Grange, County Sligo
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Grange () is a village on the N15
national primary road 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 ...
in
County Sligo County Sligo ( , gle, Contae Shligigh) is a county in Ireland. It is located in the Border Region and is part of the province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in the county. Sligo County Council is the local ...
,
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 located between
Benbulben Benbulbin ( ga, Binn Ghulbain), sometimes Benbulben or Ben Bulben, is a large flat-topped nunatak rock formation in County Sligo, Ireland. It is part of the Dartry Mountains, in an area sometimes called "Yeats Country". Benbulbin is a protecte ...
mountain and the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
. Streedagh, a townland near Grange, is the location of a large sandy beach, three Armada wrecks and a salt water lagoon that is an area of Special Conservation. Streedagh strand is also a surfing destination. A short distance to the north are the towns of
Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location B ...
and
Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...
, a surfing and
seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...
which are both bypassed, and the villages of Tullaghan and
Cliffoney Cliffoney, officially Cliffony (), is a village in north County Sligo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on the N15 road (Ireland), N15 national route at its junction with the R279 road (Ireland), R279. It is only three kilometres away from M ...
. To the south are
Drumcliff Drumcliff or Drumcliffe () is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. It is 8 km (5 miles) north of Sligo town on the N15 road on a low gravel ridge between the mountain of Ben Bulben and Drumcliff bay. It is on the Drumcliff river, original ...
, burial place of poet and Nobel laureate
W. B. Yeats William Butler Yeats (13 June 186528 January 1939) was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer and one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the Irish Literary Revival and became a pillar of the Irish liter ...
, and
Sligo Sligo ( ; ga, Sligeach , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of approximately 20,000 in 2016, it is the List of urban areas ...
town.


History

The old village is on the hill to the north of the present village. Grange developed on land belonging to the Cistercian monastery of
Boyle Boyle is an English, Irish and Scottish surname of Gaelic, Anglo-Saxon or Norman origin. In the northwest of Ireland it is one of the most common family names. Notable people with the surname include: Disambiguation *Adam Boyle (disambiguation), ...
in
County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...
. Grange village was a stronghold of the O'Harte and O'Connor families throughout the Medieval period. The O'Hartes provided cavalry for the
O'Connor Sligo Ó Conchobhair Sligigh (anglicised O'Conor Sligo), Gaelic-Irish family and Chief of the Name. The Ó Conchobhair Sligigh were a branch of the Ó Conchobhair Kings of Connacht. They were descended from Brian Luighnech Ua Conchobhair (k.1181), a so ...
Lords of Carbury-Drumcliff. A castle once stood near the center of the village. The Annals of Ireland record that in 1604 a "‘new castle and 7 cottages were built by Hugh O’Hart in the town of Grange, Co. Sligo.’" After the 1641 rebellion, the land was granted to Thomas Soden. Col. W. Wood-Martin, the Irish historian, writes that Thomas Soden was probably an officer in Col. Richard Coote's Regiment of Horse, one of the
Cromwellian 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 ...
regiments disbanded in the County of Sligo. He adds that he received in lieu of arrears of pay, a grant of the town, townland and castle, of Grange, County Sligo. Grange is located nine miles north of the town of Sligo on the road to Bundoran. He received this grant on 13 April 1668, under the "'Act of Settlement'."


Lola Montez

Grange is the birthplace of
Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig ...
- dancer, courtesan and mistress of King
Ludwig I of Bavaria en, Louis Charles Augustus , image = Joseph Karl Stieler - King Ludwig I in his Coronation Robes - WGA21796.jpg , caption = Portrait by Joseph Stieler, 1825 , succession=King of Bavaria , reign = , coronation ...
. Born Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in Sligo, Lola caught the eye of Bavaria's
King Ludwig I King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
in 1846 by claiming to be an exotic dancer from Spain. Although married, the king took up with the girl from Grange, even making her the Duchess of Landsfeld. Bavarian citizens put up with their king's cavorting, but their patience snapped when his courtesan began meddling in state affairs. Ludwig was forced to abdicate and Lola had to flee. She never saw him again, but she remained a duchess.


