Headford
| Headford Áth Cinn | |
|---|---|
| Town | |
|
Main Street | |
| Motto: Áth Cinn le Chéile | |
  Headford Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates: 53°28′09″N 9°06′25″W / 53.469115°N 9.106849°WCoordinates: 53°28′09″N 9°06′25″W / 53.469115°N 9.106849°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Connacht |
| County | County Galway |
| Government | |
| • Dáil Éireann | Galway East |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | M269468 |
| Website |
www |
Headford (Irish: Áth Cinn)[1] is a town in County Galway, located 26 km north of Galway city in the west of Ireland. It is on the N84 national secondary road from Galway to Castlebar and the R333, and R334 regional roads also serve the town.
History
In his 1837 Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Samuel Lewis recorded a population of 1,441. He described the town in some detail:
This is a neat and clean town, having been much improved by its proprietor, R. J. Mansergh St. George, Esq.; it has a considerable trade, and commands fine views of Lough Corrib, and the mountains of Joyces' country and Mayo. It comprises 217 houses, is a chief constabulary police station, and has petty sessions on Mondays; here is also a dispensary. Bobbin lace, coarse linen, and flannel are made. The market is on Tuesday, and fairs are held on May 11th and Oct. 14th. Headford Castle is the residence of R. J. M. St. George, Esq.; it is a handsome modern building, erected on the ruins of the ancient castle; the extensive demesne, which is laid out with great taste, is entered from the town by a good gateway. Here is also Clydagh House, the seat of G. Staunton Lynch, Esq.[2]
Headford appeared in the Oscar-winning film "The Quiet Man" starring John Wayne. The St. George's family ownership of the town is explored in "Headford, County Galway, 1775-1901" by Gerardine Candon ( ISBN 1-85182-764-1 )Maynooth Series 51
Headford today
The town is a popular angling centre for the eastern shore of Lough Corrib, and Greenfields, 6.5 km west of the town, is its boating harbour. It is 2 km south of the Black River which is the county boundary with Mayo and noted also for its trout angling. It is also the centre of an area richly endowed with archaeological monuments including prehistoric burial cairns, Iron Age stone enclosures, early Norman and later castles, and many monastic sites. These include Ross Errilly Friary, founded in 1351, which has been described as the best preserved monastic ruin in Ireland.
The modern cattle mart replaces the fairs and markets once held in the town's two squares and it ensures the local popularity of this North Galway town. The annual Saint Patrick's Day parade in 2009 marked the return of a market in the town, which has been held once a month in the square since then.
At the end of April 2009, a new set of traffic lights was erected and turned on at the main crossroads in the town.[3]
A sewerage scheme upgrade costing €8 million, which will enable the addition of hundreds of new houses, was opened by Environment Minister Phil Hogan in 2011.[4]
Politics
The polling station for elections is Headford Girls Primary School. Polling also takes place in Claran Primary School for the Claran and Greenfields area of the Headford townland.
The town is part of the North-West constituency for European Parliament elections. It is part of the Galway East constituency for elections to Dáil Éireann, and is part of the Tuam electoral area for Galway County Council elections.
Education
Headford has a small library. The town has two primary schools: Headford Girls National School[5] has girls from Junior Infants to sixth Class and boys from Junior Infants up to second class; St. Brendan's boys' school is attached to the girls' school and takes boys from third to sixth class. There are another three primary schools within the parish and one second level school, the Presentation College Headford which has 740 students. The Presentation College is the largest secondary school in the whole western region.
Religion
The Headford Parish has two churches, both of which are Catholic and were built by Fr. Peter Conway and dedicated to St. Mary. The church at Claran was built in 1859 and for many years was the home of the parish priest. The church in Headford was built in 1865 on lands donated by the landlord St. George. Father Ray Flaherty is parish priest of the Headford parish with Fr. Martin Newell (retired) administrating in Claran.
Twin towns
Headford is twinned with:
Le Faouët, Brittany, France.
Morgan Hill, Santa Clara County, California, United States.
See also
Footnotes
- ↑ Headford Irish Placenames Database. Retrieved: 2012-04-16.
- ↑ Headford A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, Samuel Lewis, 1837.
- ↑ http://www.headfordonline.com/2009/05/the-new-traffic-lights/
- ↑ http://connachttribune.ie/new-minister-comes-bearing-gifts/ Connacht Tribune 18 May 2011
- ↑ http://www.headfordgirlsns.ie
External links
- headfordcentral.com Headford's new, community-run website, updated regularly
- Headford.org Headford's old website, outdated and not contactable.