Slane () is a village in
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the
River Boyne
The River Boyne ( ga, An Bhóinn or ''Abhainn na Bóinne'') is a river in Leinster, Ireland, the course of which is about long. It rises at Trinity Well, Newberry Hall, near Carbury, County Kildare, and flows towards the Northeast through C ...
at the intersection of the
N2 (
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 ...
to
Monaghan
Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony.
The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...
road) and the
N51 (
Drogheda 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 ...
road). As of the 2016 census, Slane's population was 1,369.
The village and surrounding area contains many historic sites dating back over 5,000 years. The village centre, as it is laid-out today, dates mainly from the 18th century.
History
![House - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/60/House_-_geograph.org.uk_-_166686.jpg)
The area and its surroundings have been inhabited since at least the
Neolithic era
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
. Habitation at the Hill of Slane settlement and upon the introduction of Christianity is attested in the
Annals of Inisfallen
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
and hagiography of
Saint Patrick. The earliest surviving structures within the boundaries of the modern-day village were built by the invading
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
family of the Flanders (now Fleming), during the
Norman invasion of Ireland
The Anglo-Norman invasion of Ireland took place during the late 12th century, when Anglo-Normans gradually conquered and acquired large swathes of land from the Irish, over which the kings of England then claimed sovereignty, all allegedly san ...
. The most relatively undisturbed structure, built under the
feudal lordship
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...
of this family, is a
motte and bailey, which is in close proximity to the Hill of Slane settlement.
Following the
Williamite confiscations, which saw the Flemings dispossessed, the present form of the Castle and the village centre were re-cast and in the latter case, laid out as a model British village by the Ulster
plantation family of the Conynghams, in what is considered a typical example of 18th-century town planning.
As part of this remodelling, today in the centre of the village stand four nearly identical
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
houses. The four houses stand at the intersection of the two main streets in the village. While the four faces of the houses and the four ''open'' streets form an
octagon. The feature is known as ''The Square'' due to what is seen as the
vertex
Vertex, vertices or vertexes may refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics and computer science
*Vertex (geometry), a point where two or more curves, lines, or edges meet
* Vertex (computer graphics), a data structure that describes the positio ...
position, that each house occupies. The southwesternmost house that forms the square, served as the
Royal Irish Constabulary
The Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC, ga, Constáblacht Ríoga na hÉireann; simply called the Irish Constabulary 1836–67) was the police force in Ireland from 1822 until 1922, when all of the country was part of the United Kingdom. A separate ...
barracks and
gaol
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, English language in England, standard English, Australian English, Australian, and Huron Historic Gaol, historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention cen ...
, up until the founding of the
Irish State. The two main streets in the village feature 18th-century grey limestone buildings with slate roofs,
oriel windows
An oriel window is a form of bay window which protrudes from the main wall of a building but does not reach to the ground. Supported by corbels, brackets, or similar cantilevers, an oriel window is most commonly found projecting from an upper f ...
and archways.
The village centre also incorporates "Gallows hill", the foot of which is essentially the location of the present day "Slane
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 ...
" and a hill so named for the
United Irishmen
The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional refor ...
who were publicly executed there on a
gallows
A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...
in an attempt to deter further agitations for independence, following the
failed 1798 uprising.
In 2007
Meath County Council
Meath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Mí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Meath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...
proposed that both Slane village and the mill be recognised as Architectural Conservation Areas and protected according.
Population and demographics
In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 census, Slane doubled in population, from 699 to 1,369 inhabitants.
As of the 2006 census, there were 1,099 people living in Slane, having grown from a population of 823 in 2002. The population of the village and the surrounding rural area was 1,587 in 2006, up from 1,336 in 2002.
According to the 2016 census, of those who commute to work or school, 77% (658 of 854 respondents) had a commute of less than 1 hour.
Sport
The earliest recorded inter-county match of ''
caid'', equivalent to modern
Gaelic football, in the entirety of Ireland; was one between Louth and Meath, in the fields of Slane, in 1712, about which the poet James Dall McCuairt wrote a poem of 88 verses beginning ''"Ba haigeanta"''.
The modern-day Slane Gaelic Football Club comprises the local parish
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include t ...
Gaelic football teams for the urban and rural areas of Slane. Teams play their home games in Toddy Harding Park, located north of the village. Slane Wanderers is the village's local football club, whose home games are played in Wheatfield Park.
In
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
, the inaugural Irish
Motocross Grand Prix was held in Slane.
The Hill of Slane
![NEWENHAM(1830) p209 MEATH - CASTLE AND CHURCH AT SLANE](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/NEWENHAM%281830%29_p209_MEATH_-_CASTLE_AND_CHURCH_AT_SLANE.jpg)
To the north of the village rises the Hill of Slane, which stands above the surroundings. There are a number of historic sites located around the top of the hill. In the
Metrical Dindshenchas
''Dindsenchas'' or ''Dindshenchas'' (modern spellings: ''Dinnseanchas'' or ''Dinnsheanchas'' or ''Dınnṡeanċas''), meaning "lore of places" (the Irish language, modern Irish word ''dinnseanchas'' means "topography"), is a class of onomastic tex ...
