Cooraclare

Cooraclare (Irish: Cuar an Chláir, meaning 'recess of the plain')^[1] is a village near Kilrush, in County Clare, Ireland, and a Catholic parish by the same name.

Cooraclare Cuar an Chláir
Village
St Senan's church, Cooraclare
Cooraclare Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°42′14″N 9°25′06″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Clare
Elevation	18 m (59 ft)
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	R014627

Location

The village of Cooraclare is in the parish of Cooraclare (Kilmacduane) in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe. It is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) from Kilrush on the road from Kilrush to Miltown Malbay. The old name for the parish is Kilmacduane, which was joined for a while to the parish of Kilmihil. In 1848 the two were again separated and Cooraclare took its present name. The parish includes the village of Cree, at times spelled Creegh.^[2]

The parish has two churches, St Senan's in Cooraclare and St Mary's in Cree.^[3]

Cooraclare lies on the River Doonbeg.^[4]

Sport and culture

Cooraclare have won the Clare Senior Football Championship in 1915, 1917, 1918, 1925, 1944, 1956, 1964, 1965, 1986 and 1997, and also hosts the Rose of Clare Festival every year in August since 1979

A song associated with Cooraclare is entitled "The Chapel Gate of Cooraclare".

People

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1831	140	—
1841	178	+27.1%
1851	167	−6.2%
1861	201	+20.4%
1871	171	−14.9%
1881	163	−4.7%
1891	152	−6.7%
1901	125	−17.8%
1911	111	−11.2%
1926	80	−27.9%
1936	86	+7.5%
1946	98	+14.0%
1951	104	+6.1%
1956	112	+7.7%
1961	94	−16.1%
1966	91	−3.2%
[5][6]

Famous natives or residents include:

• Brendan Daly, politician and government minister
• Seán Kinsella, chef who was born in Cooraclare
• Mick Lillis, Gaelic footballer for Laois and, later, manager^[7]
• Tom Morrissey, Gaelic footballer for Clare
• The D'Arcys Brothers, who were active in the War of Independence. In 2023 a monument was erected to their memory in Cooraclare Village which is known as "D'Arcy's Remembered"^{[citation needed]}
  • Michael D'Arcy who died age 22 at Poulmore Cooraclare whilst taking part in an ambush of the Cooraclare RIC.^[8]
  • Patrick D'Arcy who was an active Volunteer and later executed aged 25 in nearby Doonbeg.^[9]
  • Jack D'Arcy who was sentenced to death but evaded British custody en route to Limerick Gaol.

See also

Village sign

Cooraclare village sign

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. "Cuar an Chláir/Cooraclare". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Retrieved 22 October 2021.
2. "Cooraclare (Kilmacduane)". Diocese of Killaloe. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
3. "Cooraclare (Kilmacduane) Churches". Diocese of Killaloe. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
4. "Doonbeg River". Clare.ie. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
5. "Central Statistics Office : Census 2011". Cso.ie. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
6. "Histpop - The Online Historical Population Reports Website". Histpop.org. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
7. "Cooraclare man Lillis steps down as Laois boss". Clare Herald.
8. "Michael D'Arcy" (PDF). Military Archives. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
9. "Statement by witness" (PDF). Military Archives. Retrieved 14 May 2023.