Oranmore Heritage

About Us

Oranmore Heritage was founded as the Old Graveyard Restoration Group in 2000 by interested members of the Oranmore community in order to preserve the Old Graveyard in Oranmore which was under threat of being developed for purposes other than a graveyard.

At that time the Graveyard had been closed to new graves for nearly 50 years. It had been neglected and was overgrown and the perimeter walls were breached. The Committee felt strongly that steps needed to be taken to restore and preserve the Graveyard as it is a designated archaeological site and is the last resting place of generations of people from Oranmore and the surrounding areas.

The Committee restored the walls, and with assistance from Galway County Council made a path around the Graveyard to make the graves accessible.

Various other works were carried throughout the site. At all times during restoration works, steps were taken to ensure that the integrity of the graves was not compromised. Having accomplished access to most of the graves, the Committee decided to carry out a survey and record the inscriptions on the various slabs and monuments as far as possible. In tandem with this, we proceeded to initiate the recording of all the deaths registered in the Ecclesiastical parish of Oranmore between 1864 and 1950 to assist those who may wish to investigate their ancestry. Access to the Register of Deaths was very limited and ultimately completely restricted and therefore the Registry of Deaths information, while as complete as possible, should in specific cases be investigated by individuals at the Registry of Deaths. The result of our work to date is contained on this website and in our publication 'Memories in Stone – A Survey of Oranmore Old Graveyard'. We hope that this work will be of benefit to those who are interested in tracing their Oranmore roots.  Oranmore Heritage group meets regularly in the Meeting Room of Oranmore Library. If you are interested in getting involved, please Contact Us.