Lawrencetown Heritage Trail

Welcome to the village of Lawrencetown located in East Galway between the towns of Ballinasloe and Portumna. We hope you enjoy reading about and listening to the interesting history and heritage of our village. A Brief History The village of Lawrencetown was first established by Walter Lawrence circa 1700 as an organised settlement on their estate about the townland of Ochilmore, the name Ochilmore coming from the ruins of the castle of O’Hill. It was enlarged by his son Rear Admiral Peter Lawrence in 1750 and rebuilt by his grandson Col. Walter Lawrence in 1765, to promote the linen industry in the west of Ireland. In the 1800s it was a thriving village with a penny post, a chief constabulary police station, a Catholic Church and a Wesleyan Methodist chapel and a school. It also had a market house, octagonal in shape, supported by arches, through which carts of produce could pass to be weighed. The principle seats in the vicinity were Bellevue, or Lisreaghan, (Walter Lawrence), Gortnamona, (P. Blake), Somerset House, (Simeon Seymour), Somerset Glebe, (Rev. J. Hannigan) and Ballymore Castle (Thomas Seymour Esq.). In the 1850s a man named Allan Pollok, a progressive landowner and engineer, arrived in Ireland and between July 1853 and June 1858 paid £212,460 for 25,234 acres of land in East Galway and the Creggs area in County Roscommon. He settled in Lismany, Lawrencetown and had a huge impact on the industry and economy of the area. Lawrencetown Heritage Trail Details about Lawrencetown's built, natural and cultural heritage is included with this app. Explore the Trail and Media tabs to learn more. Disclaimer Digital trails presented are merely an information guide and do not act in any way as an invitation to any person to enter onto any of the properties listed in these digital trails. While every care has been taken to ensure accuracy in the compilation of these digital trails, neither the project steering committee, the editorial team, or the owners of the properties listed in the digital trails can accept responsibility for errors, omissions or inaccuracies. All information is received and published in good faith. All liabilities for loss, disappointment, negligence or any other damage caused by the reliance on information contained in these digital trails, or in the event of bankruptcy or liquidation of any organisation, company, individual or rm mentioned, or in the event of any organisation, company, individual or firm ceasing to trade, is hereby excluded.