What is "killagoola"

Killagoola (Cill Ogúla) is a small townland lying in the parish of Moycullen in County Galway, Ireland.

It is located about 8 miles from Galway city, just off the N59 road which travels north from Galway towards Clifden. Its name is derived from the Irish name of Chill U'goola, which means Church on the Shoulder (of a hill). Indeed there is the ruins of a small church within the boundaries of killagoola, on the largest site in the area, Cru Mountain.

Until the first half of the 20th century, Gaelic was the language used in the area, but this was lost in the latter half, with a change to English.

Killagoola has locally derived place-names such as Mountview, Sruthan, Sceith and Baile Thiar to distinguish areas of the townland. Lough Kip river runs from the lake, Lough Kip, through the townland towards Ballyquirke Lake, a feeder for the much bigger lake, the Corrib.

Most of the land in the area is used as farmland, reclaimed from boggy or mountainous areas.

Some of the families living in the area have lived there for generations and their names can be viewed on land deeds from the 19th century. After a drop in the townland population from the 1960s to the 1980s, an influx of people in the 1990s, due to its proximity to Galway city, has bolstered the small population.

Category:Townlands of County Galway