First pick
South Park
Park or garden
12 ha1.2 km of path
15 minto walk all 1.2 km of path
Centralin the middle of Claddagh
The Causeway
Directionsto a point inside
Photo: Ian Capper · CC BY-SA 2.0100%near a park
Outdoors in Claddagh · parks, paths & countryside
Claddagh is on the coast
The sea makes up 46% of the area within 5 km. Burren National Park begins 18 km away. 17% of the land within 5 km is protected for nature, the nearest site being Lough Corrib SAC.
Near a park
100%
of residents within 400 m
Typical Irish town: 92%
Green space
7.2 ha
per 1,000 residents
Typical Irish town: 4.1 ha
Footpaths
25 km
2.4 km per km², town + 1 km
Typical Irish town: 2.1 km per km²
Protected for nature
17%
of the land within 5 km
Nearest: Lough Corrib SAC
The sea
46%
of the area within 5 km
A coastal town
Character
What kind of outdoors neighbourhood is Claddagh?
Read from the data: what stands out first, good and bad.
On the coast46% of the area within 5 km is sea.A park on every doorstep100% of residents live within 400 m of a park or playing field.Hills with a view6 mapped viewpoints, about 60× as many per resident as the typical Irish town.Countryside close byBurren National Park starts 18 km south.
Claddagh’s strongest suit is the sea, followed by parks close to every home.
Against other towns
How Claddagh compares with Irish towns
Each figure against Ireland’s 321 towns and city neighbourhoods of 2,500+ (city hubs left out): the marked bar is the town’s, the line the median. Ireland has no Outdoors Grade yet: the figures are described, each against other Irish towns, and none of them counts towards the overall grade.
A park within a walk100%of residents within 400 m (a 5-minute walk)
83out of 100
Public green space7.2 haper 1,000 residents: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces
69out of 100
Footpaths2.4 kmper km², the town and 1 km around it
53out of 100
Protected for nature17%of the land within 5 km
97out of 100
Woodland0.2%of the town and 1 km around it, as mapped
2out of 100
The sea46%of the area within 5 km
97out of 100
Parks, paths and woods: OpenStreetMap; residents: CSO Census 2022 Small Areas; protected sites: NPWS; sea: CSO and ONS land outlines. A 0 means nothing is mapped.
Towns its size
Claddagh has the 12th most footpaths per km² of 40 towns its size
The 40 Irish towns nearest in population (2,510 to 3,148 residents), by km of footpath per km². Hover for each one’s protected land and woods; click for its page.
From Ballybrack (8.6 km per km²) to Sixmilebridge (0 km per km²).
Footpath, km per km²
Claddagh2.4
Towns its size0.7
Co. Galway towns2.1
Typical Irish town2.1
Green space, ha per 1,000 residents
Claddagh7.2
Towns its size3.8
Co. Galway towns5.5
Typical Irish town4.1
Residents within 400 m of a park
Claddagh100%
Towns its size83%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Against towns its size, Claddagh stands out most for path per km²: only 11 of the other 39 have more.
Every town in the comparison
| Town | Paths (km/km²) | Woodland | Protected | The sea | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ballybrack Dublin | 8.6 | 8% | 0.2% | 36% |
| 2 | Sunday's Well Cork | 7.3 | 2.7% | 0.4% | – |
| 3 | Blackpool Cork | 6.6 | 3% | 1.4% | – |
| 4 | Carna Dublin | 5.4 | 1.7% | 0% | – |
| 5 | Taylor's Hill Galway | 5.1 | 1.2% | 15% | 37% |
| 6 | Togher Cork | 5 | 1.5% | 0.5% | – |
| 7 | Decies Dublin | 4.8 | 7.2% | 0% | – |
| 8 | Mayfield Cork | 4.7 | 5.3% | 3.3% | – |
| 9 | Kylemore Dublin | 4 | 3% | 0% | – |
| 10 | Edenmore Dublin | 2.8 | 3.6% | 5.9% | 24% |
| 11 | Ballynanty Limerick | 2.5 | 5.7% | 12% | – |
| 12 | Claddagh Galway | 2.4 | 0.2% | 17% | 46% |
| 13 | Murrough Galway | 2.3 | 5.1% | 10% | 26% |
| 14 | Grange Upper Waterford | 1.4 | 1.5% | 6.6% | – |
| 15 | Blarney Cork | 1.4 | 14% | 0% | – |
| 16 | Kilbarry Waterford | 1.3 | 1.6% | 5.1% | – |
| 17 | Bantry Cork | 1 | 4.4% | 0% | 18% |
| 18 | Ballina Tipperary | 0.9 | 1.8% | 4.7% | – |
| 19 | Moate Westmeath | 0.7 | 2.4% | 2.4% | – |
| 20 | Callan Kilkenny | 0.7 | 0.1% | 2.3% | – |
