Carrick on Shannon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Carrick-on-Shannon () is the county town of
County Leitrim County Leitrim ( ; gle, Contae Liatroma) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Connacht and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the village of Leitrim. Leitrim County Council is the local authority for the ...
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 the largest town in the county of Leitrim. A smaller part of the town lies in County Roscommon. The population of the town was 4,062 in 2016. It is situated on a strategic crossing point of the River Shannon. The Leitrim part of the town is in the
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 authorit ...
of Kiltoghert which is in the ancient barony of Leitrim.


History

Carrick-on-Shannon is situated on a fording point of the Shannon. In the vicinity of Drumsna, on the County Roscommon border, are the remains of an
Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...
fortification. Corryolus townland on the Shannon () remembers Eolais Mac Biobhsach, ancestor of the
Muintir Eolais The Muintir Eolais of Conmaicne Réin, were nobles of Gaelic Ireland. For seven hundred years from the 8th century, they lived and ruled an area roughly conterminous to present-day south County Leitrim. Their territory comprised the lands name ...
who were the most famous ancient Leitrim sub-septs in the Barony of Mohill and the Barony of Leitrim. Following the
Norman invasion The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, Duchy of Brittany, Breton, County of Flanders, Flemish, and Kingdom of France, French troops, ...
of Ireland, a famous
Battle of Áth an Chip ''Cath Áth an Chip'', meaning the Battle of Ath an Chip, alias the "Battle of Connacht", was a battle fought in 1270 between armies of the Kingdoms of Connacht and England in County Leitrim in Ireland. The result was a decisive Irish victory. ...
occurred near Carrick-on-Shannon. On old maps, the town was also known as Carrick Drumrusk and Carrikdrumrusk, being an anglicised variant of the Irish name of the town. Carrick-on-Shannon was granted a royal charter and named a borough with its own seal in 1607. Throughout at least the 19th and 20th centuries, three annual fairs were held at Carrick on- 12 May, 11 August, and 21 November (or 22nd). Historic buildings are the "Carrick Castle", the Workhouse and Famine Graveyard, Hatley Manor (a restored Georgian period home of the St. George Family), St George's
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 ...
and the
Costello Chapel The Costello Chapel is a very small Catholic chapel located in Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated fro ...
. It is considered the gateway to the
Shannon–Erne Waterway The Shannon–Erne Waterway ( ga, Uiscebhealach na Sionainne is na hÉirne) is a canal linking the River Shannon in the Republic of Ireland with the River Erne in Northern Ireland. Managed by Waterways Ireland, the canal is in length, has sixt ...
, Lough Key, Acres Lake and
Lough Allen Lough Allen () is a lake on the River Shannon in northeastern Connacht, Ireland. Most of the lake is in County Leitrim, with a smaller part in County Roscommon. The lake lies to the south of the River Shannon's source, near the Iron Mountains, ...
via the villages of
Cootehall Cootehall (, also ''Cloigne'') is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located on the River Boyle, between Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon near Lough Key Forest Park in the north of the county. Cootehall lies 4 kilometres off the N4 ...
,
Knockvicar Knockvicar () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located on the R285 regional road, between Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon near Lough Key Forest Park in the north of the county. Knockvicar lies on the Arigna Scenic Drive off the ...
, Jamestown, Leitrim Village,
Drumshanbo Drumshanbo (, ridge of the old huts) is a small town situated in the heart of County Leitrim, Ireland. Drumshanbo is surrounded by a scenic area of soft rolling hills, woodlands, lakes and the Sliabh an Iarainn and Arigna mountains. It is a wel ...
and Keshcarrigan and is only a short distance away from the Glens of North Leitrim.


Local media

Carrick-on-Shannon is served by the ''
Leitrim Observer The ''Leitrim Observer'' is the oldest newspaper in County Leitrim. It is a weekly newspaper published every Wednesday and once competed with another newspaper called the ''Leitrim Post'' which was forced to close in 2009 during the economic cr ...
'' which is published every Wednesday and the fortnightly free ''Northwest Express'' newspapers. The ''
Leitrim Post The ''Leitrim Post'' was a local newspaper covering County Leitrim in northwest Ireland. The paper was one of a series published in the region by River Media and stable-mates included the ''Donegal Post'' and '' Sligo Post''. For the first half o ...
'' is now defunct.


