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County Galway · Connacht · Leitir Fraic

About Letterfrack

Letterfrack is a village in County Galway, 67 km north-west of Galway city. A village Quakers founded in the Famine at the head of Ballinakill harbour, the gate of Connemara National Park, and the site of one of the oldest Marconi stations still standing.

Where
67 km from Galway, 245 km from Dublin
Position
53.5535° N, 9.9483° W
In Irish
Leitir Fraic
On the model
344 buildings, 3 streets, 210 places in 40 kinds
Read more
Letterfrack on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Letterfrack with every named place pinned
Letterfrack, Connemara - Ireland
Letterfrack, Connemara - Ireland
Chalky Lives, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
AV Theatre, Connemara National Park Visitor Centre
AV Theatre, Connemara National Park Visitor Centre
N Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Kylemore Abbey near Letterfrack in County Galway
Kylemore Abbey near Letterfrack in County Galway
Roger D Kidd, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Quay at Keelkyle on Barnaderg Bay, west of Letterfrack
Quay at Keelkyle on Barnaderg Bay, west of Letterfrack
Keith Salvesen, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. 1849
    The Ellises. James and Mary Ellis, Quakers from Bradford, took nearly a thousand acres of rough land to farm and plant with woodland, and built a schoolhouse, tradesmen's houses, a shop, a dispensary and a temperance hotel.
  2. 1857
    The Irish Church Mission. John Hall bought the property and put it to the mission's work of converting Catholics; twenty-five years brought little success.
  3. 1882 to 1887
    The industrial school. Archbishop John McEvilly of Tuam bought the thousand acres for 3,000 pounds under a false name, so that Hall thought the buyer a Protestant, and in 1887 St Joseph's Industrial School opened.
  4. 1911 to 1917
    Marconi. Marconi chose the school as the receiving station for his duplex transatlantic service: eastbound messages came from Nova Scotia to Letterfrack from April 1911 while Clifden sent westbound.
  5. 1924 to 1926
    St Joseph's church. Rudolf Maximilian Butler's Romanesque Revival church, a single four-bay nave with two small side chapels, was dedicated by Archbishop Gilmartin on 12 June 1926.
  6. 1984
    West Coast United. The football club was founded; by 2021 it had about 250 members and a sand-based pitch, a floodlit all-weather pitch and a clubhouse.

The full history, 7 moments in order

What to see

  1. Connemara National Park341 m

    The visitor centre for the park is in the village, with Diamond Hill above it.

  2. St Joseph's church214 m

    Butler's church of 1926 on the industrial school grounds.

  3. The Marconi station

    The old school building that received the first duplex transatlantic messages.

  4. Ellis House142 m

    The Quaker landlords' name survives on the hostel in the village.

  5. Kylemore Abbey4.0 km

    The abbey and its Victorian walled garden, 4 km along the road.

  6. Ballinakill harbour

    The inlet of Barnaderg Bay at whose head the village lies.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Letterfrack?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 67 km north-west of Galway city and 245 km west of Dublin, on the N59, 15 km north-east of Clifden.
What is there in Letterfrack?
On the map, 210 named places in 40 kinds: 9 places to eat and drink, 6 shops, 6 schools, churches and public buildings, and 177 things to see within 12 km.
What is Letterfrack known for?
Connemara National Park and Diamond Hill, its Quaker founding, the Marconi station, the furniture college, and the history of St Joseph's Industrial School.

Getting around

Letterfrack sits on the N59, 15 km north-east of Clifden. 1 bus stop and 0 car parks are on the map.

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