Eyrecourt

History

The Eyres after whom the village is named, as well as other places such as Eyre Square in Galway City, were an English family who came over with Cromwell. Their former residence, Eyrecourt Castle (now a ruin), provides the large metal gateway at the eastern end of main street and the 100 acre castle lawn beyond. The family were for many years closely associated with the local hunt, the Galway Blazers.

Amenities

The village stands midway along the Beara-Breifne Way; a historic way-marked way for walking, cycling and heritage. Eyrecourt is served by two public houses, library, shop, garage and fast food outlet, pharmacy, tractor dealership, medical centre, primary school, several small enterprises and the Meelick-Eyrecourt GAA club. Various groups and classes use the village hall, including for Pilates, martial arts, scouting, art classes, badminton and other sports. Local sporting clubs include a kayaking club.

Every second year in June the village hosts a festival of early machinery, the "Eyrecourt Vintage Festival", when old tractors, steam-engines and early farm machines are displayed. Each September Eyrecourt also hosts an agricultural show, which includes livestock shows and baking and gardening competitions.

Eyrecourt is approximately 70 km (1 hour by car) from Galway and 150 km (2 hours by car) from Dublin.

International relations

Eyrecourt is twinned with the village of Gouesnach in Brittany.

Parish

The parish of Eyrecourt in south east County Galway incorporates the ancient ecclesiastical centres of Dunanaughta, Clonfert and Meelick and is bounded by the Rivers Shannon and Suck for 16 mi.

Within Dunanaughta there are two churches; the Catholic Church of St Brendan which has some notable stained glass windows, (the work of John Early of Dublin) and the Church of Ireland Church of St John the Baptist (an Anglo Gothic structure built in 1867). Meelick has the oldest Catholic church in Ireland with continuous use since 1414 AD. Clonfert has the grave of Saint Brendan "The Navigator" and Clonfert Cathedral (with its architecturally notable doorway), and a 14th-century statue of "Our Lady of Clonfert".

Transport

Eyrecourt is connected with one bus line. The local link line 547 connects Portumna and Ballinasloe with an intermediate stop in Eyrecourt. In Ballinasloe, the route ends at the train station where a connection can be made with trains for Galway and Dublin. Monday to Saturday, there are four journeys in each direction. On Sundays, only two journeys are made.

Notable people

• Charles Burton, High Court judge
• Cornelius Coughlan, Victoria Cross recipient
• Roger Whittaker, singer-songwriter (born in Nairobi but lived in Eyrecourt)
• Joe Salmon, Galway hurler grew up in Eyrecourt

References

References

1. "Census Interactive Map – Towns: Eyrecourt". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
2. "Dún an Uchta - Eyrecourt". Irish Placenames Database.
3. (1824). "Pigot's Directory of Ireland - 1824". Pigot & Company.
4. "Eyrecourt Castle". Landedestates.ie.
5. "Meelick-Eyrecourt Kayak Club - Covering the Mid-Shannon".
6. "Eyrecourt Agricultural Show website". Eyrecourt Agricultural Show committee.
7. "Gouesnach - Eyrecourt". Website of the Brittany-Ireland Association.
8. "Saint Brendan's Church, The Mall, Eyrecourt, County Galway". Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
9. "Saint John the Baptist Church, Church Lane, Eyrecourt, County Galway". Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government.
10. "Route 547 Portumna to Ballinasloe Timetable". Transport for Ireland.