Welcome to Spiddal!
Spiddal is a village on the north coast of Galway Bay in Connemara, County Galway. With a population of 237 in 2016, it's not so much the largest, more like the least tiny, of the little settlements that straggle along R336, all described on this page. To the east, see Galway for the city itself and everything along the road through Salthills as far as Silverstrand. To the west, see Carraroe for the area from Costello down the Carraroe peninsula and across the chain of islands to Lettermore and Lettermullan.
Spiddal in Irish is An Spidéal, "the hospital", in that word's older meaning of a place of shelter or hospitality. It would be a most welcome stop in bleak Connemara, with night coming on, the rain lashing down and your horse limping. Inland from the highway, there's farmland but mostly a wilderness of stones and bogs. South is the Bay, with views towards County Clare and the Aran Islands. Most visitors are just passing through along the highway, but Spiddal and its neighboring villages are congenial places to relax for a day or two.
Spiddal (Irish: a Spidéal, meaning 'the hospital') is a village on the shore of Galway Bay in County Galway, Ireland. It is 18 kilometres (11 mi) 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.
