Camus or Camas is a small village

Village

A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...

 in the Connemara

Connemara

Connemara is a district in the west of Ireland consisting of a broad peninsula between Killary Harbour and Kilkieran Bay in the west of County Galway.-Overview:...

 Gaeltacht

Gaeltacht

is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...

 of County Galway

County Galway

County Galway is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the city of Galway. Galway County Council is the local authority for the county. There are several strongly Irish-speaking areas in the west of the county...

, Ireland

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

. It is between Casla and An Teach Dóite, and is divided into Camas Uachtair and Camas Íochtair, as well as several other townlands, such as Scríob, Gleann Trasna, Leitir Móir, and Doire Bhainbh.

Name

The name Camus/Camas (both versions are used, though the version Camus, which has been in use for generations in both Irish and English has been retained by the great majority of the population) may come from the shape of the nearby bay in which the tides come and go through the narrow strait at Dun Manus and enter Camus bay at an angle, i.e.: cam uisce or crooked water. Camus residents are known by their nickname of Maicíní (the etymology of this word is unclear, although it was common in south Conamara to give each village nicknames). Camus is also known in song as Camus na bhFoirnéis (Camus of the furnaces). It is believed that a small medieval foundry was operated close to the small bridge at the centre of the area in the 18th century.

Notable buildings

Camus is also the location for Screeb House (Screeb House is in Screeb, not Camus) built by Thomas Fuge in the 18 century, which is also a former residence for the Berridge family, the local landlords in the 19th century, and also the lodge for a large system of interconnected fishing lakes. Lord Dudley, Lady Dudley (founder of the Dudley Nurses) and Sir William Orpen also spent time in this house.
Sir William Orpen painted some paintings in the area - "Old John's Cottage" was painted in the nearby house of John (Seán) & Mary Geoghegan in Doire Bhainbh in 1908 and he also painted "The Holy Well" with scenes from the Aran Islands and nearby An Teach Dóite (Maam Cross). Hundreds of students from all over Ireland visit the area each summer to the famous Irish language

Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...

 school, Coláiste Chamuis

Coláiste Chamuis

Coláiste Chamuis is an organiser of Irish language summer courses in the Gaeltacht villages of Camus, Ros a' Mhíl and An Tulach . Students attend courses in any of June, July or August and stay with local, Irish speaking families. Coláiste Chamuis was founded by Gearóid Denvir in 1973 in Camus...

, founded by Gearóid and Máire Denvir.

Notable citizens

• The Irish language novelist, Colm Ó Ceallaigh.
• Sean nós singing sisters, Nóra Ghriallais, Neain Ghriallais & Sarah Ghriallais. They are all winners of "Corn Uí Riada
  Corn Uí Riada
  Corn Uí Riada is the premier sean nós singing competition at Oireachtas na Gaeilge, an annually held arts festival of Irish culture, It is named in honour of the composer and founder of the legendary male choir Cór Chúil Aodha, Seán Ó Riada...
  
  " which is a sean nós
  Sean-nós song
  Sean-nós is a highly ornamented style of unaccompanied traditional Irish singing. It is a sean-nós activity, which also includes sean-nós dancing...
  
   competition that is part of Oireachtas na Gaeilge
  Oireachtas na Gaeilge
  Oireachtas na Gaeilge is an annually held arts festival of Irish culture, which has run since the 1890s. Based on the Welsh Eisteddfod, Oireachtas na Gaeilge runs for one week, featuring performances, demonstrations and competitions...
  
  . Nóra has won the title three times.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Connacht Irish
  Connacht Irish
  Connacht Irish is the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the province of Connacht. Gaeltacht regions in Connacht are found in Counties Mayo and Galway...