, a collection of
bardic verse, the ancient
Fir Bolg
In medieval Irish myth, the Fir Bolg (also spelt Firbolg and Fir Bholg) are the fourth group of people to settle in Ireland. They are descended from the Muintir Nemid, an earlier group who abandoned Ireland and went to different parts of Europe. ...
king
Sláine mac Dela
Sláine (Sláinge, Slánga), son of Dela, of the Fir Bolg was the legendary first High King of Ireland, who cleared the forest around Brú na Bóinne. He reportedly came ashore at Wexford Harbour at the mouth of the River Slaney.
The Fir Bolg in ...
was said to have been buried here, in the place that had been called ''Druim Fuar'' that came to be known in his memory ''Dumha Sláine''. There is an artificial mound on the western end of the hilltop. The hill may have been chosen as the site of a Christian abbey due to the presence of an existing
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...
shrine, the remains of which may be two standing stones in the burial yard.
Muirchu moccu Machtheni, in his highly mythologised seventh-century Life of Patrick, says that
Saint Patrick lit a
Paschal
Paschal is used as a name. Paschal, a variant of Pascal, from Latin ''Paschalis'', is an adjective describing either the Easter or Passover holidays.
People known as Paschal include:
Popes and religious figures
* Antipope Paschal (687), a riv ...
fire on this hilltop in A.D. 433 in defiance of the
High King Laoire who forbid any other fires while a festival fire was burning on the
Hill of Tara
The Hill of Tara ( ga, Teamhair or ) is a hill and ancient ceremonial and burial site near Skryne in County Meath, Ireland. Tradition identifies the hill as the inauguration place and seat of the High Kings of Ireland; it also appears in I ...
. Historians and archaeologists agree that Muirchu has moved to Slane a fire lit elsewhere; The Hill of Slane can be seen from the Hill of Tara which is about away.
According to Muirchu, Logaire was so impressed by Patrick's devotion that, despite his defiance (or perhaps because of it), he let him continue his missionary work in Ireland. It is somewhat more certain that Patrick appointed a bishop of Slane,
Saint Erc
Erc mac Dega ( la, Ercus; kw, Erth), also known (incorrectly) as Herygh, was an Irish saint. He was active in Cornwall. Tradition ascribes the foundation of the original monastery on the Hill of Slane to him.
Early life
Erc, son of Dago, is bel ...
.
The Hill of Slane remained a centre of religion and learning for many centuries after Saint Patrick. The ruins of a
friary church and college can be seen on the top of the hill. It is known that Slane Friary was restored in 1512. The ruins include a high early
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
tower. The friary was abandoned in 1723.
The traditional Christian
hymn
A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hy ...
''
Be Thou My Vision
"Be Thou My Vision" ( sga, Rop tú mo baile or ''Rob tú mo bhoile'') is a traditional Christian hymn of Irish origin. The words are based on a Middle Irish poem that has traditionally been attributed to Dallán Forgaill.
The best-known English ...
'' is set to an early
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
Irish
folk song named ''Slane'' which is about the Hill of Slane.
![Slanehill-Aug-2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/Slanehill-Aug-2005.jpg)
Approximately 150 meters west of the college and friary church, hidden by trees, lay the steeply inclined remains of a twelfth-century
Norman
Norman or Normans may refer to:
Ethnic and cultural identity
* The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries
** People or things connected with the Norm ...
motte and bailey, built by Richard Fleming in the 1170s. This was the seat of the Flemings of Slane,
barons of Slane. The Flemings moved to a castle on the left bank of the River Boyne, the current location of
Slane Castle
Slane Castle (Irish ''Cáisleán Bhaile Shláine'') is located in the village of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century, on ...
. The Flemings were lords of Slane from the twelfth century until the seventeenth century, when the
Conyngham family replaced them as lords of Slane during the
Williamite Confiscations.
Slane Castle
Slane Castle
Slane Castle (Irish ''Cáisleán Bhaile Shláine'') is located in the village of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family seat of the Conyngham family since it was built in the late 18th century, on ...
stands on the river about upstream from the centre of the village. There is an ancient
well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
in the grounds of the castle near the river. In
Irish mythology
Irish mythology is the body of myths native to the island of Ireland. It was originally passed down orally in the prehistoric era, being part of ancient Celtic religion. Many myths were later written down in the early medieval era by Ch ...
(specifically the account found in the
Cath Maigh Tuireadh), the well was blessed by
Dian Cecht
In Irish mythology, Dian Cécht (Old Irish pronunciation ; also known as ''Cainte'' or ''Canta'') was the god of healing, the healer for the Tuatha Dé Danann, and son of the Dagda according to the ''Dindsenchas''.