Spanish Armada

Three Spanish Armada transport ships -
La Lavia La Lavia was a Venetian merchantman. She was a class of ship known as a carrack often used as merchant ships due to their capacious holds. She was requisitioned at Lisbon for service in the Spanish armada of 1588. She was wrecked on 22 Septembe ...
, La Juliana and the Santa Maria de Vison - were lost off Streedagh strand in September 1588, an event commemorated by a monument close to the beach. One of the survivors, Captain Francisco de Cuéllar, recorded the events of the time in detail. He documents his shipwreck at Streedagh, the subsequent events ashore, and his attempts to find hospitality from local chieftains (O'Rourke and McClancy) in the then English garrisoned North Sligo, as he made his way back to Spain via Antrim and Scotland. In 1985 at Streedagh Strand, marine archaeologists discovered the wreck site of the three ships of the Spanish Armada. In spring 2015, after storms sent some artifacts onto Streedagh Strand, Ireland's Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht sent divers to recover what the storms had uncovered. One particular find was a bronze cannon decorated with the image of Saint Matrona of Barcelona, which bears the initial "D" on its touchhole – the mark of the Genoese gunfounder Girardi Dorino II. Other pieces with this mark recovered from the wreck indicate that he cast most of what became La Juliana's bronze ordnance. The cannon is dated 1570, which corresponds to the date of La Juliana's construction; according to the Irish government, this puts the identity of the third wreck "beyond doubt". A Spanish Armada interpretive centre opened at Grange's old courthouse in 2018.


Modern history

In 2012 Grange was briefly featured in the national news when someone discovered early 20th century Mills type 36 grenades at a private residence in the village. Grange then made national news in August that year when a herd of 105 sheep were stolen in one swoop. A
sperm whale The sperm whale or cachalot (''Physeter macrocephalus'') is the largest of the toothed whales and the largest toothed predator. It is the only living member of the genus ''Physeter'' and one of three extant species in the sperm whale famil ...
washed up on the shore close to Grange in 2019.


Amenities

There are two schools in the village, a Roman Catholic church, and church hall, post office, and bathroom store. The Church of Mary Immaculate combines modern with traditional elements, particularly
lancet window A lancet window is a tall, narrow window with a pointed arch at its top. It acquired the "lancet" name from its resemblance to a lance. Instances of this architectural element are typical of Gothic church edifices of the earliest period. Lancet wi ...
s. It has a
nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...
with five
bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...
s and its
sacristy A sacristy, also known as a vestry or preparation room, is a room in Christian churches for the keeping of vestments (such as the alb and chasuble) and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records. The sacristy is usually located ...
is in the corner, north-east. Its roof is
pyramid A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
al and has a carved limestone cross set above an
ashlar Ashlar () is finely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that has been worked until squared, or a structure built from such stones. Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruv ...
limestone
bell-cot A bellcote, bell-cote or bell-cot is a small framework and shelter for one or more bells. Bellcotes are most common in church architecture but are also seen on institutions such as schools. The bellcote may be carried on brackets projecting from ...
with
chamfer A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fu ...
ed podium within whose pointed arch opening is the bell.


Sport and leisure

North Sligo Sports Complex is located in the village. The complex has an indoor soccer pitch, also used for badminton and basketball. There is a squash court, racquetball court and changing room facilities and meeting room in the complex. Outside the complex, there is a running track, where North Sligo Athletic Club meet (as well as at Oxfield Sports Centre), a grass soccer pitch and an all-weather soccer pitch. There was also a community park, now converted to a playground. At the north end of the village is a pitch, Molaise Park, where local
Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...
teams train and play. The local GAA club celebrated its centenary in 2007.


People

* Caroline Currid, sport psychologist * Eugene Gilbride, TD * Tom Gilmartin, businessman,
whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...
and pivotal
Mahon Tribunal The Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters and Payments commonly known as the Mahon Tribunal after the name of its last chairman, was a public inquiry in Ireland established by Dáil Éireann in 1997 to investigate allegations of cor ...
witness *
Cyril Haran Cyril Haran (7 February 1931 – 25 June 2014) was a Gaelic footballer and manager, priest, scholar and schoolteacher. He managed the Sligo county team. Biography Cyril Haran was born in February 1931. He had three sisters: Grace Liddy (who pr ...
, Gaelic footballer/manager and local priest * Mona McSharry, swimmer * Christopher O'Donnell, Ireland International track and field athlete *
Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig ...
, ''
Gräfin (feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...
von Landsfeld''


See also

*
List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland This is a link page for cities, towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland, including townships or urban centres in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and other major urban areas. Cities are shown in bold; see City status in Ireland for a ...


References


External links


The Parish of Ahamlish, North Sligo
{{County Sligo Towns and villages in County Sligo