placenamesOughterard
Uachtar Ard
A former silver-and-lead mine became a family conservation project and a location for modern earth-science monitoring.
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
- Uachtar Ard · Irish · main form · non-validated name
- Oughterard · English · main form
Place & story
From mine cottage to heritage site
Glengowla East lies within Oughterard electoral division. The Geoghegan family’s account records that they lived in the former mine agent’s cottage until 1989, continuing a family association with farming and mining. They began excavating the old shafts in 1991, and the restored mine opened to visitors in 1998. These dates distinguish the later recovery of the workings from the nineteenth-century extraction of silver and lead that created them. [2] [3] [4]
Recording movement in the earth
Glengowla also houses a working seismograph contributing observations to the Irish National Seismic Network. The independent GEOFON catalogue lists the DIAS Glengowla station, code IGLA, with data periods beginning in 2011 and a further instrument period from May 2021. The mine’s own account describes a live display through which visitors can see the instrument’s response. This scientific role adds a different use of the site to its preserved industrial workings. [5] [6]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Oughterard. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Glengowla East: townland hierarchy · Mary Kyne and Antoinette Lydon, Oughterard Heritage
- About Glengowla: family cottage and public opening · Glengowla Mines and Geoghegan family
- Glengowla Mines: shaft recovery begun1991 · Glengowla Mines and Geoghegan family
- Seismology at Glengowla Mines · Glengowla Mines
- Irish National Seismic Network: IGLA station metadata · GEOFON, GFZ; Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies network metadata
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.