Tuam: The Fastest Town in Ireland

Tuam, which in its latin name means Burial ground (I recently found this out and I want to move) is

one of the oldest settlements in the west of Ireland and is the last known seats of the High King of Ireland, Rory O'Connor. The main story behind Tuam's founding was that of St. Jarlath, who was then an archbishop, was going through the countryside by donkey and cart until the wheel on his cart broke, leaving him stranded (Obviously didn't have the Uber app). So not knowing what to do next, Jarlath had a Bear Grylls moment and decided to build a town around his broken wheel. To this day, a replica of the wheel remains at the entrance to the Cathedral in Tuam. St. Jarlath however used to study not far from Tuam. 

So much history revolves around Tuam. Rumours have it that Queen Maeve of Connaught, one of the most strong and fearsome queens in Ireland at the time, is buried on top of Knockma hill, just outside Tuam. In the same hill, legand says that Finnbheara, the king of the Connaught fairies occupies a cairn there and also had his palace there. Atop of Knockma is a lot of prehistoric cairns, showing existence in Tuam during prehistoric times. A walkway was developed around Knockma, where some of the cairns and ruins are still visible. Great place for ghost stories.

Out in Kilbannon (Down the street from my house), the remains of a stone tower stands in the midst of a graveyard. The stone towers in Ireland were used for storage and for protection by monks. If the monestries came under attack by vikings, who would pillage these places for gold and handmade artifacts.

Some of these artifacts by monks are in Trinity library like the Book of Kells. The Kilbannon stone tower was a monastic site set up by a disciple of St. Patrick (The guy with the day named after him). The tower was blown up by a cannon ball, apparently. Was one heck of a party, I'd say!

In the late 19th century and early to mid-20th century, Tuam has workhouses for people who were struck by the famine. During the famine, people were reduced to slaves just to make enough for one meal that would feed a whole family. Remains of these workhouses are scattered around with other various types of institutions dealing with severe human rights issues popping up here and there. Some of which made front page headlines domestically and internationally.

Tuam has a lot of history surrounding it and a lot of myth and legend surround Queen Maeve and the Connaught Fairies. The country roads around Tuam give a historical perspective to things and even looking at buildings like the Tuam Cathedral shows how important religion was in Tuam throughout

its history. And the history of Tuam is a thing of generations, as is with other areas of rural Ireland, for example: My family home is on the same land and same foundation as my great-great grandparents. Some old walls still stand and some old heirlooms still remain. Families everywhere in Ireland remain attached to family items and things that have a  historical significance in Ireland. Fun fact about my life for you!

Tuam today lacks drive in tourism. Although there is an information centre, not many people tend to stop in Tuam unless they are locals. As a knock on effect, there has been many attempts from businesses to set up in Tuam but never manage to survive. However, some key businesses could potentially be attractive to tourists and by bringing them through Tuam, it could give businesses a drive to set up. The problem is, Tuam doesn't give off a tourism vibe. It has hotels, it has restaurants,

touristic sites and could be a base for travelling other places. It's sad, simply due to the fact that people have a lack of interest, but from studying tourism, Tuam could be developed if people get behind it. There would be more jobs, more money coming in locally and potentially more businesses!
I recommend Tuam as a place to visit for a short while, see the historic sites, go for a walk around Knockma, find out what festivals and markets are on and use it as a base to travel around the west of Ireland. So that's why these posts are to promote Tuam and all it has to offer
-Next I will discuss what Tuam can offer besides Historic Tourism attractions-