Oranmore

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Oranmore
Gaelic: Órán Mór
County Galway

The former St Mary's church
Location
Grid reference: M386245
Location: 53°16’6"N, 8°55’12"W
Data
Population: 4,799  (2011)
Post town: Oran More
Postcode: H91
Local Government
Council: Galway

Oranmore is a village in County Galway on the outskirts of the city of Galway. With its major housing developments, Oranmore is rapidly becoming a part of Galway's commuter or suburban belt.

Oranmore is six miles east of Galway on the edge of Oranmore Bay, an inlet of Galway Bay.

Etymology

Oranmore is the anglicisation of Uarán Mór. The first written record of Oranmore is in the Annals of the Four Masters.[1] It was originally called Fuarán Mór ("Great Spring" in Irish). The name refers to a spring to the north-west of the main village. A bi-lingual information sign was erected by Oranmore Community Development Association in 2010 outlining the history of the spring.

Economy

The focus of industry has shifted from dairy agriculture to tourism, manufacturing and logistics. Oranmore now has four hotels and several restaurants.

Sport

Railways

Oranmore in the 1990s.

Transport

  • Bus service through Oranmore serve Galway, Dublin, Cork and Dublin and Shannon Airports.
  • Oranmore village is near the old N6 Galway to Dublin road and the N18/N20 from Galway to Limerick. The new M6 motorway connects to the existing road at Doughiska and will, in the future, connect with the M18 at Glenascaul. The former N6 leading into Oranmore has been reclassified as the R446 regional road. The M18 motorway is in the planning stage and as proposed would connect to the new M6 at Rathmorrissey at a three level interchange. This road will run close to Oranmore but will not connect directly to it, and instead motorists will have to access it using the existing N18 at Kiltiernan or the M6 at Rathmorrissey.
  • Oranmore aerodrome was a Royal Air Force base in World War I. It later became a civil airfield serving the city of Galway.

People

  • Joseph Blake, 3rd Baron Wallscourt, nobleman and socialist, grew up on a nearby estate in Treanlaur, Maree.
  • Thomas Nicholas Redington, politician, born here.
  • Bill King, round-the-world sailor and owner of Oranmore Castle.[4]

References

Outside links

("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Oranmore)