Castlegar, County Galway

Castlegar

An Caislean gCearr
Castlegar An Caislean gCearr
Town
Country	Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	County Galway
Elevation	85 m (279 ft)
Population (2002)
• Rural	842
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Website	www.castlegar-galway.com

Castlegar is a village and parish in County Galway, Ireland, located just outside the city of Galway. It extends from Lough Corrib across to Merlin Park by the old Galway-Dublin road. The annual Galway Races are held at Ballybrit Racecourse in Castlegar Parish.

Irish language

The Castlegar ED has a population of 1,000 and 11% are Irish speakers.

History

The name Castlegar is derived from the Irish words "Caislean Gearr". This mean "Short Castle". The small Castlegar Castle, in the middle of the parish, was a guest or "short stay" castle for the Blake family's Menlo Castle. There being so many castles in the parish, the distance between was also very short, so some have posited that this is the source of the name. Parts of the parish, most notably Carrabrowne, Ballindooley and Menlo were until recently, strongholds of the Irish language. But with recent development of the area, and the influx of non-native speakers, the use of Irish is very much reduced. Emigrants from Ireland went to British Columbia and named a place there after it. See Castlegar, British Columbia.

Notable people

The Blake baronets from 1622 through 1910.
Castlegar is home to the hurling family, the Connolly brothers, John and Joe Connolly.

Castles in Castlegar, County Galway

Ballybrit Castle,
Ballindooley Castle (Ballindooly),
Castlegar Castle (Castle Gar),
Cloonacauneen Castle (Cluanacauneen),
Killeen Castle (Killeen),
Menlo Castle (Menlough),
Merlin Park Castle (formerly Doughiska/Doughiskey)

Villages and townlands in Castlegar, County Galway

References

External links