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County Galway · Connacht · Baile Locha Riach

About Loughrea

Loughrea is a town in County Galway, 33 km east of Galway city, with 6,322 people at the 2022 census. Crannogs in a grey lake, a de Burgo castle of 1236, a cathedral full of Celtic Revival art, and the last country branch line in Ireland.

Population
6,322 (2022 census)
Where
33 km from Galway, 154 km from Dublin
Position
53.1982° N, 8.5691° W, 82 m above sea level
In Irish
Baile Locha Riach
On the model
3,151 buildings, 90 streets, 223 places in 81 kinds
Read more
Loughrea on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Loughrea with every named place pinned
View from the N65, County Galway
View from the N65, County Galway
Sarah777, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Another view from the N65, County Galway
Another view from the N65, County Galway
Sarah777, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Two piers and lakeside walk, Loughrea Lake, Loughrea, Co. Galway
Two piers and lakeside walk, Loughrea Lake, Loughrea, Co. Galway
P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
St Brendan's cathedral, Loughrea
St Brendan's cathedral, Loughrea
Vanessa Kennedy, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. 6th to 7th century
    Crannogs on the lake. Up to fourteen crannogs, artificial island dwellings, have been found in Lough Rea, dating from the sixth and seventh centuries; the remains of one lie just behind the boathouse.
  2. 1543
    Earl of Clanricarde. The Burghs took on Irish names and customs, married into the Gaelic nobility and even held the white wand of a clan chief, until Ulick Bourke, alias Mac William, surrendered his lands to Henry VIII in 1543 and had them back as Earl of Clanricarde, to pass by primogeniture.
  3. 1700s
    Stoney Brennan. A stone face on Millennium House at West Bridge remembers Brennan, hanged, the story goes, on Gallows Hill at Mount Carmel for stealing a turnip.
  4. 1897 to 1902
    St Brendan's Cathedral. William Byrne designed the cathedral of the diocese of Clonfert on the lakeshore in 1897 and it was finished five years later, with unusual double transepts.
  5. 1916 to 1921
    Independence. As in many garrison towns there was little support for the 1916 rising, though a battalion of Irish Volunteers existed here; it fought no major battle and mainly guarded the Sinn Féin club.
  6. 2006 and 2007
    Hurling. Loughrea won the Galway and Connacht senior club hurling championships in 2006 and reached the All-Ireland club final in 2007, losing to Ballyhale Shamrocks.

The full history, 12 moments in order

What to see

  1. St Brendan's Cathedral228 m

    The cathedral of Clonfert on the lakeshore, designed by William Byrne in 1897 and finished in 1902, with double transepts and a celebrated collection of Celtic Revival art.

  2. Lough Rea1.3 km

    The spring-fed grey lake the town is named for, overlooked by Knockash: brown trout, pike, perch and eels, wintering ducks from Europe, a site of international importance for the shoveler, and swimming and water sports.

  3. The crannog

    The remains of an ancient island dwelling just behind the boathouse, one of up to fourteen in the lake, where people once lived for safety from raiders.

  4. St Mary's Abbey193 m

    The medieval priory that went with de Burgo's town of 1236, with the wall, the moat and a gate still to be seen.

  5. The Walks188 m

    The park by the lake at the edge of the centre.

  6. Stoney Brennan

    The stone face on Millennium House at West Bridge, said to be the man hanged for a turnip in the 1700s.

All the things to see and do

Population since 1821

1,5813,1614,74218211851190119511971200220226,322

Source: Wikipedia article 'Loughrea', Historical populations template, citing the CSO census.

Questions people ask

Where is Loughrea?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 33 km east of Galway city and 154 km west of Dublin, on the N65, which joins the M6 Galway to Dublin motorway.
What is the population of Loughrea?
6,322 people at the 2022 census, up from 5,556 in 2016.
What is there in Loughrea?
On the map, 223 named places in 81 kinds: 23 places to eat and drink, 43 shops, 17 schools, churches and public buildings, and 81 things to see within 12 km.
What is Loughrea known for?
St Brendan's Cathedral and its Celtic Revival art, the lake with its crannogs, the walled medieval town of the de Burgos, hurling, and the Tynagh mines that brought industry in the 1960s.
What is the history of Loughrea?
Crannog dwellers on the lake from the sixth century, a Norman castle and town in 1236, the Clanricarde Burkes, a garrison and market town in the eighteenth century, a centre of the Gaelic Revival, a cathedral in 1902, the last rural branch railway in Ireland until 1975, and a fast-growing town today.

Getting around

Loughrea sits on the N65, which joins the M6 Galway to Dublin motorway. 2 bus stops and 4 car parks are on the map.

History, sights and civic facts summarise Wikipedia, "Loughrea" (CC BY-SA 4.0, read 2026-09-19). Population is the CSO census as listed there. Distances and everything on the model are OpenStreetMap.