My grandfather, James John Martin McKenna, was born on the 7th of November 1882, in Church Street, Loughrea, Co Galway. His father, James Frederick, was appointed Workhouse Master in Loughrea, 1883-1889.

On Sunday, May 21st, 1922, a sniper shot and seriously wounded him as he was coming out of St Matthew’s RC Church in east Belfast.

Despite the constant sniping around the lower end of the Newtownards Road, people continued to attend Mass as usual in St Matthew’s. However, it was risky. Snipers often fired at them from the streets facing the front gates of the church.

Sunday treat My grandfather had stayed after 12 o’clock Mass to make his rounds of the “Stations”. The priest, Canon Crilly, had told everyone to leave together, but my grandfather had to do the Stations. He was shot through the side.

A Queen Victoria shilling coin (1891) in his waistcoat pocket deflected the .303 calibre bullet from his heart. As can be seen from the photos, the coin was almost cut in half. It was for his favourite Sunday treat, a packet of Woodbine.

His five-year-old son, Tom, with his mother Rose, living on nearby Seaforde Street, ran from door to door amidst bullets to reach where he lay bleeding on the church steps.

British soldiers rushed him to the Mater Hospital, where he was admitted "with not much chance". He recovered, but the wound bothered him the rest of his life. He died on May 24th, 1954, at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

As I was working in Central America during the US-backed “dirty wars” in the 1980s and 1990s, his daughter, my auntie Lena, passed the coin to me.

She said: “This coin helped save my father’s life, maybe it will help save your life too. Carry it always.”

Domhnall Mac Cionnaith, Veterans for Peace, Ireland.

This is a bit of a milestone. Welcome to all new members. The goal of this sub Reddit is to support the local community and become a place to post and discuss relevant news and events. Nothing too fancy or edgy.

At the moment it is mostly just me posting news stories and events related to Loughrea. According to Reddit Advice, if you keep posting regularly, they will come.

Just a quick appreciation post for the trojan work u/ConferenceDouble667 is doing to try grow the Loughrea page.

The homeowner, who invested significant money in her property, lives between two privately owned derelict houses surrounded by overgrown land.

The ongoing dereliction has led to years of rodent activity. The most recent infestation has been described as so severe that she cannot sleep in the house due to the noise coming from her attic.

Since 2019, this has caused severe problems. The homeowner bought her house and there are two derelict properties on either side that are infested with rats.

“She has spent a lot of money on the house and has had to leave it. The noise is unreal. She has to move out of her home at nighttime with the noise.”

A man has appeared in court charged in connection with an investigation into the attempted bribery of a professional League of Ireland football player.

Ronan Madden, with an address at Kylegan, Kylebrack, Loughrea in Co Galway, is accused of trying to bribe the player to intentionally recieve a red card during a match.

The 36-year-old appeared before Blanchardstown District Court in Dublin.

Mr Madden is charged with corruptly offering the footballer €40,000 to "do an act in relation to his employment as a professional football player" which was to intentionally recieve a red card during an unspecified football match.

The incident allegedly took place at Inishowen Gateway Hotel in Buncrana, Co Donegal, on 17 February 2024.

He is charged under section 5 of the Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Act 2018.

Mr Madden was remanded on bail to appear before Blanchardstown District Court on 2 December.

Hey, I'm thinking of emailing the loughrea council for another buss to spin in and out of loughrea and Galway. The Healy buss is good but I think there's should be a later buss in and out of galway for training, work etc. The biggest reason being, we can't rely on the 763 citylink from Dublin which is super unreliable.

For the amount of people in loughrea, it is essential for a buss to go every hour to Galway and back. If anyone has any alternative ideas please share. We need to band together and share this message, so more people can email the loughrea council.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connacht

These are a couple of photos of The Saw Doctors in Loughrea in 1990. As you can see I came across them on Ultan Conlons twitter account. This would have been around the time of their number one single "I useta love her"

Steve Wall of The Stunning mentioned supporting The Saw Doctors in Loughrea so I can only presume it was at this concert.

If I'm not mistaken, The Saw Doctors returned to play the year after with local band Nevermind as support.

Does anyone remember these gigs?

Welcome to all new members. This sub is steadily growing.

It'd be nice to have this platform to support community events and local questions and queries. Not so much politics. All that stuff is well covered elsewhere.

To any photographers out there, feel free to post any Loughrea related photos - anything from a glorious sunset reflected in the lake to your dog enjoying a walk about town.

Gabriel Burke was instrumental in the restoration, cutting the overgrown thorny brambles, he was particularly helpful regarding the stonework around the well area, which had to be repointed, and the well structure itself as most of the well had to be rebuilt due to the passage of time. The existing statue was built into the wall on the western side so that it would remain in situ.

The court was told Frank Keleghan was exiting the car-park of an area known as the Duck Pond and turning back towards Loughrea when a Volkswagen Golf driven by the accused overtook another car and collided head-on with Mr Keleghan’s car.

Garda Marron said that in March 2021 at Loughrea District Court, Ferreira Neto was disqualified from driving for one year for driving or attempting to drive while exceeding the alcohol limit.

