait; Hugo Carey had won a medal in the 1930s.
  6. 2006 and 2015
    Bilingual, and running. The population was 96 per cent bilingual in 2006, Irish at home; the Iorras Aithneach athletics club formed in 2015 after the astro pitch opened at Cill Chiaráin.

The full history, 6 moments in order

What to see

  1. Carna church193 m

    The church at the centre of the parish.

  2. Ionad Cuimhneacháin na nImirceach313 m

    The emigrants' memorial centre, 300 m from the church.

  3. Ard Castle2.7 km

    The ruin 2.7 km west.

  4. Mace Head

    The university's atmospheric research station on the point.

  5. Maínis

    The island with the Martin Ryan marine biology station.

  6. Mynish cemetery

    Where James Berry, who wrote Tales of the West, was buried in 1914.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Carna?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 53 km west of Galway city and 237 km west of Dublin, on the R340 coast road, west of Galway.
What is there in Carna?
On the map, 134 named places in 25 kinds: 2 places to eat and drink, 2 shops, 7 schools, churches and public buildings, and 119 things to see within 12 km.
What is Carna known for?
Sean-nós singing and Joe Heaney, the folklore of Éamon a Búrc, its Irish, Mace Head, and the Carna-Cashel footballers.

Getting around

Carna sits on the R340 coast road, west of Galway. 0 bus stops and 0 car parks are on the map.

History, sights and civic facts summarise Wikipedia, "Carna, County Galway" (CC BY-SA 4.0, read 2026-09-19). Population is the CSO census as listed there. Distances and everything on the model are OpenStreetMap.