Ahascragh Áth Eascrach | |
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Village | |
 Street in Ahascragh in 2008 | |
  Ahascragh Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:53°23′49″N8°20′06″W / 53.397°N 8.335°W /53.397; -8.335 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Galway |
| Population | 186 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | M777385 |
Ahascragh (Irish:Áth Eascrach)[2] is a village in eastCounty Galway, Ireland. It is located 11 km (7 mi) north-west ofBallinasloe on the Ahascragh/Bunowen River, a tributary of theRiver Suck. TheR358regional road passes through the village. As of the2022 census, it had a population of 186 people.[1] The village is in acivil parish of the same name.[2]
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includesringfort,souterrain andholy well sites in thetownlands of Weston, Ahascragh East and Ahascragh West.[3]
The patron saint of the village isSaint Cuan. His death is recorded in theAnnals of the Four Masters in 788 A.D.[4]St. Cuan's Well lies to the northeast. While some sources indicate the existence of a pre-Norman church within the village, associated with this saint,[3] the area's currentRoman Catholic andChurch of Ireland churches date fromc. 1815 andc. 1800 respectively.[5][6]
According to the Annals of the Four Masters, the battle of Ahascragh took place in 1307 between English forces and the local O'KellyChieftains.[4]Clonbrock Castle, near Ahascragh, is a medievaltower house which dates to the late 15th century and is traditionally associated with the O'Kelly family.[7]
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Ahascragh had two Anglo-Irish seats of residence, located in Castlegar and Clonbrock, with respectiveestate houses.
In Castlegar sat the Mahon family. The Mahons were settled at Castlegar from the late 17th century. They intermarried on a number of occasions with members of the Browne family of Westport. In 1819, the head of the family became a baronet. In the 1830s, at the time of the first Ordnance Survey, Ross Mahon was the proprietor of several townlands in the parish of Ahascragh. The Mahon estate was one of the principal lessors in the parish of Grange, barony of Loughrea at the time ofGriffith's Valuation (1848–1864). The Mahons also held extensive lands in the baronies of Clonmacnowen and Killian. In the 1870s, the Castlegar Estate amounted to over 32 square kilometres (7,900 acres) of County Galway as well as over 3.2 square kilometres (790 acres) in the parish of Termonbarry, barony ofBallintober North in County Roscommon. In 1906, Sir William Mahon held over 4.9 square kilometres (1,200 acres) of untenanted land in the Ahascragh area. MacLochlainn writes that most of the estate was sold to the Land Commission in 1977.[8] In 1979 the house was sold by the Mahons to John Horan, who advertised the house for sale again in 1988. There is still a house at this site.[9][10]
In Clonbrock sat the Dillon family, who acquired the lands from the O'Kellys (O'Ceallaigh) in the late 16th century.[11][12] Clonbrock'sestate house, now in ruin, was built in the 1780s.[13] By 1824 the then Lord Clonbrock, Luke Dillon 2ndBaron Clonbrock, was listed as a resident proprietor in County Galway. At the time of Griffith's Valuation (1848–1864), the then Lord Clonbrock was one of the principal lessors in the parishes of Ahascragh, Fohanagh, Killalaghtan and Killosolan in the barony of Kilconnell and Killoran in thebarony of Longford.[14] In the 1870s, the Clonbrock estate amounted to over 110 square kilometres (27,000 acres). The lands, house and demesne at Cahir, barony of Clonmacnowen, owned by James Dillon, were offered for sale in the Encumbered Estates Court in July 1854. In 1906, Lord Clonbrock held over 8.1 square kilometres (2,000 acres) of untenanted land and the mansion house at Clonbrock.[15] Sold by the Dillon family in the 1970s, the house was severely damaged by fire in 1986.[16]
Thenational (primary) school in Ahascragh, Eglish National School, is one of several in the broader parish and had approximately 40 pupils enrolled as of 2009.[17]
Ahascragh-Fohenagh GAA, the localGaelic Athletic Association club, is based in nearbyFohenagh.[18]
Species in the local Bunowen River include Wild Brown Trout.[citation needed] The fishery is part of the Shannon Regional Fisheries Board's "Midland Fisheries Group" of controlled waters, and anglers require a fishing permit (ticket charge) to fish there.[19]
TheRTÉ show,Don't Feed the Gondolas presented bySean Moncrieff, satirised small village Ireland at the end of each show, choosing Ahascragh and the fictional "Head of the Parish Co-mit-tea" Monica Loolly as its instrument.[20][21]
Authority control databases: Geographic |
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