Gort
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Template:Ie citytown infoboxGort (Irish Gort Inse Guaire or an Gort) is a town in south County Galway in the west of Ireland. The town lies just north of the border with County Clare on the main N18 Galway–Limerick road.
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| Dialing Code: | 091 |
Gort takes its name, Gort Inse Guaire, from Guaire Aidhne, the sixth century King of Connaught and patron of St. Colman Mac Duach. During the Middle Ages the O'Shaughnessy family held the principal stronghold in the town, on a site which later became a cavalry barracks. In the seventeenth century the O'Shaughnessy lands were confiscated and granted to the Verekers who were later became the Viscounts of Gort. In 1831, the town had a population of 3,627 and 563 houses. The Great Hunger of the mid 1840s decimated the population.
A number of historic sites around Gort are included in the Sites and Monuments Record. Kilmacduagh monastery and round tower are situated approximately 3 km west of Gort. The poet William Butler Yeats spent a great deal of time in the home of Lady Gregory at Thoor Ballylee. Lough Coole is nearby, inspiring his poem The Wild Swans at Coole.
See Also
List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
- Gort is also the name of a character in The Day the Earth Stood Still