clachan

The clachan finds a place in the Australian English lexicon because we have the remnants of the only one found outside Ireland. A clachan is a traditional Scottish or Irish village in which the houses cluster around a central space, reflecting the communal nature of the social group. The word is Gaelic, from clach a stone. The ch is pronounced like the ch in loch but of course most non-Gaelic speakers find it easier to say [kla-kuhn]. 

 The Australian clachan is about an hour’s drive out from Adelaide and has an Irish connection. It was still surviving in the early 1900s, whereas traditional Irish clachans died out in the mid-1800s. The Irish were drawn to Australia in the 1850s by the prospect of working in the copper mines. The site is currently being excavated by archeologists.