Oughterard

Not to be confused with Oughterard, County Kildare.

Oughterard Uachtar Ard
—  Town  —
Oughterard
Oughterard Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°25′00″N 9°20′00″W / 53.4167°N 9.3333°W / 53.4167; -9.3333Coordinates: 53°25′00″N 9°20′00″W / 53.4167°N 9.3333°W / 53.4167; -9.3333
Country	Ireland
Province	Connacht
County	County Galway
Elevation	68 m (223 ft)
Population (2006)
– Urban	1,305
– Rural	2,557
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
– Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	M113415

Oughterard (Irish: Uachtar Ard) is a small town on the banks of the Owenriff River close to the western shore^[1] of Lough Corrib in County Galway, Ireland. The population of the town in 2006 was 1,305. Located some 26 km northwest of Galway on the N59 road, Oughterard is the chief angling centre on the lough.^{[citation needed]}

Places of interest

Three kilometers outside the town stand the ruins of Aughnanure Castle, a well-preserved^{[citation needed]} example of an Irish tower house. Much of the surrounding area was occupied by the O'Flaherty clan, but was taken over by The first Earl of Ulster, Walter de Burgo, in 1256. Ross Castle is also located a number of miles outside Oughterard. The mansion which is visible today was built by the Martin Family in the 17th century but there is some evidence still present of the original castle structure, built in the 15th century by the O'Flaherty Family, in its foundation.

The Quiet Man Bridge is located 5 miles past Oughterard, down the Leam Road, which was the setting for the 1950s film "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne and Maureen O'Hara.

Also close to Oughterard, the Glengowla Mine (abandoned in 1865) is noted for its rare and beautiful octahedral crystals of fluorite and quartz.^{[citation needed]}

Demography

As per Census 2006 the population of Oughterard was 1,305 (after 1,209 at Census 2002)^[2]; for the urban area the number for 2006 was 2,557 people (after 2,380 at Census 2002).^[3]

Education

Oughterard had a primary school and a co-educational secondary school, St. Paul's.

People

• Michael Curley (~1850-1884), the father of James Michael Curley, was born in Oughterard
• Michael Furey (a character from James Joyce's short story "The Dead") was buried in Oughterard
• Joe Shaughnessy, a professional footballer with Aberdeen F.C. was born in Oughterard
• Dennis Curran, Chairman of Barhale Construction PLC was born in Oughterard in 1944

Transport

Oughterard railway station opened on 1 January 1895 and finally closed on 29 April 1935. There are daily buses going from and to Galway and Clifden. In wintertime on Sunday there is just one bus going from Oughterard to Galway.

See also

• List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
• Oughter Ard, County Kildare

References

1. ^ Map of Ireland (click to enlarge)
2. ^ Census 2002/2006 for Oughterard, p. 49
3. ^ Census 2002/2006 for Oughterard (urban area), No. 159, p. 72

External links

• Connemara Begins
• Oughterard at DiscoverIreland.ie/west
• Oughterard GAA
• Oughterard Tourism
• Oughterard Business
• St. Cummins National School