Down by the Claddagh

The Claddagh village was unique--a group of thatch cottages built in haphazard fashion outside the walls of Galway City. It was always a place apart--a colourful fishing village with its own King, its own laws, its own famous ring. It has inspired writers and painters and songwriters. In the early nineteenth century, the Claddagh fishing fleet numbered more than two hundred boats--what a sight they must have been during the blessing of the bay. The fishing industry declined, however, so that at the beginning of the century, there were only a small number of boats working from the village. In the 1930s the Old Claddagh was demolished. The spirit of the Claddagh lives on today--a wonderful sense of civic pride, of tradition and of the unique heritage that has been handed down. This book gives us a wonderful insight into that heritage.