Ardrahan () is a village in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Ireland.

History

Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in

1236 Year 1236 (Roman numerals, MCCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Spring – A fleet consisting of ships from the republics o ...

, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains of a

round tower A fortified tower (also defensive tower or castle tower or, in context, just tower) is one of the defensive structures used in fortifications, such as castles, along with curtain walls. Castle towers can have a variety of different shapes and ful ...

, which suggests that a monastic community may have existed on the site before the castle was built.

Places of interest

The most noteworthy attraction in Ardrahan is Tulira Castle, once owned by playwright and independence activist Edward Martyn. Tulira Castle was for a long time owned by

Galway County Council Galway County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Gaillimhe) is the authority responsible for local government in County Galway, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...

, but was bought in 2015 by CarTrawler owner Niall Turley for €5.8 million. The church at Labane, Ardrahan, which was the parish church of

Joe Roche Joe or JOE may refer to: Arts Film and television * ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle * ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage * ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971 * ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...

, has several stained glass windows by

Alfred E. Child Alfred Ernest Child (1875–1939) was an English stained glass artist, a lecturer in the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art and was associated with An Túr Gloine. Life and education Alfred Ernest Child was born in London in 1875. As a young ...

Ethel Rhind Ethel Rhind (1 December 1877 – 6 March 1952) was an Irish stained-glass and mosaic artist, who was associated with An Túr Gloine. Life and education Rhind was born 1 December 1877 in Arrah, Bihar, India. Her father was Robert Hunter Rhind, a ...

and Michael Healy. The

Ardrahan Grassland Ardrahan () is a village in County Galway, Ireland. History Richard de Burgo conquered Galway in 1236, and granted the land to Maurice Fitzgerald who built the castle whose ruins still stand today. The churchyard wall contains the remains ...

is a Special Area of Conservation located to the west of the village.

Transport

Ardrahan is on the R458.

Ardrahan railway station Ardrahan railway station serves the village of Ardrahan in County Galway, Ireland. History Opened by the Athenry and Ennis Junction Railway, at the beginning of the 20th century the station was run by the Great Southern and Western Railway ...

opened on 15 September 1869, was closed to passenger traffic on 5 April 1976 and finally closed on 11 June 1983. A new railway station has opened as part of phase one of the reopening of the Western Rail Corridor between

Ennis Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a population of 25,27 ...

and Athenry.

Education

There are three schools in Ardrahan: Labane N.S, Ballyglass N.S. & Kiltiernan NS

Sport

Ardrahan GAA, the local

hurling Hurling ( ga, iománaíocht, ') is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic Irish origin, played by men. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goals, the number of p ...

club, won its first

Galway Senior Hurling Club Championship The Galway Senior Hurling Championship (known for sponsorship reasons as the Brooks Galway Senior Hurling Championship) is an annual hurling competition organised by the Galway County Board of the Gaelic Athletic Association since 1887 for the ...

title in 1894 and since then has won it on 11 occasions, having contested 18 county finals in its history. It is second on the role of honour to Castlegar who have won 17 titles. Ardrahan also has a Camogie club. In 2006, and again in 2019, the U14 girls won the Féile Final and went on to represent Galway in Cork. In 2006, they got to the All-Ireland Semi-Final.

Cultural references

Ardrahan is mentioned in William Hope Hodgson's book ''

The House on the Borderland ''The House on the Borderland'' (1908) is a supernatural horror novel by British fantasist William Hope Hodgson. The novel is a hallucinatory account of a recluse's stay at a remote house, and his experiences of supernatural creatures and ot ...

'' as the nearest greater village to a small village called Kraighten, near which the author's diary has been found. Ardrahan also features in the rousing ballad ''The West's Awake'', most famously rendered by

Joe McDonagh Joseph McDonagh (November 1953 – 20 May 2016) was an Irish hurler and, later, Gaelic games administrator, who served as the president of the Gaelic Athletic Association from 1997 until 2000. He played hurling with his club Ballinderree ...

in the immediate aftermath of Galway's All Ireland Hurling Championship victory of 1980.

References

External links

Ardrahan
at Discover Ireland
Ardrahan
at Ireland Reaching Out {{Roman Catholic Diocese of Galway, Kilmacduagh and Kilfenora Towns and villages in County Galway