Find out more about East Galway:

www.ballinasloe.com
www.lawrencetown.com
www.killimor.org


ABOUT CLONTUSKERT



The parish of Clontuskert is situated in the East Galway countryside to the south of Ballinasloe. It is bordered to the east by the river Suck and to the west by the parish of Aughrim. The boundary on the north meets Ballinasloe parish while the parishes of Lawrencetown and Kiltormer define its southern limits. The main roads from Ballinasloe to Portumna and Kiltormer divide the parish from west to east into three sections.

Churches


Clontuskert is one of the oldest parishes in the diocese of Clonfert. There are two churches in the parish - St. Augustine’s Catholic Church and St. Matthew’s Church of Ireland.






The Old Abbey


The Augustinian Priory of St. Mary represents Clontuskert’s main claim to fame. It was reputedly built on the site of St. Baetan’s earlier celtic monastery. The building of the Priory was begun in the late 1100s. It survived as a monastic settlement until the early part of the 17th century, having undergone several reconstructions and additions during those years.

The Grand Canal


In the early years of the 19th century, the Shannon Harbour to Ballinasloe section of the Grand Canal was cut through the eastern side of the parish where it runs almost parallel to the river Suck. The outline of its route is still clearly visible, despite the fact that it is no longer in use and that vegetation thrives in its dried- out channel. The remains of the bridge over the canal at Lismany and the aqueduct which carried the canal over Ballinure River, are impressive relics of its former glory.


Pollok


In 1854, Alan Pollok, a Scottish entrepreneur arrived and built a fine residence at Lismany from which he oversaw the operation of the 29,000 acre farming enterprise which he had recently purchased. He quickly established what became one of the most advanced commercial farms in Europe at the time. Initially, his enterprise flourished but in the early years of the 20th century, decline set in and the Pollok family left the area for good. Very little now remains of the Pollok mansion and the magnificent farmyard at Ganaveen.

Battle of Aughrim


A portion of what was the battlefield of Aughrim lies along the western fringe of Clontuskert parish, from which can be seen the site of a place of slaughter which became known as “Bloody Hollow”.


Kirwan’s Lodge


About three kilometres from the edge of the battlefield are the remains of Kirwan’s Lodge where Annette Kirwan was born and reared. She became the wife of Sir Edward Carson, one of the most famous leaders of the Unionist Party.

Gortnamona


Percy French was a frequent visitor to his good friend Edward Lynam, owner of Gortnamona House. During one of these visits, shortly after the death of his beloved wife in 1891, he wrote The Woods of Gortnamona, a lyric in which he expressed his feelings of deep loss.


Somerset House


The Seymour family lived in Somerset House until 1940. They originated in Wilshire, England and settled in Clontuskert in the early 1700s when they were given a grant of land by the Eyre family. A member of the English branch of the family, Lady Jane Seymour, was one of the wives of Henry V111.

Bronze Age Burials


A number of burial mounds or barrows, are to be found in Somerset, dating from around 2000 B.C.


Ring Forts


A remarkable feature of Clontuskert is the number of Ring Forts, over a hundred in all, with which the landscape of the parish is studded.

Hurney’s Replica Forge


Paddy Hurney was a blacksmith in Tristane. He was instrumental in preserving for future generations many of the old rural traditions and folklore of Clontuskert. In order to make his findings more accessible, he commissioned a set of videos and built a replica forge and thatched Irish cottage across the road from his premises.


Somerset Hoard


In 1947, a local farmer, Mick Hanney, discovered a hoard of decorative objects as he tilled one of his fields in Somerset. One object, a torc, is made from gold and the remainder are of copper alloy. All were made in Ireland. The find dates from the first century A.D. This collection is now housed in the National Museum.