Oranmore ( or ) is a town in

County Galway County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...

, Ireland, east of

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

city on an inlet of Galway Bay. At the 2022 census, Oranmore had a population of 5,819. The town is in a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of the same name.

Etymology

Oranmore is the anglicisation of ''Uarán Mór'' or ''Órán Mór''. The first written record of Oranmore is in the

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

. It was originally called ''Fuarán Mór'', meaning "great spring" in Irish. This name reputedly refers to a spring or well near the village.

History

Pre-history

Evidence of prehistoric settlement in the Oranmore Parish area include a number of

fulacht fiadh A burnt mound is an archaeological feature consisting of a mound of shattered stones and charcoal, normally with an adjacent hearth and trough. The trough could be rock-cut, wood-lined or clay-lined to ensure it was watertight. Radiocarbon ...

(at Frenchfort

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

s (Rinn townland) and a megalithic structure (at Garraun South townland).

Griffith's Valuation Griffith's Valuation was a boundary and land valuation survey of Ireland completed in 1868. Griffith's background Richard John Griffith started to value land in Scotland, where he spent two years in 1806–1807 valuing terrain through the examin ...

, a land survey completed in 1857, shows several such structures (sometimes colloquially and collectively known as fairy forts) in the area.

Medieval church ruins

The ruins of a medieval

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church is one of the oldest buildings in Oranmore town. Its northern wall forms part of the enclosure which encompasses the church and its graveyard. The church is believed to date to the 13th century. If true, this means it was built no later than one and a half century's after the initial Anglo-Norman Invasion of 1169 AD. The existing remains measure approximately 32 feet by 72 feet, however, there is evidence that the church was larger at one time. Some grave markers in the adjoining cemetery have no discernible name or date. Other graves have been marked with pieces of the fallen church walls. The oldest gravestone, with a discernible date inscription, is a Celtic cross dated 1661. It is no longer in its original location but is instead lying on top of another, newer stone slab. There is a gated section within the graveyard set aside for the Presentation Sisters, an order of teaching sisters who established a convent in Oranmore in 1861. Some interments occurred within the ruined walls of the actual church.

Oranmore Castle

Oranmore Castle is a

tower house A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

which was originally associated with the Norman

Clanricarde Clanricarde ( ), also known as Mac William Uachtar (Upper Mac William) or the Galway Burkes, were a fully Gaelicised branch of the Hiberno-Norman House of Burgh who were important landowners in Ireland from the 13th to the 20th centuries. Terr ...

family. It was built around the 15th century, reputedly on the site of an earlier structure.

St Mary's church

Completed in 1803, St Mary's is a large church building with a bell-cote above the front door and an elaborate ceiling. In 1972, it was replaced as the local parish church with the newer, larger Church of the Immaculate Conception. St Mary's was deconsecrated and converted to become the town's public library. Its carved baptismal font was moved to the new church, but the graveyard was left intact.

Economy

The focus of industry has shifted from dairy agriculture to tourism, manufacturing and logistics.

Transport

Oranmore town is near the old N6 Galway to Dublin road and the old N18 from Galway to Limerick. The

M6 Motorway The M6 motorway is the longest motorway in the United Kingdom. It is located entirely within England, running for just over from the Midlands to the border with Scotland. It begins at Junction 19 of the M1 motorway, M1 and the western end of t ...

connects to the existing road at Doughiska, as well as connecting with the M18 at Glenascaul. The former N6 leading into Oranmore has been reclassified as the R338 regional road. The M18 motorway was officially opened on 27 September 2017 and connects to the M6 at Rathmorrissey at a three-level interchange. This road runs close to Oranmore but does not connect directly to it, and instead, motorists have to access it using the R381 at Kiltiernan or the M6 at Rathmorrissey. Bus Éireann, Citylink, and Nestor Bus services through Oranmore serve Galway, Dublin, Cork, and Dublin and Shannon Airports. Also, Local Link buses serve other local places. Oranmore Aerodrome was a

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

base in World War I. It later became a civil airfield serving the city of Galway.

Rail

Oranmore railway station opened on 1 August 1851 and closed on 17 June 1963. A new station was built 1.4 km west of the original station and was opened on 28 July 2013. Trains connect directly with

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

, Portarlington,

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

and Dublin Heuston, as well as on the

Western Rail Corridor The Western Railway Corridor is a term, used since , for a partly disused railway line running through the west of Ireland. Currently two sections of the line, from Limerick via Ennis to Athenry and from Collooney to Sligo, see regular services ...

Ennis Ennis ( , meaning 'island' or 'river meadow') 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 Cou ...

and

Limerick Limerick ( ; ) is a city in western Ireland, in County Limerick. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. W ...

Education

Oranmore has two primary schools, Scoil Iosa and Gaelscoil de hÍde. Calasanctius College, founded in 1861 by the Presentation Sisters, is the

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

in Oranmore.

Sport

Oranmore-Maree GAA is the local GAA club and has won a number cof ounty titles across several age groups, including a Galway Senior Hurling Championship title in 1933 and All-Ireland Intermediate Club Hurling Championship title in 2019. The club fields teams in

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

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

and

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

. Naomh Mhuire Ladies Football Club (Oranmore Maree) fields ladies' Gaelic football teams from under-10 to minor and junior. Maree/Oranmore Soccer Club was founded in 1989. The club reached the Connacht Cup Final in 2024 and finished in the top 3 of the Galway FA Men's Premier Division in 2023. The club also won four Galway FA U21 Premier League titles between 2021 and 2024. Galway Bay Golf Resort is located in Renvile, Oranmore, and has been named the best golf resort in Connacht 10 times. Other clubs in the area include the Oranmore Badminton Club, Maree Badminton Club, Maree Basketball Club, Oranmore Judo Club and Galway Bay Sailing Club. The latter is based in Renville, Oranmore. Junior "Park Run" events are run on Sunday mornings.

People

* Bundee Aki, rugby player with the

Ireland national rugby union team The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Champio ...

, lives in the area. * Joseph Henry Blake, nobleman and socialist, grew up on a nearby estate in Treanlaur, Maree * Niall Burke, Galway hurler * Aaron Connolly, professional Premier League footballer * Nicola Coughlan, Irish actress who had roles in ''Derry Girls'' and ''Bridgerton'' * Joe Howley, a member of the

Irish Volunteers The Irish Volunteers (), also known as the Irish Volunteer Force or the Irish Volunteer Army, was a paramilitary organisation established in 1913 by nationalists and republicans in Ireland. It was ostensibly formed in response to the format ...

who was killed in 1920 during the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

, is commemorated by a statue in Oranmore. * Bill King, round-the-world sailor and owner of Oranmore Castle. * Célestin Lainé, leader of the Bezen Perrot SS unit, lived in Oranmore after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. * Hildegarde Naughton, politician *

Thomas Nicholas Redington Sir Thomas Nicholas Redington KCB (2 October 1815 – 11 October 1862) was an Irish administrator, politician and civil servant. Redington, the only son of Christopher Talbot Redington (1780–1825), a captain in the army, by Frances, only daug ...

, Irish politician, born here.

References

External links

Oranmore community page
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Galway Civil parishes of County Galway