Gort
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| Dialing Code: | 091 |
Gort (Irish: Gort Inse Guaire or [An Gort] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a town in south County Galway in the west of Ireland. An Gort is the official Irish name for the town, as defined by the Placenames Commission. In spoken Irish, however, the town is known by its traditional name Gort Inse Guaire. It lies just north of the border with County Clare on the main N18 Galway–Limerick road. Gort is situated in the territory of Ui Fiachrach Aidhne also known as Maigh Aidhne ("the plain of Aidhne"), which is coextensive with the diocese of Kilmacduagh / Cill Mhic Dhuach.
History
Gort takes its name, Gort Inse Guaire, from gort (a meadow), "inse" (island) and Guaire [Guaire Aidhneach], the sixth century King of Connacht and patron of St. Colman Mac Duach. During the Middle Ages the chiefs of Cinél Aedha na hEchtghe, the O'Shaughnessys (Ó Seachnasaigh) (a clan descended from Guaire Aidhneach) had their principal stronghold in Gort, on a site which later became a cavalry barracks. At the end of the seventeenth century the O'Shaughnessy lands were confiscated and granted to Sir Thomas Prendergast, 1st Baronet, whose grandson was John Prendergast Smyth, 1st Viscount Gort. In 1831, the town had a population of 3,627 and 563 houses. The Great Hunger of the mid-1840s devastated the population.
A number of historic sites around Gort are included in the Sites and Monuments Record. Kilmacduagh monastery and round tower are situated approximately 3 km (1.9 mi) west of Gort.
Transport
Gort railway station opened on 15 September 1869 and was closed for goods traffic on 3 November 1975 and for passenger traffic on 5 April 1976.[1] However, a new railway station is currently under construction as part of the Western Rail Corridor project. Work on the new station was delayed by planning objections but those were subsequently withdrawn and the station is expected to open some time in 2009.[2]
People
The poet William Butler Yeats renovated an old tower house near the village ("Thoor Ballylee") and took up residence there. He was also a frequent visitor to the home of Lady Gregory at nearby Coole Park. Coole Park is located just off the Galway Road, just 1 km from the town of Gort.
The grandson of former Brazilian footballer Péle now resides in the town and is captain of the local hurling team.
Demographics
Some 40% of the residents of Gort are non-Irish, according to the 2006 Census, which showed that 83% of these were Brazilians. They originally came to work in the meat processing plants in Gort where the pay is generally much higher than in similar plants in Brazil. According to Claire Healy "a large community of Brazilians now live, work and attend school in Gort, gradually altering the appearance and the character of the town". [3] The Roman Catholic church caters to the Brazilian community with a mass in Portuguese every Sunday held in Gort Catholic Church.
Gort Community School
The school was founded in 1995. The school serves a large area of South Co. Galway. As of current, the student population at the school is over 750. The current Principal is Mr. Dennis Corry and the current Vice- Principal is Ms. Amy Talbot. The school campus contains the main school building, a GAA pitch, A rugby union pitch, a football pitch and a canteen. The school has many sports teams including Hurling, Rugby Union, Soccer, Basketball, Athletics, Golf and an Equestrian team. Gort's only national title ever won by the school, was during the 2007/2008 season of first year boy's basketball national championships.
See also
References
- ^ "Gort station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-10-15.
- ^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0119/1232059658820.html
- ^ Carnaval do Galway: The Brazilian Community in Gort, 1999-2006 — Claire Healy, in "Irish Migration Studies in Latin America" 4:3 July 2006 (www.irlandeses.org), accessed 14 August 2007
External links
- Official website
- Tourist Information for Gort: Provides information on Gort's attractions, activities and businesses.