Aughrim () is a small village 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. It is located between the towns of

Loughrea Loughrea ( ; ), is a town in County Galway, Ireland. It lies to the north of a range of wooded hills, the Slieve Aughty Mountains and Lough Rea, the lake from which it takes its name. The town's cathedral, St Brendan's, dominates the urban sk ...

and

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway, Ireland. 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-centur ...

, along the old N6

national primary road A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...

(now listed as the R446 regional road) that used to be the main road between

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 ...

and

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. According to the Irish census of 2011, the division had a population of 595. The village 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. It was in Aughrim that the

Marquis de St Ruth Charles Chalmot de Saint-RuheLecestre, L. (ed.) (1921). ''Memoires de Saint-Simon'', v. 19, Hachette et cie, p. 135 ( 165012 July 1691) was a French cavalry officer, serving in the armies of Louis XIV. Despite a long career, Saint-Ruhe is reme ...

prepared the Irish Catholic Jacobite troops for the

Battle of Aughrim The Battle of Aughrim () was the decisive battle of the Williamite War in Ireland. It was fought between the largely Irish Army (Kingdom of Ireland), Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite army loyal to James II of England, James II and the forces of Will ...

which was fought, during the

Williamite war in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

, on 12 July 1691. Two ringforts located to the south (in Attidermot

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 ...

) are a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

Community organisations

Aughrim is the base for the charitable organisation Sunflowers Chernobyl Appeal which carry out voluntary work in areas in

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

affected by the

Chernobyl nuclear disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only two nuclear energy accidents rated ...

Transportation

Road

Aughrim is located on the old N6 ( R446)

road, Aughrim is now by-passed by 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 ...

. The motorway was opened on 23 July 2009 (

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 ...

) and 18 December 2009 (

). It is located approximately 5.5 kilometers from the Ballinasloe West M6 Junction (J15).

Bus

Aughrim is served by

Bus Eireann A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used i ...

(routes 20 & 20x) and by private bus with

CityLink CityLink is a network of tollways in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, linking the Tullamarine Freeway, Tullamarine, West Gate Freeway, West Gate and Monash Freeways and incorporating Bolte Bridge, Burnley Tunnel and other ...

(763) serving Aughrim on their

routes.

Holy Trinity Church

Holy Trinity Church is the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

parish church for Aughrim. It was built in 1819 and consecrated on

Trinity Sunday Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost in the Western Christianity, Western Christian liturgical year, liturgical calendar, and the Sunday of Pentecost in Eastern Christianity. Trinity Sunday celebrates the Christian doctrine of the ...

1819 and it was therefore called Holy Trinity. It is cruciform in shape and is still in use as a parish church Aughrim Union of Parishes
/ref> Rectors of Holy Trinity Church have included Rev. Henry Martin (1819–1845) and the Very Rev. John Fiennes Twisleton Crampton (1845–1888).

Abbots and Bishops of Aughrim

* c.500 – Connell of Aughrim, Bishop and founder. * 736 –

Flann Aighle Flann Aighle (died 736) was Bishop of Aughrim, County Galway. Flann is the first known bishop of Aughrim since its founder, Connell of Aughrim, who lived c.500. Aughrim was situated in western Uí Maine, though it is not known what blood rela ...

, Bishop. * 746 –

Maelimarchair Maelimarchair (died 746) was Bishop of Aughrim, County Galway. Maelimarchair is one of the few recorded Bishops of Aughrim, which was situated in western Uí Maine. Nothing appears to be known of his origins or life. His term seems to have coin ...

, Bishop. * 782 –

Rechtabhra mac Dubbchomar Rechtabhra mac Dubbchomar (died 782) was Abbot of Aughrim, County Galway. Rechtabhra mac Dubbchomar is one of only five known bishops, abbots or Erenaghs of Aughrim. He is the first to be explicitly noted as an abbot, while the previous three w ...

, Abbot. * 809 – Maelduin of Aughrim, Bishop and Airchinneach (

Erenagh The medieval Irish office of erenagh (Old Irish: ''airchinnech'', Modern Irish: ''airchinneach'', Latin: '' princeps'') was responsible for receiving parish revenue from tithes and rents, building and maintaining church property and overseeing t ...

)

Notable people

John Doogan John Doogan VC (; March 1853 in Aughrim, County Galway – 24 January 1940 in Folkestone, Kent) was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to ...

(1853–1940) – recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Aodh mac Aidmhire (fl. c. 600) – Irish

dynast A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others. Historians ...

or ruler * William James MacNeven (1763–1841) – Republican negotiator during the 1798 Rising

References

Sources

* ''Illustrated road book of Ireland, Second Edition'', Automobile Association, London (1970)