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County Galway · Connacht · Baile Chláir

About Claregalway

Claregalway is a town in County Galway, 10 km north-east of Galway city, with 1,632 people at the 2022 census. A friary and a tower house on the Clare, nine dry stone arches above the road, and a village that tripled in twenty years once the N17 and N18 stopped running through it.

Population
1,632 (2022 census)
Where
10 km from Galway, 178 km from Dublin
Position
53.3405° N, 8.9462° W, 12 m above sea level
In Irish
Baile Chláir
On the model
663 buildings, 14 streets, 165 places in 43 kinds
Read more
Claregalway on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Claregalway with every named place pinned
Claregalway Castle complex
Claregalway Castle complex
DeeEmm, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Claregalway Abbey
Claregalway Abbey
Martin P. Whyte, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Claregalway Friary, County Galway, Ireland East front
Claregalway Friary, County Galway, Ireland East front
Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Claregalway Castle
Claregalway Castle
DeeEmm, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. Early times
    Forts and crannogs. Ringforts, bawns, enclosures and crannog sites lie in the townlands of Claregalway, Cloonacauneen, Lydacan and Pollaghrevagh.
  2. Mid 13th century
    The friary. Claregalway Friary was founded on the bank of the river, and a Norman tower house followed in the sixteenth century, both inside the village.
  3. 1612
    The last O'Heyne. Lydican, in the parish, had an O'Heyne castle; Connor Crone O'Heyne, the last of the chieftains, was living there in 1612.
  4. 2001
    Nine arches. The old bridge over the former course of the Clare was restored; its nine stone arches stand above the level of the road today.
  5. 2017
    The traffic leaves. Until September 2017 the village sat at the junction of the N17 and N18, with more than 27,000 vehicles a day passing through.
  6. 2002 to 2022
    Tripled. The population more than tripled in twenty years; over half the people now commute more than fifteen minutes into the city.

The full history, 6 moments in order

What to see

  1. Claregalway Friary717 m

    The thirteenth-century friary on the bank of the Clare.

  2. Claregalway Castle688 m

    The sixteenth-century Norman tower house in the village.

  3. The nine-arch bridge

    The old bridge over the former river course, restored in 2001.

  4. Killeen Castle3.8 km

    One of the tower houses of the parish, 3.8 km out.

  5. Cloonboo Castle6.1 km

    Another, 6 km north.

  6. Annaghdown9.6 km

    The castle and monastic site on Lough Corrib, 9.6 km away.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Claregalway?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 10 km north-east of Galway city and 178 km west of Dublin, on the N17 and N18 junction, bypassed in 2017; north of Galway.
What is the population of Claregalway?
1,632 people at the 2022 census.
What is there in Claregalway?
On the map, 165 named places in 43 kinds: 4 places to eat and drink, 6 shops, 6 schools, churches and public buildings, and 128 things to see within 12 km.
What is Claregalway known for?
The friary and castle on the River Clare, the nine-arch bridge, the drama festival, and being the busy junction village that was bypassed in 2017.

Getting around

Claregalway sits on the N17 and N18 junction, bypassed in 2017; north of Galway. 2 bus stops and 0 car parks are on the map.

History, sights and civic facts summarise Wikipedia, "Claregalway" (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.