4.0 History of Tuam
4.1 Earliest Origins
The earliest origins of Tuam are invariably associated with St Jarlath, or Iarlaith, who reputedly founded a monastery in the area. Little is known of him, but a legend describing his arrival is contained in the life of St Brendan of Clonfert. According to the legend, the wheel of his chariot broke in the area while travelling from his monastery of nearby Cloonfush, several miles to the east. This event had apparently been foretold by St Brendan to mark the spot upon which Jarlath would meet his death. Duly inspired, Jarlath established his monastic settlement here. The town of Tuam celebrates the occasion by using a chariot wheel as its symbol. According to Colgan, Jarlath eventually met his death in 540 AD, whereas Ware placed the apex of his life later in the 550’s. Whatever the case Jarlath may be placed in the early stages of Irish Christianity.
A more prosaic factor in the choice of location for the monastery is hinted in the name of Tuam, a shortened version of its older name Tuaim da Ghualainn, i.e. the mound of two shoulders. This probably refers to the high ground on either side of the River Nanny, overlooking a probable fording point over the River Nanny (or Corchra). The ford drew travellers from several different directions. St Jarlaths monastery, therefore, would have been close to a prominent feature of the landscape, and the focus of local interaction.
The political hegemony over this fording point and locale seems to have been exercised by the Conmaince in the 6th and 7th centuries. They were identified with the southern O’Neill, who dominated the high kingship of Ireland for five hundred years. The O’Neill rule appears to decline in the early part of the 10th-11th centuries in the face of the rise of Brian Boru and the Viking towns. The Vikings made their mark in Connacht as early as 835, no doubt striking terror into the local population in their avaricious quest for slaves and precious goods.
The instability paved the way for the O’Connor tribe, based in Cruachu, County Roscommon, to challenge for the control of the country. At the beginning of the 11th century, the O’Connors appear to have pushed the rival O’Flaherty family away from Tuam, and then constructed a fortress on the eastern banks of the Corchra River by 1049.
4.2 The O’Connors and the Rise of Tuam
The construction of a castle at Tuam marked a fundamental turning point both in the history of the O’Connors and the area. For reasons which are unclear, the O’Connors abandoned their historical homeland of Cruachu, replete with its ancient ceremonial sites, markets and fortresses and moved to Tuam, bringing with them all the paraphernalia of the Royal seat of one of the five provinces of Ireland. The existing monastery was therefore subject to considerable patronage and support by the O’Connors, and no doubt functioned as an important ceremonial centre for the leading members.
Consequently, Tuam became the political and ceremonial centre of Connacht. In 1111 it was named as one of the 5 episcopal sees of Ireland. In 1127 the lands around the monastery were extended and the great cross slab commissioned commemorating the genius of Tordealbahch O’Connor, and the abbot and bishop of Tuam, Aed O’hOssian. The monastery was crowned an Episcopal see in 1152 at the Synod of Kells. The endowments must be seen in the context of the aggrandisement of the O’Connors, particularly in the reign of Tordealbhach, whose career was characterised by constant warring and intrusions into the south and east of Ireland in a bid to underline his High Kingship of Ireland.
During his reign, and for possibly another 100 years after his death in 1156, Tuam acquired the familiar trappings of a medieval ecclesiastical town. The Augustinians established a priory in 1140, a new Cathedral was constructed in 1180’s, the church of Tempaill Jarlath was reconstructed in late Romanesque style, around the same time, and the Premonastasian Abbey of the Holy Trinity was in existence by 1204. For much of the 13th century, the O’Connors retained a strong military and political presence in Connacht and it was not until the defeat of Ruairi at the Battle of Athenry in 1316 that the Anglo-Norman Burkes finally destroyed them. Unlike many Irish towns therefore, Tuam’s origins are firmly rooted in the Gaelic world, albeit in its final flourish.
4.3 The Medieval Era and the decline of Tuam
The rise of Galway city, under the patronage of the Burkes, and the corresponding decline of the O’Connors, inevitably diverted resources from Tuam. It continued to function as the ecclesiastical capital of the province and the agricultural produce of its hinterland was no doubt traded there. Indeed, this commercial function was underlined by the charter of 1260 granted by Lord Edward, son of Henry III, and later to be Edward II, to
‘Thomas, Archbishop of Tuam and his successors, a yearly fair at his vill of Twem to last for eight days, namely on the feast of St Thomas the Martyr, and seven days following’.
The charter may have provided some short term prosperity but it did not prevent the long term decline. Many of the buildings of Tuam had been destroyed by fire in 1244, and for the following two and half centuries constant warfare and instability appear to have sapped it of any commercial initiative. In 1555 it was reported that the city of Tuam was by then ‘in ruins, unfortified, and almost uninhabited…’. Another account dated to 1561 observed that the local gentry used the very Cathedral itself as a fortress, and that there were by now only twenty or thirty houses in the town. The reformation appeared to have had little impact, and it was not until the arrival of Archbishop Lally in 1573 that Protestantism made its presence felt. Moreover, the status of archbishopric was threatened when it was proposed to transfer the Cathedral to Galway in the early years of the seventeenth century.
