Evidence of ancient settlement around the village include a number of
ringfort,
bawn,
enclosure and
crannog sites in the
townlands of Claregalway, Cloonacauneen, Lydacan and Pollaghrevagh. Among the larger historical sites, within the village bounds on the banks of the
River Clare, are
Claregalway Friary, founded in mid-13th century, and a
Norman tower house dating to the 16th century. According to the
Annals of Connacht, O'Domnaill (of the
O'Donnell's of Tírconnell) and Macwilliam Burke (of the
Burkes of Mayo "burnt the town" of Claregalway in In 2001, a restoration of an old bridge over the old course of the River Clare was completed. These nine stone arches are above the level of the current road. The
civil parish of Claregalway (Baile Chláir) is approximately in area and spans 29 townlands. Some of the larger townlands include Carnmore, Lydican, Loughgeorge and Cregboy. Lydican is notable as the origin of the Irish ancestors (
Patrick Lynch) of
Che Guevara. Lydican was the site of an O'Heyne Castle and the last of the chieftains, Connor Crone O Heyne, was living there in 1612. The lands of the O'Heyne chieftains were confiscated in the late 17th century and it was then that the Lynches took up residence there. The Lynches principal holdings were in the city of Galway. Until September 2017, the village sat at the junction of the busy N17 and N18 national primary routes with over 27,000 vehicles having formerly passed through the village every day. ==Demographics==