placenamesKilreekill
Cill Rícill
Kilreekill, also known as Kilrickle, connects nineteenth-century craftsmanship and local schooling with the birthplace of RTÉ journalist Jim Fahy.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Cill Rícill · Irish · main form · validated name
- Kilreekill · English · main form
Place & story
Our Lady of Lourdes church
The Catholic church at Wallscourt is dated 1839. Its T-shaped plan brings two transepts together with the nave, while a limestone bellcote rises above the entrance. The national architectural inventory identifies the carved doorway and bellcote as notable examples of stone craftsmanship. Inside, coloured leaded windows, a timber gallery and decorative plasterwork in the sanctuary give the modest roadside building a more elaborate interior. [2]
From two classrooms to a centenary
Kilrickle’s school was built in 1922 with two classrooms for three teachers; a third room followed in 1939. The older school beside the graveyard became a parish hall, used for dancing, concerts and drama. During major refurbishment in 1999–2000, pupils again used the adjacent hall temporarily. The school’s own history records these changes and its December 2022 centenary, showing how educational and community buildings repeatedly supported each other. [3]
Jim Fahy’s beginnings
Journalist Jim Fahy was born in Kilrickle in 1946. After schooling in Loughrea and Ballinasloe, he joined The Tuam Herald and later became RTÉ’s first Western Correspondent in 1974. His colleague Pat McGrath’s obituary describes the recordings Fahy gathered from rural people for Looking West. Those interviews preserved memories of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, giving the broadcaster from this east Galway village an important role in recording the region’s experiences. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Kilreekill. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Catholic Church of Our Lady of Lourdes, Wallscourt,30409807 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- Our History · Kilrickle National School
- Correspondent who cast his net wide in search of stories,15January2022 · Pat McGrath, RTÉ Western Correspondent
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2011-06-27. How this page was prepared.