Croghan () is a village in County Offaly in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is situated near

Croghan Hill Croghan Hill ( or ''Brí Éile'') is a hill with a height of in County Offaly, Ireland. The remains of an extinct volcano, it rises from the Bog of Allen and dominates the surrounding plains. Historically known as ''Brí Éile'', it is menti ...

, on an "island" of high ground surrounded by an expanse of

raised bog Raised bogs, also called ombrotrophic bogs, are acidic, wet habitats that are poor in mineral salts and are home to flora and fauna that can cope with such extreme conditions. Raised bogs, unlike fens, are exclusively fed by precipitation (ombrot ...

which forms part of the Bog of Allen.

Sport

The local GAA club in Croghan is St Brigid’s (). Its 60th anniversary was celebrated in 2014.

School

St Brigid's National School, known in

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

as Scoil Bhride, was built in 1963. There were formerly a number of other schools in Croghan, including a

hedge school Hedge schools ( Irish names include '' scoil chois claí'', ''scoil ghairid'' and ''scoil scairte'') were small informal secret and illegal schools, particularly in 18th- and 19th-century Ireland, designed to secretly provide the rudiments of ...

which was run in Coole during the during the time of the Penal Laws by a Mr. Burke. The first official school opened in August 1835 in Cannakill. Croghan Community Centre was the local school until Scoil Bhríde was built. Due to the number of pupils then attending the new school, an extension was built in 2009. It included an assembly hall and other facilities and was officially opened and blessed by

Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin is the ordinary of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, one of the suffragan dioceses of the Archdiocese of Dublin. The episcopal title takes its name from the towns of Kildare and Old Leighlin ...

, James Moriarty. As of 2014, the school had over 90 pupils enrolled.

Croghan Hill

It is said that it is possible to see up to 9 counties from the summit of nearby

. On 17 March every year, St Patrick's Day, people climb the hill and set fire to the Furzes. The lighting of furzes is an age old tradition and it was believed that if you drove your

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

through the burning furzes it would ward off any diseases. The Croghan Hill Challenge is an adventure race which takes place on the slopes of the hill, and has been used as a fundraiser for charities. Including in 2013, when over €60,000 was raised.

Transport

Croghan is served by Bus Éireann route number 120, which provides 6 daily buses, Monday to Saturday, 2 buses on a Saturday and 1 bus on a Sunday. It serves the local towns of

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the midlands region with 14,607 inhabitants at the 2016 census. The town retained ...

and

Edenderry Edenderry (; ) is a town in east County Offaly, Ireland. It is near the borders with Counties Kildare, Meath and Westmeath. The Grand Canal runs along the south of Edenderry, through the Bog of Allen, and there is a short spur to the town ...

and onwards to

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 ...

References

External links