Cloghan, County Offaly

Cloghan (Irish: An Clochán, meaning 'stepping stones" or "stone structure')^[2] is a town in County Offaly, Ireland. It is located, in the civil parish of Gallen,^[3] at the intersection of the N62 National secondary road and the R356 and R357 regional roads. As of the 2022 census, Cloghan had a population of 654 people.^[1]

Cloghan An Clochán
Town
Junction of the N62 and R357 roads
Cloghan Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°13′26″N 7°53′02″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	Offaly
Elevation	55 m (180 ft)
Population  (2022)[1]	654
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	N075196

Amenities

Cloghan is home to a car dealership,^[4] and has a number of shops including a butchers, a hairdressers/beautician, a Spar store and a service station. Cloghan once had five public houses in 1994 but, as of January 2016, had only one remaining.^{[citation needed]}

The local national (primary) school, St. Mary's National School,^[5] had an enrollment of approximately 100 pupils as of 2024.^[6] The Catholic church in Cloghan, also named for St. Mary, was built c. 1860.^[7] It is in Cloghan & Banagher parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise.^[8]

Transport

Cloghan is located at the intersection of the N62 national secondary road, and the R356 and R357 regional roads. This intersection is known locally as "The Square".^{[citation needed]}

Belmont and Cloghan railway station opened on 29 May 1884, closed for passenger traffic on 24 February 1947, and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1963.^[9]

Sport

St. Rynagh's GAA club are based in Cloghan and play their games at the local sports field. The club was founded in 1961 and has since won 16 Offaly Senior Hurling Championships and 5 Offaly County Intermediate Football Championships. The Cloghan pitch is used for Gaelic football, while the pitch in Banagher is used for the club's hurling games and training.^{[citation needed]}

People

• Greg Hughes, Gaelic footballer and manager, was from Cloghan.^[10]
• YouTuber Jacksepticeye, born Seán McLoughlin, is originally from the town.^[11]

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. "Census 2022 - F1015 Population". Central Statistics Office Census 2022 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. August 2023. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
2. "An Clochán / Cloghan". logainm.ie. Irish Placenames Commission. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
3. Lewis, Samuel, ed. (1837). "Cloghan". A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. Lewis – via libraryireland.com.
4. "Hugo Loonam Motors". Hugo Loonam Motors. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
5. "St. Mary's National School | Website". stmarysnscloghan.ie. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
6. "Directory Page - St Marys National School". Department of Education. 23 August 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024 – via gov.ie.
7. "Saint Mary's Catholic Church, Banagher Street, Cloghan (Ga. By.), Cloghan, Offaly". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
8. "Parish Details - Cloghan & Banagher (Gallen & Reynagh)". ardaghdiocese.org. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
9. "Belmont and Cloghan station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 12 September 2007.
10. "Death of Offaly great Greg Hughes". Irish Independent. 16 May 2014. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
11. "Nothing septic about Cloghan Youtuber's earnings". offalyindependent.ie. Offaly Independent. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 31 May 2020. Cloghan native and YouTube sensation Sean McLoughlin, who's better known to his fans as Jack Septic Eye, earned a whopping €14m