4.4 The Stuart & Georgian town and its revival
The drastic step of transferring the Cathedral thankfully never occurred. Instead, the archbishopric remained in the town, and the initiative of the Stuart monarchy stimulated growth. In 1613, it was granted borough status during the reign of James I, and in return two loyal protestant individuals were to be forwarded to the newly formed Irish Parliament in Dublin. The borough was comprised of a sovereign, twelve free burgesses, and the commonalty, but it was strangely devoid of any particular geographical limit. The borough and its parliamentary representatives appear to have overseen the establishment of the town as a commercial and trading centre. The population increased for much of the following two centuries and the pattern of streets characterising the towns’ centre probably took shape.
The revival continued apace in the following century, with the arrival of Archbishop Singe in 1716 (-1742) heralding a period of notable improvement. During his tenure, the town saw the laying out of the demesne and accompanying gardens, on either side of the River Nanny. The demesne was laid out in the English style of matching clumps of trees, water, and natural contours popularised by Launcelot Brown. Archbishop Singe was buried in 1742 in the grounds of the St Mary’s Cathedral. As a mark of respect, the shaft of the Market Cross was removed from the market place and set over his grave.
The loyal citizens of the borough also added value to the produce of their holdings and of the hinterland with the establishment of breweries, tanneries, tuck mills and gig mills. By the late eighteenth century Tuam was a prosperous, confident, provincial market town, and many of its finer buildings are testimony to this. Apart from the demesne, other notable additions to the town included the Bishop Street Bridge (1735), the Market House in Town Square (1780), and several other fine residences e.g. Waterslade.
4.5 The Tumultuous Nineteenth Century
The nineteenth century ushered in a period of more extensive and rapid change than seen previously. The recovery of the Catholic Church, the Famine, the extension of central government, and the rise of the political movements demanding national independence, all had demonstrable repercussions. The catholic revival began modestly with the establishment of St Jarlath’s College in 1800. The Catholic Free School was founded in 1816, and the construction of the new Catholic Cathedral began in 1823. The enormous presence of Archbishop McHale who arrived in 1834, remaining there until his death in 1881, overshadowed political and cultural life in the town.
The nationalistic outlook for which Archbishop McHale is chiefly remembered was greatly influenced by the encroachment of the British government in all areas of life. The creation of the Tuam Poor Law Union led to the construction of a workhouse on the Dublin Road. Other governmental agencies followed including the courthouse, the Bridewell, and the police barracks. The system of local government itself was reformed with the passing of the Municipal Corporations Act 1840. Tuam was therefore vested with 22 elected members of the Town Commission, the first of which elected a catholic chairman in November 1843.
By then Tuam, and the roads that snaked out of it, possessed over 6,000 inhabitants. For the most part, they lived in mud cabins which stretched out from the town as far as Newtown Morris, up to Newgrove, or at least a mile down the roads leading to Galway and to Athenry. The population fell to 5,000 in 1851, as a consequence of the Famine and its accompanying emigration. Thereafter it experienced a decline of its populace. By 1911, the population fell to c.3,000 and has slowly recovered since then. By 1971, the population reached 4,900 and is presently c.5,600.
The towns business and trading prospects, however, generally improved in the aftermath of the Famine. The market was held every Wednesday and Saturday, in addition to twelve monthly fairs every year, attracting the produce of its extensive hinterland. Cattle, sheep, pigs, and wool appear to have been the mainstay of the markets. The town was linked by railway to Athenry in 1860 and, hence the larger cities.
4.6 The Modern Era
By the early part of the twentieth century Tuam was a thriving provincial town. Agriculture experienced a boom during the First World War and this undoubtedly benefited its merchants and traders. The valuation of Tuam rose by £2,000 between 1901 and 1919 to reach £5,450. In addition, it benefited from the planting of emigrants in its hinterland by the Congested Districts Board.
The new Irish State provided a sympathetic environment for the catholic institutions that went from strength to strength with new secondary schools, and enlarged religious establishments. Only in the very recent past has this trend abated. The Protestant Bishopric experienced a general decline culminating in the sale of its demesne to the town commissioners in 1952.
In the 1920’s serious efforts were made to clear the unsanitary hovels inhabited by the poorer citizens, and to rehouse the poorer families in more reasonable accommodation. Over 200 local authority houses were constructed by 1942. The establishment of the Sugar factory in 1934 provided employment for hundreds for several decades until its closure in 1987. The railway was closed for commercial traffic in 1973.
The buildings of Tuam emerged relatively unscathed from construction activity common in other parts of the country in the 1960’s and 70’s. The centre of the town retains its essentially eighteenth to nineteenth century building fabric and many of the roads preserve the scale and width of a bygone era, although the ever increasing traffic through the centre has had the effect of setting aside large open spaces for car parking. It is in the outskirts of the town where the recent improvements in the national economy are most marked, in the form of new housing estates, road improvements and industrial quarters. The challenge for the future, therefore, will be to retain the characteristic charm of the old town in the new economic and social environment.
