placenamesAugher
Eochair
Augher’s political importance once exceeded its size, while Spur Royal records a nineteenth-century addition to an older castle.
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
- Eochair · Irish · main form · validated name
- Augher · English · main form
Place & story
The chartered borough
Augher received its borough charter in 1614. Its corporation comprised a burgomaster, twelve free burgesses and two serjeants-at-mace. The Ulster Historical Foundation describes a small crossroads settlement beside Augher Castle that nevertheless returned two members to the Irish parliament. Political representation depended on this narrow corporation rather than a broad vote among the inhabitants. The village therefore illustrates how a small Plantation borough could carry substantial parliamentary influence. [2]
The sale of political influence
The Moutray and Richardson families controlled Augher's parliamentary seats during the eighteenth century. In 1790 the Marquess of Abercorn bought the borough interest for £11,500 Irish, divided between the two proprietors. The agreement initially left each family with a seat in the new parliament. This documented transaction connects Augher with the patronage system of the old Irish parliament and shows why the fortunes of local landowning families mattered to its political history. [2]
Spur Royal’s new front
Spur Royal, also called Augher Castle, combines an older tower with a castellated house added in 1827–1832 for Sir James Mervyn Richardson Bunbury. The Irish Architectural Archive associates the work with William Warren of Sligo, while acknowledging uncertainty about the identity of architects of that name. A contemporary visitor saw the new front under construction. The building should therefore be understood as an architectural sequence, rather than treating all of its castle-like appearance as seventeenth-century fabric. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Augher. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- County Tyrone: Augher borough · Ulster Historical Foundation, History of the Irish Parliament
- William Warren: SpurRoyal work1827–1832 · Irish Architectural Archive
- St Mark's Church of Ireland, Augher, County Tyrone illustration: based on a St Mark's Church of Ireland, Augher by Kenneth Allen. AI-assisted watercolour and ink adaptation; cream paper margins added, incidental clutter omitted and fine details simplified. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-09-19. How this page was prepared.