Athboy ()
is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the
County Westmeath border. Local Clubs are Clann Na nGael and Athboy Celtic.
History
In medieval times it was a walled stronghold of
the Pale
The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...
. Eoin Roe O'Neill took it in 1643, and six years later
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...
camped his
army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
on the
Hill of Ward
The Hill of Ward (, formerly ''Tlachtgha'') is a hill in County Meath, Ireland.
Geography
The hill lies between Athboy (to the west) and Ráth Chairn (to the east). During medieval times it was the site of great festivals, including one at w ...
nearby. Also known as Tlachtga, the Hill of Ward was the location for the pagan feast of
Samhain
Samhain ( , , , ; gv, Sauin ) is a Gaelic festival on 1 NovemberÓ hÓgáin, Dáithí. ''Myth Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition''. Prentice Hall Press, 1991. p. 402. Quote: "The basic Irish division of the year ...
, the precursor of modern-day
Halloween.
The tower of St James,
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the secon ...
, is a remnant of a 14th-century
Carmelite priory. Behind the church are the remains of the town walls. The church boasts an interesting medieval tabletop.
Athboy
Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. Local Clubs are Clann Na nGael and Athboy Celtic.
History
In medieval time ...
was a constituency in the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
from 1613 until the Act of Union in 1800.
In 1694, the town's 'lands and commons' and several other denominations of land were erected into a manor and granted to
Thomas Bligh
Lieutenant General Thomas Bligh (1685–1775) was an Irish-born British soldier, best known for his service during the Seven Years' War when he led a series of amphibious raids, known as " descents" on the French coastline. Despite initial succes ...
, MP for Athboy, who had earlier purchased almost 12 km² (3000 acres) in the area of Athboy. His son, John, was created
Earl of Darnley
Earl of Darnley is a hereditary title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of Ireland.
The first creation in the Scots Peerage came in 1580 in favour of Esme Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox ...
in 1725 and the Blighs (Earls of Darnley) were landlords of all but six of the 27 townlands in the parish of Athboy throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley
Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley (13 March 1859 – 10 April 1927), styled The Honourable Ivo Bligh until 1900, lord of the manor, lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British nobility, British nobleman, parliamentarian and cri ...
placed the fee-simple of the town of Athboy up for public auction in June 1909. The townspeople formed their own branch of The Town Tenants League and with the aid of Joseph Coghlan-Briscoe, national secretary of the league, they were able to purchase their homes and businesses via private treaty. The demesne of the Darnley Estate at Clifton Lodge just outside the town was sold in 1909 to Welsh explorer
Mordecai Jones
Mordecai Jones (1813 - 30 August 1880) was a Welsh businessman and pioneer in the development of the South Wales coalfield. He was a notable promoter of the British Schools model of free education, and of Welsh and English Calvinistic Methodist ch ...
. Not long after Jones' death in 1913 his Japanese manservant Sanotic Koniste was found murdered in a field not far from Clifton Lodge. Both Jones and Koniste are buried in the graveyard of St. James' Church.
Transport
Rail
Athboy railway station
Athboy railway station was the terminus of a branch line which diverged from the Dublin to Navan line at Kilmessan Junction and served the village of Athboy in County Meath, Ireland.
History
Opened by the Dublin and Meath Railway, the stati ...
opened on 26 February 1864, at the end of a branch from
Kilmessan
Kilmessan () is a village in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated 10/15 minutes away from Dunshaughlin, Trim and Navan, 6 km from the M3 motorway. The village has a primary school, shop, post office and several pubs. The Station House Hotel ...
via
Trim. It closed to passengers on 27 January 1947 and to goods traffic on 10 March 1947, but the branch remained open for
livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animal ...
trains until final closure on 1 September 1954. The station building, and the nearby engine shed, are now private residences.
