Gort Town and Origins/Gort, Kilmacduagh and Kiltartan

The Irish name for the heritage town of Gort is Gort Inse Guaire, the Field of Guaire's Island. The oldest buildings date back to the eighteenth century though the origins of Gort lie as far back as the thirteenth century, if not earlier. The town is well laid out with wide streets and an imposing Market Square. The town is situated on the M18 Galway to Limerick road, being about 35 minutes from Shannon Airport. The Western Railway also serves Gort, which is the most southern town in the Province of Connacht. Gort always had a deserved reputation for hospitality . It has a sizeable Brazilian population and has been held up as a model for multiculturalism. For further information see the following websites: www.gortchamber.com and www.guaire.ie

The town of Gort is well laid out. The statue of Christ the King, erected in 1930, occupies a commanding position in Market Square.The Court House, built in 1815, is architecturally very appealing. Most of the houses date to the early nineteenth century, some with classical stone doorways as in the Family Resource Centre.

The former Church of Ireland building was constructed in 1814 and is now in use as a library. It has a beautiful stained glass window and mural tablets commemorating those who fought in World War One.

Close by is the Canon Quinn Park, a quiet oasis which contains quern stones from the old Gort Mill.

The original part of St. Colman's R.C. Church was built in 1828 but the church has undergone many changes down the years. It has a commanding spire built in 1894. There is a mosaic of St. Colman over one of the doors. A stone monument to his memory occupies a prominent place in the newly extended Gort cemetery. This burial ground has outdoor Stations of The Cross, erected in 1996.The oldest occupied premises is probably Bridge House, built before 1787. It has a stately classical front of three floors and it is situated beside the bridge which bears the date 1771. The house has been the Convent of Mercy since 1857.The Convent Primary School dates to 1886. Large portions of it were destroyed by fire in 1944 but it was reopened two years later.There was great rejoicing when the Western Railway was reopened in March 2010. The Station House was built in 1869.The beautifully cut stone Weigh House at Market Square is believed to have been constructed in the 1760s.The Town Hall was originally a Primary School, erected at the height of the Great Famine. it is built of cut stone with windows of Tudor mouldings and gables with pinnacles.Another reminder of the Famine is the old Fever Hospital where hundreds of people died between 1848 and 1922.