Carna, Galway

Carna is a small area in Connemara, County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is located on the country's west coast in the heart of the Gaeltacht, about 50 km west of Galway city. Carna is a small area, but it has a large enough influence on the surrounding areas in Connemara as it contains a Garda Síochána station, a Health Centre including a Rapid Response Ambulance and it also houses an Irish Coastguard lifeboat. Carna is located close to the village of Cill Chiaráin and they share the peninsula locally called Iorras Aithneach. There are currently 178 people living in Carna village. The population dramatically dropped from the previous average of 8,000 before the Great Famine.

The National University of Ireland, Galway, has an Irish-language and educational centre (Áras Shorcha Ní Ghuairim) in Roisín na Mainiach, near Carna. It also operates a marine biology station Martin Ryan Institute in Maínis and an atmospheric research station at Mace Head, Carna, which is run by the university's experimental physics department.

There is a water reservoir in Carna that provides west Connemara, including Roundstone with fresh water. A bus is also based in Carna that brings passengers between Carna and Galway City picking up passengers along the N59.

Following the Cromwellian War and the subsequent Down Survey based confiscations, many of the dispossessed settled in Connacht. The statement "to hell or to Connacht" originated in this migration. Carna is in a strong Gaeltacht region, so most of the people speak Irish at home. The population is almost totally (96% in 2006) bilingual with English being the second language spoken. There is an Irish language college for second level students located in Carna and Cill Chiaráin called Coláiste Sheosaimh.

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