Loughrea
Loughrea ( Irish : Baile Locha Riach ) is a town with 5556 inhabitants (as of 2016) in County Galway in the central west of the Republic of Ireland . The place is located on the north bank of Loch Riach ("The gray lake"), which is also sometimes called Loch Riabhach ("Speckled lake").
The village was first mentioned in 1236 when the Anglo-Norman Richard de Burgh chose Loughrea as his headquarters in Connacht and had Loughrea Castle built. In addition to the castle, the place was protected by a city wall and a moat. In the south the lake served as natural protection.
The Carmelite Monastery of St. Mary's Priory was built around 1300, while another chapel and a new monastery were only built in 1785. The Carmelite Order, which was founded in 1680, moved to the new monastery in 1829. In addition to the medieval town center, only the dilapidated St. Brigid's Church, the city gate and the Carmelite monastery have been preserved. With the St. Brendan's Cathedral a new church was built, which stands out for its stained glass and other modern church furnishings . The cathedral is the episcopal church of the Clonfert diocese .
Loughrea is traditionally a place of agriculture. Today, however, the pharmaceutical and data processing industries are also located here. Tourism is also playing an increasingly important role - a number of holiday cottages can be found in the vicinity.
traffic
Until December 2005, Loughrea, located on the national road N6 (to Galway City) and N66, was mainly known for the constant traffic jam, which is why the place was popularly called Gridlock-rea ( Gridlock = traffic collapse ). The traffic situation eased after the bypass was finished. Until 1975 the place was served by the railroad. The line to Attymon was the last purely rural route on the Irish railways .
sons and daughters of the town
- Seumas O'Kelly (1881-1918), journalist and writer
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Loughrea (Town) on citypopulation.de, accessed on July 18, 2019
Coordinates: 53 ° 12 ′ N , 8 ° 34 ′ W