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County Galway · Connacht · Órán Mór

About Oranmore

Oranmore is a town in County Galway, 8 km east of Galway city, with 5,819 people at the 2022 census. The great spring on an inlet of Galway Bay, a Clanricarde tower house, a church turned library, and the Galway Shawl's own town.

Population
5,819 (2022 census)
Where
8 km from Galway, 177 km from Dublin
Position
53.2684° N, 8.9284° W, 7 m above sea level
In Irish
Órán Mór
On the model
2,481 buildings, 51 streets, 262 places in 63 kinds
Read more
Oranmore on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Oranmore with every named place pinned
Panoramic view near Shanmuckinish Castle (Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland)
Panoramic view near Shanmuckinish Castle (Oranmore, County Galway, Ireland)
Einaz80, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Oranmore Bay A view across Oranmore Bay from Salthill.
Oranmore Bay A view across Oranmore Bay from Salthill.
Andrew Wood, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Oranmore Castle
Oranmore Castle
Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Oranmore Castle and quay
Oranmore Castle and quay
Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. Prehistory
    Fairy forts and cooking pits. Fulachtaí fia at Frenchfort, ringforts at Rinn and a megalithic structure at Garraun South show people here long before the town; Griffith's Valuation of 1857 still mapped several of the forts.
  2. 13th century
    The old church. The ruined church by the graveyard is one of the oldest buildings in the town, believed to date from the thirteenth century, within a century and a half of the Norman landing of 1169.
  3. 1803
    St Mary's. St Mary's church, finished in 1803 with a bell-cote over the door and an elaborate ceiling, served the parish until 1972, when the larger Church of the Immaculate Conception replaced it.
  4. 1914 to 1918
    The aerodrome. Oranmore aerodrome was a Royal Air Force base in the First World War, and later a civil airfield for Galway.
  5. 1933 and 2019
    Hurling. Oranmore-Maree won the Galway senior hurling championship in 1933 and the All-Ireland intermediate club championship in 2019.
  6. 2022
    5,819 people. Nine kilometres east of Galway on an inlet of the bay, the town counted 5,819 people at the 2022 census; farming has given way to tourism, manufacturing and logistics.

The full history, 11 moments in order

What to see

  1. Oranmore Castle456 m

    The Clanricarde tower house of about the fifteenth century at the head of the inlet, once the home of the sailor Bill King.

  2. The old church and graveyard

    The thirteenth-century ruin whose north wall is part of the graveyard enclosure, with a Celtic cross dated 1661 and the sisters' plot.

  3. St Mary's, the library

    The church of 1803 with its bell-cote and ceiling, the parish church until 1972 and the town library since.

  4. Rinville and Renville Park3.3 km

    The park and woods on the bay south of the town, with Rinville Castle, Galway Bay Sailing Club and the golf resort beside them.

  5. An Tobar, Uarán Mór463 m

    The great spring the town is named for.

  6. Roscam3.8 km

    The early church site and folly on the shore towards the city.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Oranmore?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 8 km east of Galway city and 177 km west of Dublin, on the R338, the old N6, with the M6 at Doughiska and Rathmorrissey and the M18 close by.
What is the population of Oranmore?
5,819 people at the 2022 census.
What is there in Oranmore?
On the map, 262 named places in 63 kinds: 27 places to eat and drink, 16 shops, 8 schools, churches and public buildings, and 151 things to see within 12 km.
What is Oranmore known for?
Its castle on the inlet of Galway Bay, the song The Galway Shawl, Galway Bay Golf Resort and sailing club at Renville, and being the first town east of the city on the M6.
What is the history of Oranmore?
A settlement named for a great spring, recorded by the Four Masters; a thirteenth-century church; the Clanricarde tower house of the 1400s; St Mary's of 1803, now the library; the Presentation convent of 1861; an RAF aerodrome in the First World War; and a commuter town of 5,819 people today.

Getting around

Oranmore sits on the R338, the old N6, with the M6 at Doughiska and Rathmorrissey and the M18 close by. 3 bus stops and 0 car parks are on the map.

History, sights and civic facts summarise Wikipedia, "Oranmore" (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.