currach

thumb|right|Fishermen in currach with outboard motor heading back to their harbour at the west coast of Ireland in 1986 thumb|right|Currach on the shore in Inishbofin, Galway thumb|A number of wooden boats in a tidal harbour near Carna, Galway A currach ( ) is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "curragh".

The construction and design of the currach are unique to the west coasts of Ireland. It is referred to as a naomhóg in counties Cork, Waterford and Kerry and as a "canoe" in West Clare. It is similar to the coracle, though the two originated independently. The plank-built rowing boat found on the west coast of Connacht is also called a currach or curach adhmaid ("wooden currach"), and is built in a style very similar to its canvas-covered relative. Folk etymology has it that naomhóg means "little holy one", "little female saint", from naomh, Munster pronunciation "saint, holy", and the feminine diminutive suffix -óg). Another explanation is that it comes from the Latin navis, and it has also been suggested that it derives from the Irish nae, a boat.