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 "Noble above nobility" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Westmeath.svg , subdivision_type = Sovereign state, Country , subdivision_name = Republic of Ireland, Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Provinces o ...

border. It is around 15 km west of Navan and 50 km north-west of

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. The town is in a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

of the same name.

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 Ki ...

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, the precursor of modern-day

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

. 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 second ...

, is a remnant of a 14th-century

Carmelite , image = , caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites , abbreviation = OCarm , formation = Late 12th century , founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel , founding_location = Mount Car ...

priory. Behind the church are the remains of the town walls. The church boasts an interesting medieval tabletop. Athboy was a constituency in the Irish House of Commons 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 Kingdom of Ireland, Irish-born Kingdom of Great Britain, British soldier, best known for his service during the Seven Years' War when he led a series of amphibious raids, known as "Naval Descen ...

, 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 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. 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 via

Trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

. 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 animals ...

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

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 nationa ...

and

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road that links Dublin (to the south) with Enniskillen, Bally ...

which are provided as

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidia ...

route 111 though passengers to/from

and

must change bus at Athboy. A

route, 190A, was introduced in 2013 to provide direct service to Navan, Slane,

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

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 Del ...

. During college terms there is a Sundays-only route 070 coach to

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midlands Region with a population of ...

, Navan 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.

Sport

Local sports clubs are Clann na nGael GAA (operating Gaelic football and hurling), and Athboy Celtic FC (a soccer club).

Popular culture

On 4 May 2011, Athboy featured on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

'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 The Blue Jean County Queen is a festival run by Meath Macra na Feirme that has taken place over the June Bank Holiday weekend in Athboy, Co. Meath since 1987. History In 1987, Patrick Farrelly a member of Macra na Feirme from Carnaross was insp ...

since 1987. The festival, which takes place over the June Bank Holiday weekend, is run by the Meath County executive of

Macra na Feirme Macra na Feirme (; officially meaning "Stalwarts of the land") is an Irish voluntary rural youth organisation. The organisation provides a social outlet for members in sport, travel, public speaking, performing arts, community involvement and agr ...

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, 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 organization, nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including depo ...

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, key figure in the

Gaelic Revival The Gaelic revival ( ga, Athbheochan na Gaeilge) was the late-nineteenth-century Romantic nationalism, national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including Irish folklore, folklore, Iri ...

* John Gilroy, author and former

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

politician and member of Seanad Éireann * Jamie McGrath, football player currently playing for

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

* Nigel Connell, singer & songwriter, a finalist in The Voice Of Ireland (RTE)

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 directory

Athboy Parish

Athboy Rugby Club

Athboy Cobras Basketball Club

Athboy 100

Athboy.net

{{Towns and villages in County Meath Towns and villages in County Meath Civil parishes of County Meath Former boroughs in the Republic of Ireland