Bearna is the official name in Irish while Barna is the anglicised spelling.
Barna, officially known as Bearna in both Irish and English,[2][3] is a coastal village on the R336regional road in Connemara, County Galway, Ireland. Located approximately 7km west of the centre of Galway city, it has become a satellite village of Galway. The village, which is mostly Irish speaking, is a constituent part of the regions of Ireland that make up the Gaeltacht.
History
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of shell midden, ringfort, holy well and castle sites in the townlands of Barna, Knockaunnacarragh, Derryloney and Truskey.[4][5] Barna House, a large Georgian house in Barna townland, was built in 1778.[6] The quay at Barna was built in the 1820s to designs by Alexander Nimmo.[7]
Demographics
Modern construction in BarnaGalway Bay seen from Barna
At the time of the 2011 census, the population in the village was 1,878,[8] of which males numbered 920 and females were 958. The total housing stock was 772, of which vacant households numbered 98. With an approximate area of 1.89km2, the village area had a 2011 population density of 994 persons per km2.[9] By the 2022 census, the village had a population of 2,336.[1][8]
Irish language
In 2011, the Barna Electoral Division (ED) had a population of 3,630, of which males numbered 1,804 and females were 1,826.[10] At that time there were 2,298 Irish speakers in the electoral division. According to the 2006 census, approximately 25% of inhabitants spoke Irish daily.[11] By the 2011 census, 24% of Bearna's locals used Irish as a daily language.[citation needed]
Community and sport
In 1976, a community development group called Comharchumann Bearna Teoranta[12] was formed after funds were collected to purchase a 2-acre (8,100m2) plot at Troscaigh Thiar to be used for community purposes. Several sports facilities, including a tennis court and pitch and putt course, were subsequently developed on the site.[12]
↑"Olympic rowing team train at NUI Galway". nuigalway.ie. 13 April 2008. Three members of the Olympic team are NUI Galway rowers, Alan Martin (Salthill), Cormac Folan (Barna) and James Wall (Limerick)
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