Bus
Today the town has regular bus services to
Trim,
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
,
Granard
Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nation ...
and
Cavan which are provided as
Bus Éireann route 111 though passengers to/from
Granard
Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to AD 236. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 nation ...
and
Cavan must change bus at Athboy. A
Bus Éireann route, 190A, was introduced in 2013 to provide direct service to
Navan
Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...
,
Slane
Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 ( Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2016 cen ...
,
Drogheda and
Laytown
Laytown () is a village in County Meath, Ireland, located on the R150 regional road and overlooking the Irish Sea. Historically it was called ''Ninch'', after the townland it occupies. Together with the neighbouring villages of Mornington a ...
. This service was discontinued in 2016. Although additional 111 services were added to include a non-stop service to Dublin and bus connections for
Clonmellon
Clonmellon (, but also attested to originally have been ''Cluain Miolain'') is a small village officially in County Westmeath although on the border with County Meath, Ireland. It is situated on the N52 road between Kells in County Meath and De ...
. During college terms there is a Sundays-only route 070 coach to
Athlone,
Navan
Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...
and
Dundalk
Dundalk ( ; ga, Dún Dealgan ), meaning "the fort of Dealgan", is the county town (the administrative centre) of County Louth, Ireland. The town is on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the east coast of Ireland. It is h ...
.
Education
As well as rural primary schools in Rathmore and Rathcairn, O'Growney National School had provided education for the Athboy population since 1949. A new school building was opened in 2016.
In terms of secondary education, the former St. Joseph's Convent of Mercy amalgamated with Athboy Vocational School in 2004 to form Athboy Community School. In 2011, the school relocated to a site behind the former vocational school.
Popular culture
On 4 May 2011, Athboy featured on
RTÉ's ''Dirty Old Towns'' programme, in which the local community came together to convert an old piggery into a Farmers' Market.
Athboy has been the home of the
Blue Jean Country Queen Festival since 1987. The festival, which takes place over the June Bank Holiday weekend, is run by the Meath County executive of
Macra na Feirme and invites contestants from all over Ireland and abroad to compete for the title of Blue Jean Country Queen. In 2014, the festival was almost moved to the nearby town of
Navan
Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town of County Meath, Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 30,173, making it the tenth largest settlement in Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Blackwater, around 50&nb ...
, however, the intervention of local businesses and, in particular, the local
Credit Union
A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provisi ...
branch ensured that the festival remained in Athboy for the foreseeable future.
In 2018, The Flame of Samhain Festival was launched as part of The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival to celebrate Athboy's links to Halloween. The following year, Fáilte Ireland launched the Púca Festival was launched which incorporated the traditional celebration on the Hill of Ward with a larger festival spread between Athboy, Trim and Drogheda. The festival is expected to bring €12 million for the local economy by 2020.
People
*
Frederick Harvey, recipient of the
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
*Fr
Eugene O'Growney
Eugene O'Growney ( ga, Eoghan Ó Gramhnaigh; born 25 August 1863 at Ballyfallon, Athboy, County Meath, died 18 October 1899 in Los Angeles, California), was an Irish priest and scholar, and a key figure in the Gaelic revival of the late 19th cen ...
, key figure in the
Gaelic Revival
*
John Gilroy, author and former
Labour politician and member of
Seanad Éireann
Seanad Éireann (, ; "Senate of Ireland") is the upper house of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (the lower house).
It is commonly called the Seanad or Senate and its memb ...
*
Jamie McGrath, football player currently playing for
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
*
Nigel Connell, singer & songwriter, a finalist in The Voice Of Ireland (RTE)
See also
*
List of populated places in Ireland
References
Sources
* Noel E. French, ''A short history of Rathmore and Athboy'' (1995)
* Beryl F.E. Moore, "Tombs in Athboy Graveyard", ''Irish Ancestor'', volume 13 (1981), pp. 123–4
External links
Athboy community directoryAthboy ParishAthboy Rugby ClubAthboy Cobras Basketball ClubAthboy 100Athboy.net
{{Towns and villages in County Meath
Towns and villages in County Meath