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County Galway · Connacht · Cinn Mhara

About Kinvarra

Kinvarra is a village in County Galway, 17 km south-east of Galway city, with 721 people at the 2022 census. A port at the head of its own bay in the corner of Galway Bay, an O'Hynes tower on the shore, and two festivals a year: the cuckoo in May, the boats in August.

Population
721 (2022 census)
Where
17 km from Galway, 180 km from Dublin
Position
53.1390° N, 8.9394° W, 10 m above sea level
In Irish
Cinn Mhara
On the model
804 buildings, 14 streets, 164 places in 46 kinds
Read more
Kinvarra on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Kinvarra with every named place pinned
Buildings on Main Street, Kinvarra
Buildings on Main Street, Kinvarra
Ian Hawfinch, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Kinvara Beach
Kinvara Beach
James Emmans, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Kinvarra Bay - Buildings & Dwellings along The Quay
Kinvarra Bay - Buildings & Dwellings along The Quay
Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
North from Dunguaire Castle
North from Dunguaire Castle
Ian Capper, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. Early times
    Forts, a kiln and a windmill. Promontory forts and ringforts lie in the townlands round about, Dungory West, Ballybranagan and Loughcurra North, and Kinvarra townland itself has ring fort sites, a lime kiln and the ruin of an eighteenth-century windmill.
  2. 16th century
    Dunguaire. The O'Hynes built the tower house on the shore east of the village; a list of Galway castles and their owners drawn up in 1574, probably for Lord Deputy Sidney and the composition of Connacht, records Faragh O'Hynes as its owner.
  3. 1650s
    The chasm of the heads. The Mass rock near the village, the Poulnegan Altar, is called Poll na gCeann, the chasm of the heads; tradition says student monks from a college nearby were killed at Mass there by Cromwell's soldiers and their heads thrown into the chasm.
  4. 1819 and 1877
    Two churches. St Colman's was built in 1819 and St Joseph's in 1877, with the presbytery, once a convent, of about 1875.
  5. 1831
    The Terry Alts. The agrarian secret society gathered in force on Abbey Hill between Kinvara and New Quay and dared the troops to fight; they had dispersed before the soldiers came.
  6. 1840s to 1960s
    The port empties. The Famine and a century of emigration left a village that had shipped corn and seaweed with no more than a few hundred people.

The full history, 7 moments in order

What to see

  1. Dunguaire Castle940 m

    The sixteenth-century O'Hynes tower house on the shore east of the village.

  2. St Coman's Church164 m

    The old church in the village, named for the early medieval saint of Kinvara.

  3. St Joseph's Church134 m

    The parish church of 1877, its presbytery a former convent.

  4. Tawnagh windmill4.2 km

    One of the windmill ruins of the district, 4 km out.

  5. The Burren

    The limestone country begins across the county bounds a few kilometres to the west and south.

  6. Coole Park8.6 km

    Lady Gregory's demesne and the autograph tree, 8.5 km away towards Gort.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Kinvarra?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 17 km south-east of Galway city and 180 km west of Dublin, on the N67 coast road between Galway and Ballyvaughan.
What is the population of Kinvarra?
721 people at the 2022 census.
What is there in Kinvarra?
On the map, 164 named places in 46 kinds: 13 places to eat and drink, 5 shops, 8 schools, churches and public buildings, and 117 things to see within 12 km.
What is Kinvara known for?
Dunguaire Castle, the hookers of Cruinniú na mBád in August, the cuckoo fleadh in May, and a harbour village at the corner of Galway Bay next to the Burren.

Getting around

Kinvarra sits on the N67 coast road between Galway and Ballyvaughan. 1 bus stop and 1 car park are on the map.

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