Richard Geoghegan (Galway)
Richard Geoghegan (Galway), Irish agriculturist, (1717–1800.)
A descendant of the Geoghegan clan, his ancestor, Art MacGeoghegan of Castletown, County Westmeath, was transplanted to Connacht in 1656, receiving a grant of nine hundred acres and Bunown Castle, Connemara, County Galway.
His family inhabited the original castle until Richard built a new castle (though using the same name) at the foot of Doon Hill.
James Hardiman described him as a man of science and enterprising genius, studying a Dutch method of land reclamation, which resulted in recovering a considerable tract of land from the sea at Ballyconneely. This work was commemorated by an inscription in Latin on a weir, dated 1758.
His son, John, took the additional name of O'Neill. The family abandoned the area in the late 19th century.
References
- 'The History of Galway', Sean Spellissy, 1999. ISBN 978-0-9534683-3-1
