placenamesAughrim
Eachroim
Aughrim’s school history connects several surrounding communities, while a geological survey explains the stone that shaped the district’s buildings.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Eachroim · Irish · main form
- Aughrim · English · main form
Place & story
From separate schools to a mixed school
Aughrim’s 1894 granite schoolhouse originally contained separate boys’ and girls’ schools. The school’s own history records their move to a new five-room building in 1961. Children from Ballycreen joined in 1965, followed by Kirikee pupils in 1969. Shortly before the second transfer, Aughrim became a mixed national school, bringing previously separate classes and neighbouring school communities together. [2]
Making room for more pupils
Population growth during the late 1970s and early 1980s brought renewed pressure on school space. The old granite building returned to classroom use as enrolment reached 250 and the teaching staff grew from five to eight. A major extension and alterations followed in 1985, providing more accommodation and upgraded facilities for the expanded school. [2]
The stone at Tinnakilly
The Geological Survey identifies the rock at Aughrim’s Tinnakilly quarries as fine-grained granodiorite, formed around 400 million years ago. Its even texture and low porosity made it useful for construction, including the Ardnacrusha hydroelectric scheme. Two abandoned quarries preserve exposures of the stone; quarrying ceased in 1952, leaving physical evidence of the industry behind the district’s granite buildings. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Aughrim. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Brief History of Aughrim National School · Sacred Heart National School, Aughrim
- Aughrim Quarry, County Geological Site Report WW 002 · Geological Survey Ireland, Irish Geological Heritage Programme
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2011-07-25. How this page was prepared.