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County Galway · Connacht · An Ghráig

About Woodford

Woodford is a village in County Galway, 50 km south-east of Galway city, with 242 people at the 2022 census. The village of the iron mills between the Shannon and the Slieve Aughty, where seventeenth-century furnaces ate a hectare of oak a day, with a dammed river, three nature reserves and a Furnace Festival every August.

Population
242 (2022 census)
Where
50 km from Galway, 146 km from Dublin
Position
53.0522° N, 8.3995° W, 73 m above sea level
In Irish
An Ghráig
On the model
165 buildings, 5 streets, 52 places in 20 kinds
Read more
Woodford on Wikipedia
The 3D model of Woodford with every named place pinned
The L4205 road to Moyglass, near Woodford, Co. Galway
The L4205 road to Moyglass, near Woodford, Co. Galway
P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
A. Moran, Woodford, Co. Galway
A. Moran, Woodford, Co. Galway
P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The R351 road approaching the junction with the L4205 road, near Woodford, Co. Galway
The R351 road approaching the junction with the L4205 road, near Woodford, Co. Galway
P L Chadwick, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Standing Stone in Knockauncarragh, Woodford
Standing Stone in Knockauncarragh, Woodford
Jason Keane, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

A short history

  1. 17th century
    The iron mills. The hills hold iron ore and the oak woods fed the smelting; the village may have begun as housing for the ironworkers.
  2. Later
    The corn mill and the light. The dammed Woodford River, a Shannon tributary, drove the corn mill and made the town's electric light; Woodford Bay, the lake it forms below the village, was repaired in 1980 for its beauty rather than its power.
  3. 2000
    Millennium oaks. Derrygill, within walking distance, is one of fourteen Millennium Oak Forests planted when the government gave every family a tree.
  4. 2022
    242 people. The census count for the village.

The full history, 4 moments in order

What to see

  1. Woodford Bay

    The artificial lake below the village.

  2. St Mary's well848 m

    The holy well 850 m from the street.

  3. The nature reserves

    Pollnaknockaun, Derrycrag and Rosturra within 5 km, two of them special areas of conservation.

  4. Derrygill

    The Millennium Oak Forest.

  5. Kilnalekin Abbey5.6 km

    The friary 5.6 km away.

  6. Pallas Castle8.6 km

    The tower house 8.6 km off.

All the things to see and do

Questions people ask

Where is Woodford?
In County Galway, in the province of Connacht, in the west of Ireland: 50 km south-east of Galway city and 146 km west of Dublin, on the R353 between Portumna and Loughrea.
What is the population of Woodford?
242 people at the 2022 census.
What is there in Woodford?
On the map, 52 named places in 20 kinds: 3 places to eat and drink, 1 shop, 5 schools, churches and public buildings, and 39 things to see within 12 km.
What is Woodford known for?
Its iron mills of the 1600s, Woodford Bay, the nature reserves and millennium oaks, the Furnace Festival and the East Galway Family History Society.

Getting around

Woodford sits on the R353 between Portumna and Loughrea. 0 bus stops and 0 car parks are on the map.

History, sights and civic facts summarise Wikipedia, "Woodford, County Galway" (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.