Kinvara
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Kinvara (Cinn Mhara in Irish - meaning head of the sea) is a village located in the south of County Galway in the province of Connacht on the west coast of Ireland.
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| Dialing Code: | 091 |
The village lies at the head of Kinvara Bay (Cuan Chinn Mhara), an inlet in the south-eastern corner of Galway Bay. Cinn Mhara is situated in the south of County Galway close to the border with the Burren in County Clare in the province of Munster. Kinvara is situated in the territory of Ui Fiachrach Aidhne also known as Maigh Aidhne ("the plain of Aidhne"), which is coextensive with the diocese of Kilmacduagh. The parish of Kinvara is coextensive with the sub district of Maigh Aidhne known as Killoveragh (Coill Ua bhFhiachrach). The modern RC parish of Kinvara contains of the civil parishes of Kinvarradoorus and Killinny. Kinvara developed around an Ó hEidhin towerhouse (now totally demolished) close to the main pier, the medieval church of St. Comam (St. Caimín) (in ruins) and the port. Dún Guaire, the principal towerhouse of the Hynes (Ó hEidhin) clan, is located to the east of the village. This towerhouse is believed to have been built on or close to the site of Ráth Dúrlais the main residence of Guaire Aidhneach the 7th century king of Uí Fhiachrach Aidhne and Connachta. The enclosure on the small peninsula east of Dún Guaire is thought to be the remains of Ráth Dúrlais.
An alternative anglicisation of Cinn Mhara is Kinvarra; this may be seen on some road signs near the town, although Kinvara is the more accepted spelling nowadays.
Kinvara has a population of 945 (2002 figure). The potato famine in the 1840s and a series of emigrations that continued up until the 1960s reduced the population of the village -- once a thriving port and a significant exporter of corn and seaweed -- to no more than a few hundred people. From the 1980s onwards the village has started to grow in size again.
Kinvara is home every year to two festivals, Fleadh na gCuach ("The cuckoo festival") at the start of May and Cruinniu na mBád ("The gathering of the boats") in August. Of these, the latter festival is the larger and longer-running; it celebrates the traditional arrival of turf from Connemara and other parts of Iar Chonnachta (western County Galway) by boat, turf that was required for fuel during the winter months. The festival started in 1979 and features a series of boat races as well as a variety of other events on the pier. The Fleadh na gCuach (started in 1994) is a festival of Irish music that celebrates the old Irish festival of Bealtaine (the First of May), which in Ireland marks the start of Summer.