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Lawrencetown
~ Ballinasloe |
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Lawrencetown, in the parish of Clonfert, is known in Irish
as An Baile Mór Síol Anmchadha. In the 1830s this was a
prosperous village with its own penny post to Eyrecourt.
It was a chief constabulary station where petty sessions
were held each Thursday and a considerable quantity of
wooden ware and furniture was manufactured here. |
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Fairs were held on 8 May, 22
August and 15 December, for cattle, sheep and pigs. The
Catholic Church was "a good modern building" and the
Wesleyan Methodists supported both a church and school in
the village.
The village of Lawrencetown was first erected by Walter
Lawrence about 1700. It was enlarged by Rear Admiral Peter
Lawrence in 1750 and rebuilt by Col. Walter Lawrence in
1765, to promote the linen industry in the west of Ireland.
Lewis in his Topographical Dictionary (1837) describes it as
a village in the parish of Clonfert, six miles from
Ballinasloe on the road to Eyrecourt, to which places it has
a penny post. He continues, "It has a chief constabulary
police station and petty sessions are held weekly on
Thursday. A considerable quantity of wooden ware and
furniture are manufactured here and fairs are held on May
8th, Aug. 22nd, and Dec, 15th, for cattle sheep and pigs.
The Roman Catholic Chapel for this part of the district is a
good modern building and the Wesleyan Methodists also have a
chapel here and support a school. The seats in the vicinity
are Bellevue, or Lisreaghan, the residence of Walter
Lawrence Esq., Gortnamona, the elegant seat of P.Blake Esq.,
Somerset House, of Simeon Seymour Esq. Somerset Glebe, of
the Rev. J. Hannigan and Ballymore Castle, of Thomas Seymour
Esq. Near the town are the ruins of the castle of O'Hill
from which it formerly took the name Oghilmore". It also had
a market house, octagonal in shape, supported by arches,
through which carts of produce could pass to be weighed.
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