Spiddal, also known as Spiddle (Irish language and official name: An Spidéal, , meaning 'the hospital'),[ It is a centre for tourism with a beach, harbour, and shore fishing. The village is part of the civil parish of Moycullen.
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Name
The name of the village in Irish language, An Spidéal, derives from the word ospidéal, which in turn derived from the Insular French, or Anglo-Normand, word ospitel.
The name originates from a mediaeval leper hospital situated in An Spidéal Thiar (West Spiddal). A number of other hospital facilities were based in the area over the years, including a famine hospital during the Great Famine of the mid-1840s. While "Spiddle" is recorded in the Placenames Database of Ireland as the English variant of the name, "Spiddal" is used locally.
History
Spiddal, like much of the west of Ireland, suffered greatly during the Great Famine of the 1840s, with many people being evicted, and many starving. Appeals were made by the parish priest John O'Grady and by A.W. Blake and, as a result, the Board of Works employed some men in improvements to the village harbour.
From 1848, the evangelical Protestant Irish Church Missions were active, establishing the Connemara Orphan's Nursery (Spiddal Orphanage or Nead Le Farraige) in the early 1850s,
The local Roman Catholic church, Cill Éinde (church of Saint Enda), was built in 1904.
Amenities
There are a number of pubs, shops and other services in the village.
There is a primary school (Scoil Náisiúnta Éinne) and secondary school (Coláiste Chroí Mhuire).
The area is served by Bus Éireann route 424 from Galway City.
Culture and sport
Each summer, groups of Irish teenagers visit Spiddal for three-week Irish language courses. Coláiste Chonnacht and Coláiste Lurgan are two Irish language summer schools. American students visit for the autumn term each year to study Irish-language literature and culture.
Live traditional Irish music is regularly performed in the village's Irish pub. The music group The Waterboys recorded part of their Fisherman's Blues album in Spiddal.
The local Gaelic Athletic Association club is Cumann Lúthchleas Gael An Spidéal, with Gaelic football and hurling being the most popular sports. There is also a sailing club in the village.
Notable people
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Mary Bergin, musician
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Ronan Browne, musician
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Thom McGinty, actor and stillness artist
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Michael Morris, 3rd Baron Killanin, journalist and the sixth president of the International Olympic Committee, had family connections to the area.
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Máirtín Ó Cadhain, writer of modern literature in Irish, and author of the comic literature and modernist work Cré na Cille.
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Dónall Ó Héalai, actor
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Seán Ó Neachtain, former Member of the European Parliament and Fianna Fáil party politician
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Eimear Ní Chonaola, journalist and broadcast news presenter
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Máire Ní Thuathail (1957–2016), television producer.
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Gráinne Seoige, television presenter
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Síle Seoige, television presenter
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Mairtin Thornton (died 1984), heavyweight boxer in the 1940s
See also
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List of towns and villages in Ireland
External links
