TUAM, Galway county. Ireland, a market-town and city, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, ie situated on the Harrow, r: branch of the river Clare, in 53' 32' N. lat., 8° 50' W. distant 20 miles ti.N.E. by road from Galway, and 125 miles W. Dublin. It is governed by a sovereign and 12 burgesses. The population in 1851 was 4938, besides 2331 In public Institutions. Tuam Poor-Law Union comprises 31 electoral divisions, with an area of 190,619 acres, and a population in 1841 of 69,826, in 1851 of 51,191.
Tuam occupies a low and nearly level site ou both sides of the river, which is crossed by a bridge. It consists of several streets radiating from the market-place. St. Mary's Cathedral, which is also the pariah church, stands on the west side of the town. It is a small structure, and is of mixed Norman and gothic architecture. The Roman Catholic cathedral, which occupies a raised site on the east side of the town, is one of the fittest ecclesiastical structures iu the island ; it is a cruciform edifice of gothic architecture with a lofty tower at the west end. There are iu the town another place of worship for Roman Catholics, a eouvent of presentation nuns, a Franciscan monastery, and St. Jarlath's College, a seminary for general and ecclesiastical education. The Tuam Diocesan Education Society has a Free Model school iu the town, and there are three National schools. The bishop's palace is a plain manaiou, situated on extensive
grounds on the north-east verge of the town. The residence of the Roman Catholic archbishop adjoins his cathedral. The other principal buildings of the town are the market-house, a neat court-house, the glebe-house, dispensary, bridcwell, and Union workhouse. The stone cross, although much decayed, is a remarkable specimen of its class. Tuam has an extensive grain-market, a large brewery, several tanneries and flour-mills, and a small manufacture of canvass and coarse linens. Quarter and petty sessions are held. Fairs are held May 10th, July 4th, October 20th, and December 15th. Thursday is the marketsday.
The diocese of Tuam is the largest in Ireland, and comprehends the greater part of the county of Galway, a cousidetable portion of Mayo, and a small part of Roscommop. It includes 33 benefices.
The chapter consists of a dean, provost, archdeacon, and eight. prebendaries. The income of the bishop is 46001. By the Church Temporalities Act the sees of Killala and Achoury were annexed to it in 1835. Tuam was an archbishopric from the 12th century till 1839, when the archbishopric became extinct, and the province was united to that of Armagh.