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Tuam (Irish: Tuaim) is a small town in County Galway in the Republic of Ireland. The name is pronounced chew-um. It is situated west of the midlands of Ireland, and north of Galway city. The town has a strong Gaelic Games tradition: St. Jarlath's College Tuam has won the Hogan Cup (National Championship for secondary schools) a record 12 times since the Games began in 1946.
The people of Tuam claim it is the smallest city in the world. This claim centres on the fact that Tuam has a cathedral, which forms one of the original definitions of what constitutes a city. In fact, Tuam has two cathedrals; St. Mary's Cathedral (Church of Ireland) and the Cathedral of the Assumption (Roman Catholic). Tuam is, however, officially a town.
The Saw Doctors are among the more famous of those originating from the town. The N17 road does in fact pass through the town, as their song "N17" suggests.
Another influential Tuam person was Lieutenant Richard W. "Dick" Dowling. With 47 men and six cannon, he turned back a Union force of 2000 men at the battle of Sabine Pass during the American Civil War.
Tuam is located on the now disused railway line from Limerick to Sligo. There is a campaign (West-on-track) to have the line reopened, as a Western Railway Corridor.
Tuam is the location of several educational institutions, including St. Patrick's College (formerly the Christian Brothers School) and St Jarlath's College, although an amalgamation between these two schools is now planned. A history of St Jarlath's bicentenary 1800 - 2000, was written by Dr John Cunningham and published in 1999, ISBN 0953697800. The city is also serviced by 2 girls secondary schools which are expected to amalgamate in the future, however this project remains in the early stages of development. The Principal of Presentation College, Currylea, Tony Lillis, said that the only delay was the OPW agreeing on the girls’ school site. He said that while there were no subjects under threat at Presentation College other schools were experiencing difficulties. He believed the Minister wouldn’t make these a “sacrifice on the altar of amalgamation”.
In July 1920, the Town Hall and other properties were burned down by armed RIC men, after two RIC men had been killed in an ambush by the IRA near the town the day before.
In 2003, Tuam councillor Martin Ward became Ireland's first Irish Traveller mayor.
The town has been twinned with Straubing, Germany for many years.
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External links
"Tuam"