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Townland

Galbally

An Gallbhaile

The older church and a sandstone bridge survive east of the trading square.

Recorded locationGalbally52.40263° N · 8.28978° WInteractive map supplied by OpenStreetMap.
Recorded place location · Logainm.ie

The name

bailetownland, town, homestead

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

  • An Gallbhaile · Irish · main form · validated name
  • Galbally · English · main form

Place & story

The medieval borough

The 1989 urban survey identifies medieval Galbally with the borough of Natherlagh. A 1341 estate account mentions burgages and burgesses. The survey proposes a settlement around the castle and church, distinct from the later town. [2]

Reused carved stones

Sandstone carvings inserted beneath the ruined church’s east window include a worn seated figure and a possible head. The survey also records architectural fragments reused as grave markers. Their later positions preserve material from earlier buildings without establishing every carving’s subject. [3]

The sandstone bridge

A two-arched road bridge, dated to around 1850 by the architectural inventory, crosses a tributary of the Aherlow in Galbally townland. Dressed sandstone forms its elliptical arches, while a pointed cutwater projects upstream. It is distinct from the four-arched Galbally Bridge near Moor Abbey in County Tipperary. [4]

Geographic information

Place type
Townland
County
Limerick
Barony
Coshlea
Civil parish
Galbally
Coordinates
52.40263, -8.28978
Mapped area
0.97 km²
Logainm ID
1411980 ↗

People & family history

Census figures refer to the matched historical census area for each year. Boundaries and spellings can change over time.

1911 census

102People recorded
29Households recorded

Most frequent surnames in this year’s matched records

  • Quirke 17
  • Moore 8
  • Cahill 7
  • OBrien 5
  • Bishop 4
Explore the 1911 records ↗

Sources & further reading

  1. Logainm.ie — Galbally. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
  2. Galbally historic town, LI049-086001-, NMS record quoting Urban Survey 1989 · National Monuments Service, compiled Caimin O’Brien; Bradley, Halpin and King 1989
  3. Galbally church, LI049-086002-, NMS record quoting Urban Survey 1989 · National Monuments Service, compiled Caimin O’Brien; Bradley, Halpin and King 1989
  4. Galbally sandstone road bridge, NIAH 21810007 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
  5. Boundary geometry retains its source attribution and licence in the downloadable geographic record. Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.