The Story of the Clifden Name

The Irish name An Clochán means “the stepping-stone” or “little stone structure.” The word clochán can refer to a small stone structure or a causeway made from stones, and the name reflects the stony landscape and traditional stonework of western Ireland.

Clifden is the principal town of Connemara, sitting between the Atlantic coast and the dramatic peaks of the Twelve Bens. It is a relatively young town by Irish standards, founded in the early nineteenth century by John D'Arcy, whose family owned much of the surrounding land.

D'Arcy established Clifden around 1812, hoping to create a prosperous town and port for western Galway. Streets were laid out, houses and businesses were constructed, and the settlement gradually became the commercial center of Connemara.

The town's position was carefully chosen. It stood near the mouth of the Owenglin River, with access to the sea and fertile land around the surrounding valleys. The rugged landscape that made travel difficult also helped give Clifden its distinctive character.

Above the town stand the ruins of Clifden Castle, the former home of the D'Arcy family. Built in the Gothic Revival style, the castle overlooks the surrounding countryside and remains one of the area's most recognizable landmarks.

During the nineteenth century, Clifden became an important market town and administrative center. The arrival of the railway in 1895 connected Clifden with Galway and brought new opportunities for trade and tourism.

The railway also helped open Connemara to visitors. Travelers could now reach one of the most remote and spectacular regions of Ireland with far greater ease.

Clifden became internationally famous in 1919, when aviators John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown completed the first nonstop transatlantic flight. Their aircraft landed in a bog near Clifden after crossing the Atlantic from Newfoundland, marking one of the great achievements of early aviation.

The surrounding landscape has remained central to Clifden's identity. Mountains, lakes, stone walls, bogs and the Atlantic coastline surround the town, creating the landscape most people associate with Connemara.

The Irish name captures something of that landscape:

An Clochán — the stepping-stone.

It is a small, practical word for a town surrounded by a landscape where stone has always been essential—to roads, walls, bridges, houses and fields.

Clifden may be a relatively young town, but its name belongs to an older Connemara tradition in which stone and landscape shaped everyday life.

Clifden is a wonderful example of a place where a nineteenth-century town grew within an ancient landscape, carrying forward the stone-built character and Gaelic heritage of western Ireland.