The Claddagh and Eglinton Canal: The Gliomach

In the Claddagh, the ancient fishing village opposite the old walled city of Galway, the very air carries old superstitions. Fishermen from the Claddagh once feared a creature called the Gliomach, meaning the Clawed One. They believed it lived in a cave beneath where the Claddagh church now stands, and it arose on dark nights, hungry and angry, to tear their nets and drag men into the deep pool that is now the Canal Basin. When the Eglinton Canal was built in 1848, it was said that its construction disturbed the Gliomach’s lair. From then on, boats disappeared and no man dared cross the lock gate bridge after midnight. During the famine winters, when the river froze and hunger drove people to desperation, some swore they saw the Gliomach beneath the ice, his eyes glowing blue. To this day locals say the canal hums strangely at night. The ripples move against the wind, and those who look too long into the water sometimes see something looking back.