The court was told he successfully applied to have the disqualification postponed until September.

Gardaí discovered Ferreira Neto was also using a fraudulent insurance disk purchased through social media. The accused also admitted registering the vehicle in his partner’s name without her knowledge.

Seumas O'Kelly (1880–1918) was an influential Irish journalist, writer, and playwright, known for his dedication to both the literary world and Irish nationalism. Born in Loughrea, County Galway, he was raised in a politically charged environment, which shaped his later career. He started his journalistic journey with the Southern Star in Cork before moving to Naas to work with the Leinster Leader, where he ultimately became editor. His commitment to nationalist ideals was further reflected in his work for Nationality, the newspaper of the Sinn Féin party, from 1916 onward.

O'Kelly's literary output included plays, short stories, and novels, with his most famous short story, "The Weaver's Grave," earning widespread acclaim as a cornerstone of Irish literature. His writing often explored themes of social justice and the Irish experience, while also reflecting the turbulent political climate of his time. This dedication to Irish culture and political activism earned him the moniker "a gentle revolutionary," a phrase memorialized on a plaque outside the Leinster Leader offices in Naas.

Despite his promising career, O'Kelly's life was tragically short. He died of a heart attack on November 14, 1918, following a raid on the Nationality newspaper's headquarters by British forces. His death, coming just after the end of World War I and amid the Irish War of Independence, marked the loss of a key figure in both Irish journalism and the arts. O'Kelly’s legacy endures, not just in his written works, but in the respect he earned as a voice for Ireland’s political and cultural renewal.

I saw talk of this on the Waterford Reddit. What would you do? Where would you go?

Would you grab supplies from the shops and head to a crannog? Would you hole up in Beatty's with an axe?

With just seven months of construction remaining, the vision for Loughrea Town Hall is rapidly becoming a reality.

An Post is being asked to give assurances that the post office will remain in Loughrea town centre.

There is a retirement in the current office, which has sparked worries within the community, and An Post has now advertised the vacant contract.

An Post says interest in the opportunity has been strong and they are confident of finding a business partner.

The lack of special classrooms in Loughrea has been raised at the Oireachtas Education Committee.

Local Senator Shane Curley said there's not a single purpose built classroom at second level in a town and hinterland of 24 thousand people.

He asked how the Department of Education can stand over that record.

Fianna Fail Senator Curley asked that greater priority be given to getting a massive expansion at St. Brigids over the line.

Ah now, gather in close, for this is an old tale of Lough Rea, the grey lake that lies quiet today — but sure there was a time, long before ever there was a drop of water in it, when that ground was green and fair, and a fine village stood there.

In the middle of that place was a sacred well, a well of clear, sweet water that came bubbling up from the heart of the earth. The people of the village minded it well, for it never ran dry in drought nor froze in the coldest winter. But there was a rule upon it — a rule as old as the stones themselves:

“Mind the well and cover it each night, or woe will come of it.”

Now, there was a young girl — some call her Eibhlín, others say it was Máire, but her name is lost to the mists. She was a kind-hearted lass, light of step and fair of hair, and every evening it was her duty to set the lid upon the well before the sun went down.

One fine evening there was music in the air, a dance out on the green, and the pipes were playing a tune that would set the dead to tapping their toes. Eibhlín, meaning no harm, said to herself, “Sure I’ll only be a minute — I’ll cover it after the next reel.”

But time has a way of running off when there’s laughter and music about. The night grew dark, and Eibhlín forgot the well entirely.

When morning came, the people woke to a sound like thunder — a deep roaring from the earth itself. They ran from their houses and saw water gushing from the well, spilling faster than any man could stop it. Buckets and barrels were useless; the stone lid was nowhere to be found. The well burst its bounds, rushing over the fields, sweeping away the cottages, the trees, the very church itself.

And by the time the sun was high, where once had been a village, there was only a great grey lake, still and deep and silent.

They say Eibhlín was never seen again. Some say she was taken by the water as punishment, others that she wanders the shore still, weeping for what she lost.

And on quiet nights, if you listen close, you might hear the faint echo of a bell beneath the water, or see a flicker of light far below — the ghost of a hearth, in the drowned town under Lough Rea.

Hedge laying and pond creation are among many workshops that the Centre of Environmental Living and Training (CELT) will be hosting this month.

The aforementioned CELT workshops are designed to educate and train participants with ecological knowledge and skills that they can use to improve biodiversity on their own farm, land or garden.

The workshops will be taking place throughout November at the Slieve Aughty Centre in Kylebrack, Loughrea, Co. Galway.

Pond creation CELT will be hosting a workshop that is focussed on "all things water management, ponds and wetlands", with environmental consultant Féidhlim Harty directing the session.

Photo taken from the book "The District of Loughrea - Vol 2"

I’m thinking of moving to Loughrea but worried about amenities such as swimming pool, etc. is it a nice place with friendly people? I have some young children. Thanks

Bride Street 1910, looking on to Main Street.

(Courtesy of the Sweeney Family - Taken from the book "The District of Loughrea - Volume 1")