Leenaun An Líonán | |
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Village | |
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Coordinates:53°35′45″N9°41′39″W / 53.5958°N 9.6942°W /53.5958; -9.6942 | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Connacht |
County | County Galway |
Elevation | 127 m (417 ft) |
Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
Irish Grid Reference | L874618 |
Leenaun (Irish:An Líonán[1] or Líonán Cinn Mhara, meaning 'valley at the head of the sea'),[2] alsoLeenane, is a village and 1,845 acretownland inCounty Galway, Ireland, on the southern shore ofKillary Harbour and the northern edge ofConnemara.
Leenaun is situated on the junction of theN59 road, and theR336 road in Connemara.
Leenaun lies where the deepu-shapedMaam Valley, bounded by theDevilsmother to the east, and themassif ofLeenaun Hill to the west, meetsKillary Harbour, Ireland's deepest fjord. Across the fjord from the village, is the massif ofBen Gorm, with the larger massif ofMweelrea behind it; while to the east, lie the scenicAasleagh Falls. The village is on the route of theWestern Waylong-distance trail and theWild Atlantic Way.
On 18 July 2007, following heavy rain, the only river bridge in the village was swept away, cutting the town in half, and altering some local routes by over 100-kilometres.; the bridge had stood for over 182 years.[3] A permanent replacement bridge was constructed in 2009, with increased traffic capacity.[4]
In the village are two pubs, a hotel with seaweed baths and two guesthouses, one of which is a former convent of the Sisters of Mercy, with a breakfast room in the former chapel. There is also a café-restaurant and a sheep and wool museum with a shop and its own café, and a post office and shop, as well as a community centre.
Within Maam Valley are some ancient woods, and across the fjord isDelphi (the valley of the Bundorragha River is sometimes called the Delphi Valley) inCounty Mayo, which has a postal address of "Leenane, County Galway," and which contains both a fishing lodge and a resort hotel and adventure sports centre. Both nearby, on theRiver Erriff which runs into the fjord, and across at Delphi, with a river and two lakes, are active fisheries.
The major tourist attraction ofKylemore Abbey lies to the south and the scenicRenvyle-peninsula lies to the south-west.
Leenaun was the setting for the 1990 filmThe Field, and ofMartin McDonagh's playsThe Beauty Queen of Leenane andThe Lonesome West.