Spiddal
Spiddal ( , meaning 'the hospital') is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is west of Galway city, on the R336 road. It is on the eastern side of the county's Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) and of the Connemara region. According to the 2016 census, 35.3% of the population speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system. It is a centre for tourism with a beach, harbour, and shore fishing. The village is part of the civil parish of Moycullen. Name. The name of the village in Irish, "An Spidéal", derives  from the word "ospidéal", in turn derived from the English word 'hospital'. A number of hospital facilities were based in the area, including a famine hospital which was located in Spiddal during the Great Famine of the mid-1840s. While 'Spiddal' is the common English variant of the name, 'Spiddle' is sometimes used. History. Spiddal like much of the west of Ireland suffered greatly during the Great Famine, with many people being evicted and many people starving. Appeals were made by the parish priest John O'Grady and by A.W. Blake, as a result the board of works employed some local men  in the improvements to the harbour in Spiddal. From 1848 the evangelical Protestant Irish Church Missions were active, establishing the "Connemara Orphan's Nursery" (Spiddal Orphanage/Nead Le Farrige) in the early 1850s, the home could accommodate up to 90 boys and girls, and became affiliated to the Protestant-run Smyly Homes (and was even referred to as The Bird's Nest, the name of the Dublin home). Following its closure as an orphanage, it became a Secondary School for Girls run by the catholic Sisters of Mercy. Facilities. There are a number of shops and services in the area . On the eastern side of the village is An Cheardlann, a craft village. There is a primary school and a secondary school in the village. Live traditional Irish music is regularly performed in the village's pubs, some of which double as restaurants. The village is served by Bus Éireann route 424 from Galway City. The Boluisce river flows south from Boluisce Lake and enters Galway Bay at Spiddal. Culture and sport. Each summer, groups of Irish teenagers visit Spiddal for three-week Irish language courses. American students visit for the autumn semester each year to study Irish-language literature  and culture. Coláiste Chonnacht and Coláiste Lurgan are two local Irish language schools. The music group The Waterboys recorded part of their "Fisherman's Blues" album in Spiddal. They also recorded a song called "Spring Comes to Spiddal" on their album "Room to Roam". The television series "Ros na Rún" is filmed there, and broadcast on TG4. 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.