Woodlawn, historically known as Mota or Moote, is a settled area 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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Location

Woodlawn lies on the R359 regional road, between the main road and rail networks which traverse the area east-west, west of Kilconnell, from

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

and approximately from the city of

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

. Woodlawn House and its demesne are in the townlands of Woodlawn and Killaan, while the broader area also features Woodlawn railway station, a post office and a Church of Ireland parish church.

Transport

Woodlawn railway station was built by the second Lord Ashtown, and opened on 1 August 1858. It was closed for goods traffic on 2 June 1978. It is on the main

Iarnród Éireann Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...

Intercity line from

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

to Galway, situated between Ballinasloe and Attymon halt stations, and still open for some passenger business.

Features

Woodlawn House

Woodlawn House, about north-west of

, is the former seat of the

Trench A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit). In geology, trenches result from eros ...

family, holders of the title Baron (Lord) Ashtown. This large

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style drew its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century Italian R ...

building A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and fun ...

was built in the late 18th century by Frederic Trench, 1st Baron Ashtown, of Moate, and extended and remodelled in the mid-19th century, following the marriage of his nephew,

Frederic Mason Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown Frederick Mason Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown DL (25 December 1804 – 12 September 1880) was an Irish peer and magistrate. Early life He was son of Francis Trench and his wife Mary Mason, second daughter of Henry Mason, and nephew to Frederi ...

, to his second wife, Elizabeth

Oliver Gascoigne The Oliver Gascoigne family originated at the point that Richard Oliver, originally of Castle Oliver, Limerick, Ireland, inherited the fortune of Sir Thomas Gascoigne of Parlington Hall, Yorkshire, in 1810. Sir Thomas made it a stipulation of his ...

Castle Oliver Castle Oliver (also ''Clonodfoy'') is a Victorian castle in the south part of County Limerick, Ireland. Built for entertaining rather than for defense, it has a ballroom, drawing room, library, morning room, dining room and hall which feature h ...

, Limerick. The house was vacated and the furnishings sold when the third Lord Ashtown became bankrupt in the 1920s, and eventually it was sold by the fourth Lord Ashtown to a cousin, Derek Le Poer Trench, in 1947. In 1973, it was sold on to a local farmer, and it changed hands further thereafter, being held by a local publican from 1989 to 2001, and then sold on with its remaining 115 acres of land. As of 2019, and unoccupied for over 40 years, it had suffered fire damage in 1982, and been partly repaired with an emergency Heritage Council grant. It has 35,000 sq ft of space, and more than fifty rooms, with the central part comprising three storeys over a basement, and two two-storey wings. The estate also includes a family

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

, a walled garden, an orchard, stables, two staff houses and some cottages. There is also a lake.

Religion

There is a

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

church, within the parish group of Aughrim, in the ancient Diocese of Clonfert, now within the United

Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe The Diocese of Limerick and Killaloe (''Full title'': The United Dioceses of Limerick, Ardfert, Aghadoe, Killaloe, Kilfenora, Clonfert, Kilmacduagh and Emly) was a former diocese of the Church of Ireland that was located in mid-western Irela ...

. It was designed in 1860 and built in 1874 for Lord Ashtown, by James Forth Kempster. It has a four-bay nave, a vestry and bell tower, carved wooden pulpit and lectern, and stained glass windows.

References