Menlough

Coordinates: 53°25′23″N 8°34′44″W / 53.42298°N 8.57882°W / 53.42298; -8.57882 See also Menlo, another settlement in County Galway sometimes spelt "Menlough". Menlough (Irish: Mionlach) is a village in northeast County Galway in Ireland. Located 38 km from Galway, 30 km from Tuam, 29 km from Ballinasloe, and 20 km from Athenry, it forms part of the civil parish of Killascobe.

Historical background

Historically, Menlough was in the Barony of Hymany which was a stronghold of the O'Mannion clan. The ruins of an O'Mannion castle are located in the fields behind the "grotto" in the centre of the village. Another O'Mannion castle in the parish is better known as there are more extensive ruins. This second ruin is known as "Garbally castle". It is visible to travellers from Galway to Menlough as they pass through Skehana (half parish of Menlough).

Other notable historical monuments include the 'old IRA' monument, erected in the 90s in the centre of the village. It can be seen opposite Jordans shop (formally McLoughlins) on the main street.

During the Irish War of Independence, a local landlord and large landholder Joyce was shot dead in the parish of Menlough as he walked to Mass. No-one was ever apprehended for this crime and the incident forms part of parish folklore. The irony was that the landlord Joyce considered himself more Irish than anyone. He was a supporter of the cause and the whole Joyce clan had a history of helping the locals stretching back to before the famine. The ruins of Joyce's house are still visible in the townland of Corgary as are the fine walls built to protect his lands.

Recent developments

A parish with little visible change for many decades has been transformed in the last decade. A very large number of new houses built all over the parish are a testament to the growing popularity of this rural location.

There is an expanding commuter population living here — as is evidenced by a constant stream of commuters passing through this parish in the mornings and evenings. There are four pubs in the parish. Two are located in Menlough village, one in the townland of Guilka and one in Skehana. There are also a couple of shops or small supermarkets.

Educational resources

The parish has three National schools. The National schools are in Menlough village, at Garbally (next to the Castle) and at Corgary. There were formerly four national schools, but Ballinruane closed in controversial circumstances in the early 2000s. This was one of the few times the parish made national headlines.

Sport

• As with most Galway rural villages, parish life tends to revolve around the exploits of its Gaelic football and hurling teams. Menlough GAC has a long, vibrant and proud tradition of participation in the Galway football championship. The club has a number of County Championships to its name at various grades. The tradition is not continuous however. In the 1970s, the football club was denied the county championship, ostensibly for fielding an illegal player in their clear County Final victory. When the county board officials turned down an appeal against the fact that the player had been declared illegal, the decision was opposed in a forceful manner and, allegedly in consequence, the Menlough team was "thrown out" of the GAA for a couple of years. Football and hurling have been and remain an important focus of life for both young and old. The Football pitch is the focus of many parish activities and is located outside the village on the approaches from Galway City. The facility complete with clubhouse, dressing rooms and stand was developed in the early 1990s.
• This is the only incident to compete with "the Joyce incident" for notoriety in parish folklore. Those events led to the foundation of the successful but now nostalgically defunct "Doonwood Hammers" soccer team. The parish eventually drifted back to its Gaelic football roots after serving out its ban.
• Hurling is popular in the half parish of Skehana. The Skehana hurling team continue to go from strength to strength and the fearsome phrase 'Up Skehana' well known around Galway has its origins here.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

External links

• And then there were three, Irish Independent Newspaper