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County Galway · Connacht · An Cloigeann

About Cleggan

Cleggan is a village in County Galway, 77 km north-west of Galway city. The headland village at the top of its bay, with Nimmo's pier of 1822, the ferry to Inishbofin, and the memory of the night of 28 October 1927, when the mackerel boats did not come home.

Where
77 km from Galway, 256 km from Dublin
Position
53.5565° N, 10.1107° W
In Irish
An Cloigeann
On the model
305 buildings, 1 streets, 110 places in 21 kinds
Read more
Cleggan on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Cleggan with every named place pinned
Knockbrack Megalithic Tomb, by Sellerna Beach, Cleggan, Co. Galway. The tomb lines up with the island of…
Knockbrack Megalithic Tomb, by Sellerna Beach, Cleggan, Co. Galway. The tomb lines up with the island of…
Ronan Delaney, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Sallerna Bay
Sallerna Bay
Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cleggan Harbour
Cleggan Harbour
Bert Kaufmann from Roermond, Netherlands, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Cleggan harbour and bay with fishing boats
Cleggan harbour and bay with fishing boats
Nomasoft, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. Legend
    St Ceannanach's head. The saint is said to have been beheaded by a pagan chief, who carried the head to the well at Clooncree, washed it and lay down to die; the name itself means the head, for the headland.
  2. 665
    St Colman on Inishbofin. The monastery was founded on the island; a roofless thirteenth-century chapel in the graveyard is thought to mark it.
  3. 1800s
    The watchtower. The ruin on Cleggan Head was built in the Napoleonic wars.
  4. 1822 and 1908
    Nimmo's pier. Built by Alexander Nimmo and extended in 1908, it is the focal point of the village.
  5. 1927
    The Cleggan Bay disaster. A gale rose without warning while the boats were at the mackerel; 25 local men drowned, sixteen of them from Rossadilisk, which was abandoned.

The full history, 5 moments in order

What to see

  1. The pier

    Nimmo's pier, from which the ferries leave daily for Inishbofin and Inishturk.

  2. The disaster memorial117 m

    The stone by the harbour for the men of 1927.

  3. The signal tower1.4 km

    The Napoleonic watchtower on Cleggan Head, 1.4 km out.

  4. Cleggan cliffs2.5 km

    The headland 2.5 km north.

  5. Teampall Feichin4.4 km

    The granite church on Omey, 4.4 km away.

  6. The bog and the stones

    Blanket bog with plants found nowhere outside Ireland, and prehistoric tombs, standing stones and walls nearby.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Cleggan?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 77 km north-west of Galway city and 256 km west of Dublin, on the road north-west from Clifden, 10 km.
What is there in Cleggan?
On the map, 110 named places in 21 kinds: 5 places to eat and drink, 2 shops, 1 school, church and public building, and 98 things to see within 12 km.
What is Cleggan known for?
The Inishbofin ferry, Nimmo's pier, the Cleggan Bay disaster of 1927, and the blanket bog and headland around it.

Getting around

Cleggan sits on the road north-west from Clifden, 10 km. 1 bus stop and 0 car parks are on the map.

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