Tynagh

Tynagh
Tíne
Town
Tynagh

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°10′12″N 8°22′12″W / 53.1700°N 8.3700°W / 53.1700; -8.3700Coordinates: 53°10′12″N 8°22′12″W / 53.1700°N 8.3700°W / 53.1700; -8.3700
Country Ireland
Province Connacht
County County Galway
Elevation 85 m (279 ft)
Population (2002)
 • Rural 842
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference M621163
Website www.galway.ie

Tynagh (Irish: Tíne) is a village and parish in south-east County Galway in Ireland.

Origin of the name

Recorded as Tyneaach (1565), Teacneaghe (1543), Theaneac (1541), its current name is a contraction of Teach nEachach, 'Eochu's house'. In medieval Irish sources it is referred to as Teach nEachach, or 'the house of Eochu'. It was originally associated with the townland of Lecarrow, one mile east of the village, now named a Billew Burial Ground, the word Billew derived from Bileadha, plural of bile, denoting a sacred tree.

The element Eachach refers to Dagda, the supreme deity of the pagan Irish. He is cited as the father of the founder of the church, Brandubh of Tynagh. This suggests that Tynagh was originally a cult centre for the festival of Lughnasa, later Christianised by Brandubh, who was cited as Lugh's son, thus betraying its true origins.

Geographic area and notable industry

From about the 8th or 9th century up to the 17th century, the name of the area it was situated within was Síol Anmchadha. Its kings and lords were the Maddan family.

Situated between the towns of Loughrea (15 km) and Portumna (13 km), the place is probably best known for the Tynagh mines which opened in the 1960s and were an important source of lead and zinc concentrates at that time. For almost twenty years Irish Base Metals Tynagh Ltd was a major source of employment for east Galway. This all changed in 1981, however, when the mines closed with the loss of 350 jobs.

In 2004, after lying dormant for over twenty years, part of the site was redeveloped for industrial use with Sperrin Galvanisers (Ireland) Ltd opening a steel galvanising plant, and Tynagh Energy Ltd a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power plant, the first in Galway.

Sports

Tynagh has very strong football links. Between 1920 and 1929 no club in Galway went as long unbeaten in senior football. Also during this period, Tynagh had no fewer than six members on the Galway team that won the All-Ireland in 1923, another unrivalled county record...

Famous Stalwarts of the club include Kevin Fahy who famously bested Peter O'Connell in many battles throughout that successful period

Paul Keating, the former prime minister of Australia, visited Tynagh in 1993 while tracing his ancestry, and found that he was related to a Thomas Donnellan from Tynagh.

The grandfather (Michael Lyons) of another past Prime minister of Australia, Joseph Lyons, emigrated to Australia from Tynagh.[1]

See also

References

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