POSTED FROM

KILLIMORDALY

CO. GALWAY · IE

Killimordaly
Cill Iomair Ui Dhalaigh, Co. Galway

The Ireland's Ancient East
STOP 05 / 05

Cill Iomair Ui Dhalaigh · Co. Galway

A scatter of farms in east Galway with one thing it does better than almost anywhere: hurling.

Killimordaly is a rural village and civil parish in east Galway, about 6 miles south-east of Athenry and 7 miles north-west of Loughrea, in flat farming country of limestone and bog. The Irish name is Cill Iomair Ui Dhalaigh, 'Iomar's church of O'Daly', which tells you the place is older than anything you will see standing. It shares the Catholic parish of Kiltullagh, Killimordaly and Clooncagh, and like its neighbour Attymon it is more a spread of townlands than a streetscape. There is no tourist trail here, no heritage centre, no row of shopfronts to walk.

What there is, is hurling, and that is genuinely the reason the name carries. Killimordaly Hurling Club was founded in 1912, plays in green and white, and in 1986 won the Galway Senior Hurling Championship and then the Connacht club title - a small parish beating much bigger places at the county's defining game. The club produced Tony Keady, the centre-back at the heart of Galway's great late-1980s team, Hurler of the Year in 1988, whose funeral in 2017 brought the county to a standstill. It has sent more besides up to the Galway senior ranks. If you want to understand what a hurling parish actually means, this is one.

The other landmark is the church. The oldest part of Killimordaly Church dates to 1723, extended twice over the years and renovated in 1989 - a working country chapel rather than a visitor attraction, but a real anchor for the parish. Around it the land does the talking: cattle, big east-Galway sky, quiet lanes that go nowhere in particular.

Come here for the hurling story, or because you are passing between Athenry and Loughrea and want to see the real rural Ireland that produces players like Keady. Do not come expecting a day out laid on for you. Killimordaly is a place that works, and it does not pretend otherwise.

Coords

53.3069° N, 8.6211° W

01 / 05

Stories & lore.

The reason to come back. The things every local will eventually tell you about, usually after the second pint.

A small parish on top of Galway hurling

The 1986 county champions

In 1986 Killimordaly won the Galway Senior Hurling Championship and went on to take the Connacht Senior Club Hurling Championship - a remarkable run for a small east-Galway parish in a county where hurling is the measure of everything. The club, founded in 1912 and playing in green and white, has competed at the top level of Galway club hurling for generations, with later Connacht intermediate titles in 2007 and 2013. In a place with no town and no streetscape, the pitch is the centre of gravity.

Hurler of the Year, 1988

Tony Keady

Killimordaly produced Tony Keady, one of the finest hurlers Galway has known. He won back-to-back All-Ireland senior medals in 1987 and 1988, was named Hurler of the Year in 1988, and took All-Star awards in 1986 and 1988. As centre-back he anchored one of the great half-back lines in the history of the game, flanked by Peter Finnerty and Gerry McInerney. He had come up through the Killimordaly club, winning a county senior medal with them in 1986. When he died suddenly in 2017, aged 53, his funeral drew the whole hurling county, and a white helmet was carried to the altar. The parish has produced other county players too, but Keady is the name that travelled furthest.

The name and the 1723 chapel

Iomar's church

The Irish name Cill Iomair Ui Dhalaigh means 'Iomar's church of O'Daly', tying the parish to an early saint or founder and to the O'Daly family. The present Killimordaly Church carries that lineage forward: its oldest part dates to 1723, it was extended twice and renovated in 1989, and it is one of the three churches of the joined parish of Kiltullagh, Killimordaly and Clooncagh. Kiltullagh and Killimordaly were separate parishes until they were amalgamated in 1818.

02 / 05

Things to do outside.

Wear waterproofs. Bring a sandwich. Tell someone where you're going if it's the mountain.

Country lanes around the parish The lanes around Killimordaly run flat through farmland and patches of bog. No waymarking, no facilities, just hedgerows, cattle and big east-Galway sky. Wear boots if it has rained, watch for farm traffic, and do not expect to meet anyone. This is a walk for quiet and air, not for views or attractions.

4-6 km, your choicedistance

1-1.5 hourstime

03 / 05

When to go.

There is no bad time. There are different times.

Spring

Mar-May

The fields green up and the lanes dry out. Club hurling starts to stir as the season opens.

◉ Go

Summer

Jun-Aug

Long evenings, dry lanes, and the heart of the hurling calendar. Still no facilities in the village, so bring what you need - Athenry and Loughrea are where the food and beds are.

◉ Go

Autumn

Sep-Oct

Championship hurling and harvest in the fields, low gold light over the bog. The best time to feel what the place is about.

◉ Go

Winter

Nov-Feb

Short days, wet lanes and nothing open to shelter in. Little reason to come unless you have a specific call to the parish.

◐ Mind yourself

04 / 05

What to skip.

Honestly? Don't bother.

If a local was sitting beside you, this is the bit where they'd lean in.

Expecting a village to walk around

Killimordaly is a parish and a scatter of townlands, not a streetscape. There is no tourist row of pubs, cafes or shops to stroll. Set your expectations to lanes, fields, a country church and a hurling pitch.

Looking for a Tony Keady memorial trail

Keady is the parish's most famous son and his memory is deeply held locally, but this is not a place with a visitor trail or museum about him. The connection is real; the signposting is not.

Getting there.

By car

Killimordaly is roughly 6 miles (10 km) south-east of Athenry and 7 miles north-west of Loughrea, about 22 miles east of Galway city. From Galway take the M6 toward Athenry, then local roads south-east. You will need a car - the village is reached on country roads.

By bus

No useful direct bus to the village. Athenry and Loughrea have the connections - travel to either and drive or taxi the last stretch.

By train

No station in the village. The nearest stop is Attymon, a short distance north, on the Irish Rail Dublin to Galway line via Athlone - though only some trains call there. Athenry, the next stop west, has fuller services and connections to Limerick and Ennis.