Miltown Malbay ( ) is a village and parish in the west of County Clare, Ireland, next to Spanish Point. The name Malbay is thought to come from the Irish meall-bhaigh, which means treacherous coast. The name could also stem from the legend of the witch "Mal" who was drowned in the bay by Fionn Mac Cumhaill.

History

Miltown is also home to the site of the Rineen Ambush which is located near Rineen on the main road to Lahinch. On September 22nd 1920 a RIC tender was ambushed at Rineen, Co Clare (between Ennistymon and Miltown Malbay) by Mid-Clare Brigade IRA mainly in retaliation for the killing of Martin Devitt at Crow's Bridge earlier in the year. The ambush led to the deaths of six policemen. In reprisal for Rineen Ambush, the RIC ran amok in Ennistymon, Lahinch and Miltown Malbay killing six people and burning 26 buildings, including Ennistymon and Lahinch Townhalls.

Transport

• Miltown Malbay was served by the West Clare Railway, which operated from the 2 July 1887 and finally closed on 1 February 1961.

Population

The parish had a population of 570 in the 2006 Census.

Business

The main sources of employment in the area are tourism & hospitality, construction and agriculture. There are two large hotels in the parish, Burke's Armada Hotel and The Bellbridge Hotel. There are numerous B & Bs in Miltown and its surrounding area. There are also a number of good quality pubs in the village, however this number has been greatly reduced in recent years with the closure of Curtin's, Fahey's and Queally's. The pubs that are currently trading are Friel's, Cogan's, O'Loughlin's, The Players Club, Michael A's, Marrinan's, Clancy's, Cleary's (Blondes), Malone's, The Westbridge, Hillery's, The Central and The Malbay. Recent years have brought many new shops to the town for example a bridal shop, a bookmaker's office, a Chinese takeaway, a pizzeria, a clothes shop, a surf shop and a barber's shop.

In 2009 Andrea Corr from The Corrs got married to Brett Desmond in St. Joseph's Church. Famous Guests included Bono & his wife Ali Hewson.

Education

There are 4 primary schools and 1 secondary school in the parish. The primary schools are Miltown Malbay N.S, Rockmount N.S, Rineen N.S and Moy N.S. Moy is a gaelscoil. The secondary school is St Joseph's Secondary School, Spanish Point. St Joseph's draws pupils from the parishes of Miltown Malbay, Kilmurry Ibrickane, Doonbeg and Cooraclare.

GAA

Miltown is also home to St. Joseph's Miltown Malbay GAA Club, Clonbony GAA club and Moy GAA club. St. Joseph's are the only senior team in the parish. They have won the County Clare Senior Football Championship on 12 occasions with the latest win in 1990. It has teams in Senior, Junior A, U21, U18, U16, U14, U12, U10 and U8. It also has ladies' teams with Senior, Junior, Minor, U16 and U14. The current chairperson of the club is Carragh Vaughan while the secretary and treasurer are Shane O'Connell and Tommy Byrne respectively.

Notable people

• Andrew MacCurtin (Aindrias Mac Cruitín) (c.1670–1738), poet and scribe.
• The village is home to the annual Willie Clancy Summer School and Festival. The festival honours Willie Clancy, (1918-1973), a famous uilleann piper who was a native of the village.
• Dr Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland 1976-1990, was born at Spanish Point near Miltown Malbay in 1923.
• Chief Superintendent Anthony McMahon, founder and former head of the Murder Squad of An Garda Siochana and Irish Liaison to Interpol was born in Miltown Malbay. He was responsible for the hiring of the country's first State Pathologist, Dr John Harbison.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References