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Woodford
~ Ballinasloe |
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The town of Woodford situated in a scenic area of Southeast
County Galway, bounded on the one side by the Shannon River,
the longest river in Ireland, and on the other side by the
Slieve Aughty mountains.
The Shannon widens out
into the broad expanse of Lough Derg at Portumna and this,
the largest lake on the Shannon, extends south as far as
Killaloe. |
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The lake frames the horizon
as one looks east from Woodford and affords marvellous views
when looking down on it from the heights of the Slieve
Aughty.
The Grotto
A few miles outside Woodford at Lough Atoric, we have the
site of a Mass Rock and the grotto of The Virgin Mary. The
statue stands on the old Mass rock, a flat stone slab on
which priests said Mass for the people in Penal times, the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when the Catholic
religion was outlawed in Ireland. During those times priests
said Mass for the people, at the peril of their lives, often
in wild isolated places like the Slieve Aughty, where the
Mass rock came from.
Woodford Bay
The Woodford River, a tributary of the Shannon, flows by the
town and is forded there by a fine triple arched stone
bridge. Just above the bridge the river is dammed and
broadens out into a small artificial lake called Woodford
Bay or simply "The Bay". During the last century and the
early part of this century this served as a source of water
power, which powered a corn mill by day and provided
electric light for the town by night. It fell into disuse in
the 1950's when a government programme of rural
electrification brought electricity to all parts of Ireland.
Over the years it silted up and the weir was breached in
several places. In recent years extensive dredging and
repairs to the weir have restored it to the beautiful
feature it once was, though it is no longer used
commercially.
Woodford is less than three hours drive from Dublin and has
many amenities. There are two golf courses within eight
miles of the town, at Curra and Portumna, and there is
fishing and boating on the Shannon. The area is good for
walking including woodland walks. Woodford is strategically
placed for travelling on to other scenic areas of Galway and
Connemara and also to West Clare with its beautiful scenery
and traditional music, which Woodford shares.
Woodford River, a
tributary of the Shannon, flows by the town and is forded
there by a fine triple arched stone bridge. Just above the
bridge the river is dammed and broadens out into a small
artificial lake called Woodford Bay or simply "The Bay".
During the last century and the early part of this century
this served as a source of water power, which powered a corn
mill by day and provided electric light for the town by
night.
The nature reserves of Derrycrag, Derrygill and Rosturra
incorporate two millennium project plantations. Woodford
also has Loughatorick Lake, where a Mass Rock from penal
times is situated. A Stone Circle from 1200BC can be found
off the Loughrea Road, and there is an old Church of Ireland
cemetery in the centre of Woodford. |
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