Places of interest


Carrick Bridge and Quay

Until the early 19th century, the head of the Shannon Navigation was Drumsna. In the 1840s the improvement of the navigation entailed extensive dredging of the river, the cutting of Jamestown Canal, the construction of locks at Drumsna and
Knockvicar Knockvicar () is a village in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located on the R285 regional road, between Boyle and Carrick-on-Shannon near Lough Key Forest Park in the north of the county. Knockvicar lies on the Arigna Scenic Drive off the ...
, and the building of a new bridge and Quays at Carrick-on-Shannon. The new bridge, built in 1846, took the place of a nine arch stone bridge, which in turn replaced a wooden structure. For over a century, until the closing of the Grand Canal Company in 1960, Carrick was a major depot for river trade; timber, cement, hardware, and especially Guinness stout were all transported here from Dublin, Athlone, and Limerick.


Churches

St. Mary's
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, on the Main Street, is built in the Neo-Gothic style. It was designed by W.H. Hague, a Dublin architect. It was dedicated on 19 October 1879. The church is on a plot of elevated ground. Fr. Thomas Fitzgerald, the priest responsible for its construction, is buried within the chancel in front of the Blessed Sacrament Altar. The town is in the parish of Kiltoghert in the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise The Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise ( ga, Deoise Ardach agus Chluain Mhic Nóis) is a Roman Catholic diocese in Ireland. Geography The diocese is entirely within the Republic of Ireland and contains most of counties Longford and Leitrim, wit ...
St. George's Church, St. Mary's Close, is the
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 ...
parish Church. Prior to 1698, the parish church was situated at Kiltoghert. In that year it was transferred to its present site in Carrick. It was re-built in 1829 and the interior reconstructed in the years 1910–1914. Rev. W.A. Percy who was Rector from 1869 to 1886 was the grandfather of the famous songwriter
Percy French William Percy French (1 May 1854 – 24 January 1920) was an Irish songwriter, author, poet, entertainer and painter. Life French was born at Clooneyquinn House, near Tulsk, County Roscommon, the son of an Anglo-Irish landlord, Christopher F ...
. The Priest's Lane is a long-standing name for the road leading from Main Street to St. Patrick's Park. This was where the Catholic clergy first lived after the relaxation of the Penal Laws. It is also reputed to have been the home of
Turlough O'Carolan Turlough O'Carolan ( ga, Toirdhealbhach Ó Cearbhalláin ; 167025 March 1738) was a blind Celtic harper, composer and singer in Ireland whose great fame is due to his gift for melodic composition. Although not a composer in the classical sense, ...
, the harpist and composer when he came to Carrick as a boy with his family from Nobber, Co. Meath in 1684. The Carrick Baptist Church was founded in September 2012. The church holds its services on Park Lane.


Arts

''The Dock'' is an arts centre housed in the renovated 19th century courthouse building. It was opened in 2005 and hosts a theatre, art galleries, artists' studios, workshop spaces, a coffee shop and bar as well as ''The Leitrim Design House''. Since 2013, it has held the ''Phase One'' festival held at the beginning of April every year, dedicated to displaying artists and musicians associated with modern or electronic music. The ''Carrick Water Music Festival'', a week long music and arts festival which began in 2005 is held every July.


Climate

Carrick on Shannon experiences a year-round mild, moist, temperate and changeable climate, due to the prevailing winds of the Gulf Stream. The town experiences a lack of temperature extremes, with temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 30 °C (86 °F) being rare. The town receives an average of 1,147 mm (45.2") of
precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hail. ...
annually, which is evenly distributed throughout the year. Rain is the most common form of precipitation - hail, sleet and snow are rare in the town, though will sometimes be experienced during particularly cold winters. Carrick-on-Shannon is also consistently humid, with
humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation, dew, or fog to be present. Humidity dep ...
normally ranging from 70% to 100%, and this can lead to heavy showers, and even thunderstorms breaking out when drier east winds, originating in the European continent, clash with this humidity particularly in the late summer. The average January temperature in the town is 6.8 °C (40.6 °F) and the average July temperature is 16.0 °C (60.8 °F). This means that Carrick-on-Shannon is said to have a maritime temperate climate (''Cfb'') according to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...
system.