| 21 | Kingscourt Cavan | 0.7 | 12% | 0% | – |
| 22 | Kenmare Kerry | 0.6 | 7.2% | 6.5% | 6.4% |
| 23 | Athboy Meath | 0.6 | 1.1% | 1.5% | – |
| 24 | Bundoran Donegal | 0.5 | 2% | 5.1% | 35% |
| 25 | Muinebeag (Bagenalstown) Carlow | 0.5 | 3.9% | 2.9% | – |
| 26 | Skibbereen Cork | 0.5 | 1.7% | 1.6% | – |
| 27 | Kinnegad Westmeath | 0.3 | 4.5% | 4.5% | – |
| 28 | Donegal Donegal | 0.3 | 4% | 4.1% | 12% |
| 29 | Boyle Roscommon | 0.3 | 3.2% | 0% | – |
| 30 | Bailieborough Cavan | 0.3 | 10% | 0% | – |
| 31 | Castleisland Kerry | 0.3 | 1.7% | 12% | – |
| 32 | Kanturk Cork | 0.3 | 0% | 5.1% | – |
| 33 | Ballinrobe Mayo | 0.3 | 0.5% | 11% | – |
| 34 | Baltinglass Wicklow | 0.2 | 4.9% | 0.5% | – |
| 35 | Ballyhaunis Mayo | 0.2 | 2.8% | 3.4% | – |
| 36 | Kilrush Clare | 0.2 | 9.8% | 37% | – |
| 37 | Ballyjamesduff Cavan | 0.2 | 7.6% | 0% | – |
| 38 | Gort Galway | 0.2 | 4.3% | 24% | – |
| 39 | Carndonagh Donegal | 0.1 | 4.9% | 5.1% | 5.8% |
| 40 | Sixmilebridge Clare | 0 | 0.7% | 2% | – |
The map
Parks, woods, footpaths & countryside
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it. The dashed line is Claddagh’s neighbourhood.
Green: parks, gardens, playing fields, play spaces and woods, named or not.© OpenStreetMap contributors · NPWS · Sport Ireland · CSO
Places to walk
Parks to walk in, in and around Claddagh
The biggest is South Park, 12 ha (29 acres).
All 4 named parks and woods by size: 16 ha (40 acres) and 3 km of path
Parks & gardens 16 ha
The two biggest, South Park and The Celia Griffin Children’s Park, are 86% of the named green space and carry 2 km of path between them. 3 of the 4 are under 2 ha.
The Celia Griffin Children’s Park
Park or garden
1.9 ha0.8 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.8 km of path
Centralin the middle of Claddagh
Directionsto a point inside
Claude Toft Park
Park or garden · 260 m outside town
1.3 ha0.7 km of path
10 minto walk all 0.7 km of path
1.0 km south-westfrom the centre
Directionsto a point inside
Father Burke Park
Park or garden
1.0 ha0.3 km of path
Centralin the middle of Claddagh
Directionsto a point inside
Named parks, gardens, commons and woods in the town or within 400 m of it, from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL); pieces of one name that touch are one place. Sizes are the whole site; directions go to a point inside.
Close to home
Everyone in Claddagh lives within a 5-minute walk of a park
Each square is 1 in 100 residents: green lives within 400 m of a public park, garden or playing field (CSO Census 2022 Small Areas against OpenStreetMap).
Within 400 m (100%)Further (0%)
Claddagh100%
Co. Galway towns80%
Typical Irish town92%
Playing fields count, so a park within reach isn’t always one with paths or trees.
Protected areas
17% of the land around Claddagh is protected for nature
Special Areas of Conservation, Special Protection Areas and Natural Heritage Areas designated by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, within 5 km of the town’s edge.
Inside Claddagh14%
Within 5 km17%
Co. Galway towns14%
Typical Irish town1.8%
5 protected sites lie within 5 km of Claddagh. Proposed Natural Heritage Areas cover 12% of the land within 5 km as well; many have been proposed since 1995 and aren’t counted here. Ireland’s National Parks have a block of their own on this page; much of their land also lies inside these sites.
Lough Corrib SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 257 km² · reaches Claddagh
NPWS pageGalway Bay Complex SACSpecial Area of Conservation · 147 km² · reaches Claddagh
NPWS pageInner Galway Bay SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 135 km² · reaches Claddagh
NPWS pageMoycullen Bogs NHANatural Heritage Area · 36 km² · 3.0 km from the edge
NPWS pageLough Corrib SPASpecial Protection Area (birds) · 176 km² · 3.6 km from the edge
NPWS pageProtected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service designated site boundaries (CC BY 4.0), 2026; land within 5 km from CSO Small Areas and, over the border, ONS. Overlapping sites are counted once.
