Ballyconneely

19th century antiquarian John O'Donovan documents a number of variants of the village, including Ballyconneely, Baile 'ic Conghaile, Ballykineely, Ballycunneely, and Balyconneely.^[1] An Post Placenames Branch archival notes Baile Uí Chonghaile, Baile 'ic Confhaola and other various spellings.^[2]

The surname, Conneely, was originally Mac Conghaile (Ó Conghaile contemporaneously), whereas Ó Conghaola (modern spelling Ó Conaola - Conneally) is an entirely unrelated sept, located in southern County Galway belonging to the Uí bhFhiachrach Aidne. Archival records from the early 20th century attests the origin of the village's name to that of Muintear Chlann Chonghaile or Clann Mhic Conghaile.^[2]

Settlements are spread out north on the road to Clifden and south on the road to Roundstone. This peninsula, jutting into the Atlantic Ocean between Clifden to the north and Roundstone to the south, is a mainly rural area. Its name is based on the old civil parish of Ballindoon, which in turn was named from the old fort or cashel on Doon Hill.^{[citation needed]}

The area is home to several beaches: the Coral Strand at Derrygimla; west and north to Knock, Mannin, Dunloughan and Truska; and east and south from Keeraunmore, Aillebrack, and Ballyconneely Bay to Calla, Dolan and Murvey. Some of these beaches are also used for shore fishing.^{[citation needed]}

In 1854, the first salmon farming operation in the United Kingdom was carried out on the Dohulla Fishery.

In 1919, the first transatlantic flight by Alcock and Brown ended two miles away in Derrygimla Bog, an unsuitable landing place which damaged the aircraft.

The crash landing was near the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Station ^[3] built in 1905, which was used to send the first transatlantic wireless message, to Cape Breton in Nova Scotia, in 1907.

A team of Dutch botanists studied lakes and water chemistry around Ballyconneelly in 1975 and throughout Ireland until 2010, due to the island's unique post-Ice Age landscape no longer found in the Netherlands.^[4]