Craughwell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Craughwell
Creachmhaoil
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Village and townland
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The R446 regional road passes through Craughwell
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 Craughwell
Location in Ireland
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| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Galway |
| Elevation | 62 m (203 ft) |
| Population
(2022)
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1,034 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | M510197 |
Craughwell (historically Creaghmoyle) is a village and townland in County Galway, Ireland. In 2022, about 1,000 people lived here.
Craughwell is located on the R446 regional road. It is about 9 km south of Athenry and 12 km west of Loughrea. The village also has a railway station on the Western Railway Corridor.
Contents
What's in a Name? The Meaning of Craughwell
The name Craughwell comes from the Irish language name Creachmhaoil. People have different ideas about what this name means.
One idea is that it comes from two Irish words: creach (meaning "plunder") and maoil (meaning "a hill"). This might mean it was a place where stolen cattle were kept long ago.
Another idea for creach is that it means "crag" or "rock". So, Creachmhaoil could mean a round hill with no trees, or a rocky hill.
Patrick Weston Joyce, who studied Irish place names, thought the name might have been Creamhchoill. This would mean 'garlic wood'. Later, he learned that the local name was indeed Creachmhaoil.
The name Craughwell is also used as a surname. It was mostly found in southeast County Galway. Later, people with this surname moved to places like Barbados, Newfoundland, and Ohio.
A Look Back: Craughwell's History
You can find signs of old settlements in the Craughwell area. These include ring forts and souterrains (underground tunnels). There are also ruins of a very old church and graveyard in Killora townland.
The main Roman Catholic church in Craughwell is Saint Colman's Catholic Church. It was built around 1840. Ballymore Park, a large country house, was built around 1750.
The famous poet Antoine Ó Raifteiri was buried near Craughwell in 1835. A special stone was put on his grave in 1900 by Lady Gregory.
In the late 1800s, there were some disagreements about land ownership in the area. These sometimes led to serious conflicts.
Fun and Games: Craughwell's Amenities
Craughwell has many great places for sports and activities.
The Craughwell GAA grounds have three pitches and a ball wall for Gaelic games. The local primary school has an all-weather astroturf track. It also has a walking trail for everyone to enjoy.
Craughwell AC has an 8-acre park. This park includes an 800m trail and a 400m running track. Just outside the village, Coleman's Park offers outdoor soccer pitches. It also has a gravel 400m running track.
Getting Around: Transport in Craughwell
The R446 road goes through Craughwell. This road connects Galway City to Kinnegad. Craughwell is about 24 kilometers east of Galway. It is also 10 kilometers west of Loughrea. This road used to be part of the main N6 road between Dublin and Galway.
You can catch a City Link bus in Craughwell. This bus service goes between Galway and Dublin. Healy Bus also runs services between Loughrea and Galway.
Craughwell railway station reopened in 2010. This was part of the Western Railway Corridor project. The new station has a single platform and a car park. There are five trains each day in both directions. The first station opened in 1869.
Famous Faces: Notable People from Craughwell
Many interesting people are connected to Craughwell:
- Dominic Burke (c.1622–1704) was a Bishop of Elphin.
- Fergal Healy (born 1977) is a hurler who played for Craughwell GAA.
- Veronica Curtin (born around 1980) is a camogie player. She played for Galway and Craughwell.
- Niall Healy (born 1985) is another hurler from Craughwell and Galway.
- Denise Gilligan (born around 1979) was on the Galway camogie team that won the Senior All Ireland title in 1996.
- Anjelica Huston (born 1951) is an actress. She spent some of her childhood in Craughwell.
- John Huston (1906–1987) was a famous American film-maker. He owned a house near Craughwell from 1954 to 1971.
- Thomas Monaghan (born 1997) is a hurler for Craughwell and Galway.
- Robert O'Hara Burke (1821–1861) led an important expedition in Australia.
- Antoine Ó Raifteiri (1779–1835) was a poet from County Mayo. He died and was buried in this area.