National Parks
Burren National Park is 18 km away
Ireland’s National Parks within 100 km, and the nearest always, by direction and distance from the town’s edge; circle size shows each park’s area.
National ParkThe 5 km around the town
National Park
Burren National Park
18 km south21 km²
National Park
Connemara National Park
58 km north-west21 km²
National Park
Wild Nephin National Park
84 km north171 km²
3 of Ireland’s six National Parks are within 100 km of Claddagh.
National Park boundaries: National Parks and Wildlife Service, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0, © Government of Ireland), 2022. Distances from the town’s outline (CSO Small Areas).
Footpaths and woods
25 km of footpaths cross Claddagh
Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, and mapped woods and forest, in the town and 1 km around it, each beside the county’s and Ireland’s typical town of 2,500+.
Footpaths
25 km
over 10.2 km² of town and the 1 km around it
Woodland
0.2%
about 0 km² of mapped woods
Km per km², town and 1 km around · mapped on OpenStreetMap
CladdaghCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Footpaths2.4
01.53 km per km²
Share of the land · mapped woods and forest
CladdaghCo. Galway townsTypical Irish town
Woodland0.2%
0%50%100%
Claddagh has more footpath per km² than 53% of Irish towns and less woodland than 98% of Irish towns.
Footpaths and woods: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Woods are mapped cover, private and Coillte forests included.
Footpaths & trails
1 waymarked walk passes through or near Claddagh
25 km of footpaths are mapped in Claddagh and the kilometre around it, 2.4 km for every square kilometre (the typical Irish town has 2.1).
One more waymarked walk on OpenStreetMap
Local
Slí na Sláinte4.2 km
Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0), registered trails within 5 km; footpaths: OpenStreetMap (ODbL). More waymarked walks: OpenStreetMap route relations (ODbL) within 2 km, those already on the register left out. Coillte’s own forest trails and recreation sites aren’t included: Coillte’s terms limit its data to research or private study. Its trails on the National Trails Register are listed.
When to get out
The best walking months in Claddagh: May to September
Met Éireann’s 1991–2020 averages for the town’s 1 km square and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 15 to 30 °C and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 8.0 | 9.7 | 11.7 | 13.9 | 15.8 | 17.0 | 16.5 | 14.8 | 12.6 | 10.4 | 8.5 | 7.5 |
| High (°C) | 9 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 9 |
| Rain (mm) | 128 | 105 | 96 | 74 | 78 | 83 | 96 | 113 | 104 | 124 | 139 | 146 |
April is the driest month (74 mm) and July the warmest (highs of 19 °C). Winter days are short, about 7.5 hours of daylight in December, and 146 mm of rain falls in December, the wettest month. The climate in Claddagh →
The coast
The coast and bathing waters near Claddagh
46% of the area within 5 km of Claddagh is sea. 4 bathing waters are within 5 km, each with its latest class.
Grattan Road BeachSufficient (2025) · 0.3 km from town
beaches.ieBallyloughane BeachGood (2025) · 1.9 km from town
beaches.ieSalthill BeachExcellent (2025) · 2.0 km from town
beaches.ieSilverstrand BeachExcellent (2025) · 4.3 km from town
beaches.ie2 of the 4 are rated excellent, Salthill Beach among them.
Bathing water classes: EPA, latest season (CC BY 4.0). Sea: the area outside CSO and ONS land outlines. Check today’s water quality on beaches.ie
Things to do
6 viewpoints and 18 playgrounds
Mapped on OpenStreetMap in the town and 2 km around it; each count per resident beside Irish towns’ typical town of 2,500+. Beaches are on the coast’s list, from the EPA.
6Viewpoints59.6× the typical Irish town, per resident1Picnic sites18Playgrounds5× the typical Irish town, per resident6Slipways
Per resident, viewpoints stand out most: Claddagh has 59.6× as many as the typical Irish town.
Every named place, with directions
Viewpoints 6
Salmon Weir Bridge0.4 km from town
DirectionsPlus 5 viewpoints without a name on the map.
Picnic sites 1
Plus 1 picnic site without a name on the map.
Playgrounds 18
Claddagh Playgroundin town
DirectionsMary Byrne Playground0.1 km from town
DirectionsClaude Toft Park Playground0.5 km from town
DirectionsKennedy Park Playground0.6 km from town
DirectionsPlus 14 playgrounds without a name on the map.
Slipways 6
Plus 6 slipways without a name on the map.
Source: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Geofabrik extract, October 2026. Unnamed places are counted, not listed.
Gardens & nature
2 gardens and nature sites to visit near Claddagh
Gardens, national parks, nature sites and islands within 15 km of the town’s edge, each with its own page.
