HISTORY OF CLAREGALWAY

Baile an Chláir, meaning the town of the plain or flat. There are many ancient ruins in the parish, such as the Friary, the DeBurgo Castle (presently being restored) and the Nine Arches Bridge which was recently restored. This bridge was erected in stone probably in the early 1700's. Cut and dressed rock from a local quarry would have been used by skilled stone masons, cutters and probably a large number of men to give the facing stones the splendid finish and all of this was done by hand! They would have mixed mortar of local sand, water and lump lime (made by burning limestone in a local kiln).

In 1765, shortly after the construction of the Nine Arches, John Borkin, a local landlord from nearby Lackagh, changed the course of the river. He diverted it away from under the Nine Arches to a deeper channel about 30 metres further north. He did this to improve the drainage in the area. There are two old stone plaques set in the wall on either side of the north end of the bridge that commemorate the work by Borkin. These stones were taken from the original bridge that stood there.

The present bridge was constructed in 1957 and replaced the previous narrow bridge. The main road was also widened at that time and the front of the Nine Arches Bridge was destroyed in the process and covered in debris. Up to that time, the Galway to Tuam road passed over the Nine Arches. Claregalway Amenity Group undertook the challenge of restoring the facing of the Nine Arches Bridge in 1998 and this was successfully completed in 2001.

The Anglo-Norman castles located at Claregalway, Killeen, Carnmore West, Lissarulla, Lydacan and Cloonacauneen all belonged to the De Burgo family of Clanrickarde, the most powerful Anglo-Norman lords in Connacht. The most important of the De Burgo Castles was Claregalway Castle which is situated on the north bank of the river, a short distance from the friary. The ruin is still in good preservation. It was built sometime in the late fifteenth century and was occupied by William Uachtar De Burgo, a descendant of Strongbow who was granted vast estates in Connacht in 1179. The Castle is currently being restored by Dr. Eamon Donoghue, a former architect who has a keen interest in preservation of historical monuments.

The Franciscan friary on the north bank of the river was originally thought to have been built by John De Cogan in 1290. However, a thirteenth century document suggests that it was built in 1250, some 40 years earlier. It is thought that the tower of the friary may have been added as late as the fifteenth century. In 1570, the friary was suppressed by Henry V11 and the lands were given to local Anglo-Norman Lord, Richard De Burgo. In the choir, the De Burgo tomb still stands in the north wall, the position in which the tomb of the founder is generally placed.

In 1838 Fr. Thomas Hosty was appointed parish priest and he set about building a new church on the site of the present day church. However, his efforts suffered a major setback when the roof of the church was destroyed on the night of the big wind, 6th January 1839. Fr. Hosty died in America before the church was completed. Local tradition has it that he was robbed and murdered at the quay-side on the day he was due to return home. His sister, who was also his housekeeper, was angry at what happened to him and is said to have burned all the parish records up to that date. Fr. James Commins was then appointed as parish priest and on the 24th June 1858 the new church was completed, 20 years after work first began. The church was demolished in 1974 to make way for the building of the present church of Claregalway and this was officially opened on the 15th August 1975.