Geography

As its name implies, the town is located on the River Shannon, which is linked to the
River Erne The River Erne ( , ga, Abhainn na hÉirne or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. ...
via the
Shannon–Erne Waterway The Shannon–Erne Waterway ( ga, Uiscebhealach na Sionainne is na hÉirne) is a canal linking the River Shannon in the Republic of Ireland with the River Erne in Northern Ireland. Managed by Waterways Ireland, the canal is in length, has sixt ...
. The town is located on the N4
National Primary Route A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar príomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649  km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...
, linking
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 ...
in the east to Sligo in the west. The road is of
motorway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
status for much of its length. The town is served by the Dublin-Sligo railway line.
Carrick-on-Shannon railway station Carrick-on-Shannon railway station serves the town of Carrick-on-Shannon. Whilst the town itself is in County Leitrim, the railway station lies across the border in neighbouring County Roscommon in the small area of Cortober or Mullaghmore. Th ...
opened on 3 December 1862. This line was originally part of the
Midland Great Western Railway The Midland Great Western Railway (MGWR) was the third largest Irish gauge () railway company in Ireland. It was incorporated in 1845 and absorbed into the Great Southern Railways in 1924. At its peak the MGWR had a network of , making it Irelan ...
. The railway station is approximately 2 kilometres outside town on the Roscommon side of the Shannon. Bus Éireann bus services connect the town to Dublin and Sligo. There is a regular Locallink Bus Service to Ballinamore via Mohill. Carrick-on-Shannon, while the county town of Leitrim, straddles the river Shannon. That part of the town on the Roscommon side is the
townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...
of
Cortober Cortober () is a village and townland in County Roscommon, Ireland. It is located across the bridge from the town of Carrick-on-Shannon on the right bank of the River Shannon. It is bounded on the north by the parish of Tumna and River Shannon, ...
. The Leitrim part of the town is situated in the townland of Townparks which is part of the extensive civil parish of Kiltoghert, while the Roscommon part is in the parish of Killukin.


Carrick Carnival

"Carrick Carnival" is an annual festival based in the town which takes place around the June Bank Holiday weekend. Lasting about 10 days, events include air shows, water sports, fireworks, and live music. During the latter half of the Carnival, larger events take place including Carnival Night, the Battle of the Musicals, Taste of Carrick, Vintage Car Displays and much more.


Sport

St Mary's GAA Club is based in the parish of Kiltoghert. The club was originally founded in 1889 and re-formed in 1944. For 55 years, the club rented the Show Grounds on the Boyle Road. The Roscommon side of the town is served by Shannon Gaels GAA.The GAA pitch is called
Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada {{Infobox stadium , name = {{lang, ga, Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada , nickname = , image = Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada.jpg , caption = Leitrim Gaelic football team training at Páirc Seán Mac Diarmada , location = Carrick-o ...
. In soccer, Carrick Town FC was founded in 1976. The home ground is located at the Showgrounds on the Boyle Road. In rugby, Carrick-on-Shannon RFC was established in 1974.
Golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...
was first played in Carrick-on-Shannon in 1910. The townland of Ballinamoney was first the first site for a golf course. In 1936 Carrick-on-Shannon Golf Club moved to a site nearer the town in Lisnagot. In 1944 it moved to its present location in Woodbrook. Carrick on Shannon Rowing Club was founded in 1836 and is the oldest rowing club in Ireland as well as one of the oldest in Europe. The locality has hosted national and international angling competitions.


Notable residents

* Frances Cryan (b. 1958), Olympian Ladies Rowing at 1980
Moscow Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...
. 11 times Irish Ladies Single Sculls Champion from the years 1976-1986 inclusive. *
Carole Coleman Carole Coleman (born September 1966) is an Irish journalist. Originally from Carrick-on-Shannon, County Leitrim, she is a former Washington Correspondent for Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ). Carole is a journalism graduate of the Dublin Insti ...
(b. 1966), Raidió Teilifís Éireann broadcaster. * William Lendrim (1830-1891),
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 ...
recipient. *
Farrell McElgunn Farrell McElgunn (5 January 1932 – 2 March 2020) was an Irish Fianna Fáil politician and teacher. He completed a Bachelor of Arts in University College Galway in Irish and History, and later completed a masters of Irish in St Patrick's Col ...
(b. 1932), former local politician and member of the Seanad and the European Parliament * Paul Reid (born 1964) - senior civil servant


Twinning

Carrick-on-Shannon is twinned with Cesson-Sévigné in
Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...
, France.


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland * Market Houses in Ireland


References


Primary sources


Secondary sources


Historical

* * * *


External links


Tour of Old Carrick-on-Shannon

Carrick on Shannon Chamber of Commerce
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carrick-On-Shannon County towns in the Republic of Ireland Populated places on the River Shannon Towns and villages in County Leitrim