Connemara

Connemara , wild, mountainous region, Co. Galway, W Republic of Ireland, lying between the Atlantic Ocean and Loughs Corrib and Mask. Many mountains, lakes, streams, and glens help make it a well-known vacation area. Most of the villages are found along the coast; Clifden is the chief town. The peat bogs of S Connemara are major fuel sources. Particularly famous is the hardy breed of ponies peculiar to the region.

Connemara [Ir. Conmaicne Mara, Conmac's people of the sea; Iarchonnacht, western Connacht]. A region of west Co. Galway, west of Lough Corrib; originally Connemara was roughly identical with the barony of Ballynahinch, but it is now reckoned informally to include portions of the barony of Moycullen to the east and Ross (‘Joyce's Country’) to the north. Because Connemara contains the largest surviving Gaeltacht [Irish-speaking community], many commentators have felt, rightly or wrongly, that the area is one of the most characteristic of traditional Irish culture. Despite exploitation by the tourist industry, Connemara remains a living reservoir of folk culture that has been tapped by many collectors. In the early 20th century James Berry (1842–1914) reshaped many of the narratives of Connemara, something in the manner of William Carleton; see G. M. Horgan (ed.), Tales of the West of Ireland (Dublin, 1964); see also Tim Robinson, Connemara (Galway, 1990).

Iarchonnacht, lar Chonnacht [west Connacht]. Irish name for Connemara.