Eyre SquareGarden · 0.6 km from town
Its pageCircle of Life National Organ Donor Commemorative GardenGarden · 1.4 km from town
Its pagePlaces to visit: Fáilte Ireland open data (CC BY 4.0), OpenStreetMap and Wikidata.
Next door
Next to Claddagh
The nearest towns of 1,000+ within 20 km, coloured by the share of the land within 5 km protected for nature.
Woodquay and Nuns IslandSalthillTaylor's HillEyre SquareNewcastleDanganCladdagh
Under 1%1–10%10–25%25–50%50%+
| Town | Near a park | Green space, ha per 1,000 | Paths (km/km²) | Protected within 5 km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claddagh | 100% | 7.2 | 2.4 | 17% |
| Woodquay and Nuns Island 1.2 km | 100% | 9.6 | 4.5 | 14% |
| Salthill 1.4 km | 100% | 3.8 | 3.3 | 15% |
| Taylor's Hill 1.5 km | 100% | 9.1 | 5.1 | 15% |
| Eyre Square 1.6 km | 100% | 13.0 | 3.4 | 14% |
| Newcastle 1.6 km | 100% | 14.4 | 5.4 | 15% |
| Dangan 2.3 km | 81% | 5.4 | 4.3 | 18% |
None of the neighbours has many more of its people near a park than Claddagh. Newcastle has at least twice Claddagh’s green space per resident.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Green space nearby. The share of residents (CSO Small Areas, by where people live) within 400 m of a park, garden, common or playing field mapped on OpenStreetMap. Mapping is uneven: a town whose parks nobody has mapped looks greyer than it is.
- Protected areas. Land in a Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area or Natural Heritage Area within 5 km, overlaps counted once. Protected for nature doesn’t always mean open to walkers.
- Footpaths and hiking routes. Footways that aren’t pavements, paths, bridleways, steps and tracks open on foot, in the town and 1 km around it, from OpenStreetMap. Trails are the registered ones within 5 km; a trail often follows mapped paths, so the two aren’t added.
- Woodland. Woods and forest as OpenStreetMap maps them, private and Coillte forests included: mapped cover, not access.
- No grade yet. Ireland’s grades don’t include the outdoors yet: these figures describe the town and stand beside the median Irish town.
Questions about the outdoors in Claddagh
What is the biggest park in Claddagh?
South Park, 12 ha (29 acres). The Celia Griffin Children’s Park (1.9 ha) is second. 4 named parks, gardens and playing fields are in the neighbourhood or within 400 m of it.
Is there protected countryside near Claddagh?
Yes: 17% of the land within 5 km is protected, across 5 sites. Lough Corrib SAC reaches Claddagh.
Where can you swim near Claddagh?
The nearest bathing water is Grattan Road Beach, 0.3 km from town: Sufficient (2025). Check beaches.ie before swimming: a notice can close a beach for the day.
How many people in Claddagh live near a park?
100% of residents live within 400 m, about a 5-minute walk, of a park or playing field; in the typical Irish town it is 92%.
When is the best time of year for walking in Claddagh?
On the town’s 1991–2020 averages and its daylight: May to September, when days are long, highs reach 15 °C and rain is light for the place.
Is Claddagh near a National Park?
The nearest of Ireland’s six National Parks is Burren National Park, 18 km south of the town’s edge; it covers about 21 km². 2 more are within 100 km.
What is there to do outdoors around Claddagh?
Within 2 km, OpenStreetMap maps 6 viewpoints and 1 picnic site; the named ones are listed under Things to do, with directions.
Sources
Where Claddagh’s outdoors figures come from
- Parks, woods and paths. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): parks, woods and footpaths, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Protected sites. National Parks and Wildlife Service: designated sites (SAC, SPA, NHA), 2026
- Trails. Sport Ireland: National Trails Register, 2026
- Residents. CSO: Census 2022 Small Areas (residents)
- National Parks. National Parks and Wildlife Service: National Park boundaries, generalised to 50 m (CC BY 4.0), 2022
- Things to do. OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL): viewpoints, hills, waterfalls, nature reserves, picnic sites, playgrounds, campsites and waymarked walks, Geofabrik extract, October 2026
- Bathing water. EPA: bathing water quality, 2025 season
- Weather. Met Éireann: 1991–2020 averages (Copyright Met Éireann)
Protected sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service (CC BY 4.0). Trails: Sport Ireland National Trails Register (CC BY 4.0). Bathing water: EPA (CC BY 4.0). Parks, woods and paths: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Not on this page yet: Coillte’s forest trails (its terms) and bike routes.
Contains Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, Census 2022, and Tailte Éireann boundaries (CSO Urban Areas, Small Areas, local electoral areas, constituencies), under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0).