Woodlawn, County Galway
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Woodlawn (Irish: Móta; historically known as Mota or Moote)[1] is a settled area in County Galway, Ireland.
Woodlawn lies on the R359 regional road, between the main road and rail networks which traverse the area east-west, 5 km (3.1 mi) west of Kilconnell,[2] 16 km (9.9 mi) from Ballinasloe and approximately 48 km (30 mi) from the city of Galway. Woodlawn House and its demesne are in the townlands of Woodlawn and Killaan,[3] while the broader area also features Woodlawn railway station, a post office and a Church of Ireland parish church.[4]
Transport
Woodlawn railway station was built by the second Lord Ashtown,[5] and opened on 1 August 1858. It was closed for goods traffic on 2 June 1978.[6] It is on the main Iarnród Éireann Intercity line from Dublin to Galway,[5] situated between Ballinasloe and Attymon halt stations, and still open for some passenger business.[7]
Features
Woodlawn House
Woodlawn House, about 19 km (12 mi) north-west of Ballinasloe, is the former seat of the Trench family, holders of the title Baron (Lord) Ashtown.[8] This large Italianate building was built in the late 18th century by Frederic Trench, 1st Baron Ashtown, of Moate, and extended and remodelled in the mid-19th century, following the marriage of his nephew, Frederic Mason Trench, 2nd Baron Ashtown, to his second wife, Elizabeth Oliver Gascoigne of Castle Oliver, Limerick.[5]
The house was vacated and the furnishings sold when the third Lord Ashtown became bankrupt in the 1920s, and eventually it was sold by the fourth Lord Ashtown to a cousin, Derek Le Poer Trench, in 1947. In 1973, it was sold on to a local farmer, and it changed hands further thereafter, being held by a local publican from 1989 to 2001, and then sold on with its remaining 115 acres of land.[5][9] As of 2019, and unoccupied for over 40 years, it had suffered fire damage in 1982, and been partly repaired with an emergency Heritage Council grant.[3]
It has 35,000 sq ft of space, and more than fifty rooms, with the central part comprising three storeys over a basement, and two two-storey wings.[9]
The estate also includes a family mausoleum,[8] a walled garden, an orchard, stables, two staff houses and some cottages. There is also a lake.[9]