He was the father of Cu, Ceth ...
so that the
Tuatha Dé Danann
The Tuath(a) Dé Danann (, meaning "the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("tribe of the gods"), are a supernatural race in Irish mythology. Many of them are thought to represent deities of pre-Christian Gae ...
could bathe in it and be healed, allegedly, healing all wounds but decapitation.
['']Cath Maige Tuireadh
''Cath Maige Tuired'' (modern spelling: ''Cath Maighe Tuireadh''; ) is the name of two saga texts of the Mythological Cycle of Irish mythology. It refers to two separate battles in Connacht: the first in the territory of Conmhaícne Cúile Tu ...
''
Elizabeth A. Gray (trans.)
/ref> However upon the arrival of Christianity in Ireland
Christianity ( ga, Críostaíocht) is, and has been the largest religion in Ireland since the 5th century. After a pagan past of Antiquity, missionaries, most famously including Saint Patrick, converted the Irish tribes to Christianity in qu ...
, and the policy of Christian reinterpretation for pagan sites, the well is now known as '' Our lady's well''. Legion of Mary
The Legion of Mary ( la, Legio Mariae, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve it on a voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Marian movement by the layman and civi ...
–led pilgrimages to the site are hosted every August.
The castle grounds have been the site of large rock concerts since 1981.
Also within the grounds of Slane Castle ( demesne) are the ruins of St. Erc's Hermitage. This consists of a late 15 to 16th century chapel
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...
, an earlier dwelling, a stone arched footbridge over a stream/tributary
A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...
that feeds into the Boyne and the stone quarry face from where the materials for construction were taken. Local folklore has it that during the 19th-century move of the ''apostle's stone'', a stone carving of the crucifixion of Christ, which was taken from this chapel to be placed in the modern church in the village, the 200 kg stone carving was to mysteriously find its way back to the Hermitage in the still dead of night. A portion of a celtic cross carving, that was also initially part of St. Erc's Hermitage is now housed in an Iron frame beside the altar within Saint Patrick's Church on Chapel street. A catholic church was built c.1805. Not to be confused with the similarly named Saint Patrick'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 ...
, on main street, built 1797 " M.DCC.XCVII."
In 2009 "Slane Castle Whiskey", began to be bottled and labelled, a blended whiskey
A blended whiskey (or blended whisky) is the product of blending different types of whiskeys and sometimes also neutral grain spirits, colorings, and flavorings. It is generally the product of mixing one or more higher-quality straight or singl ...
, it was created by Noel Sweeney and made at the Cooley mountain distillery outside 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 ...
.[Slane Castle Distillery](_blank)
/ref>
Following a change in ownership, the Cooley distillery ceased further collaboration. Resulting in the financing and construction by Brown Forman of "Slane Castle Distillery", completed in 2017, it is owned and operated by Henry and Alex Conyngham. The whiskey that is intended to be produced in the distillery, carries the label, "SLANE Irish Whiskey", with the placename of "Slane", since 2018, now a registered trademark, controversially held by the owner of "Slane Castle Irish Whiskey Limited".[Trade Mark investigation into "Slane"](_blank)
/ref>
Annalistic references
See Annals of Inisfallen
Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record.
Scope
The nature of the distinction between ann ...
* ''AI789.2 Fedach, abbot of Sláine, Lusca, and Dam Liac, rested.''
Slane Mill
In the 1760s Boyne Navigation
The Boyne Navigation ( ga, Loingseoireacht na Bóinne) is a series of canals running 31 km (19 mi) roughly parallel to the River Boyne from Oldbridge to Navan in County Meath, in Ireland. The navigation was once used by horse-drawn ...
opened between Slane and Oldbridge
Oldbridge () is a townland near Drogheda in County Meath, Ireland. The area is home to the Boyne Navigation, the Battle of the Boyne Interpretive Centre and the southern half of the Mary McAleese Boyne Valley Bridge (which carries the M1 motorwa ...
, approximately down river. This is a series of canals
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or river engineering, engineered channel (geography), channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport watercraft, vehicles (e.g. ...
which made the River Boyne navigable to small boats from Slane to the port in Drogheda. A canal which is part of the navigation runs parallel to the river on the south bank near Slane. David Jebb was the engineer in charge of the construction. Once the navigation was opened as far as Slane, Jebb himself built a flour mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
at Slane. Slane Mill stands on the north bank of the River Boyne beside the N2 bridge. The mill is a five-storey cut-stone building. When the mill was completed in 1766, it was the largest flour mill in Ireland.
By channelling the water of the Boyne through the weir
A weir or low head dam is a barrier across the width of a river that alters the flow characteristics of water and usually results in a change in the height of the river level. Weirs are also used to control the flow of water for outlets of l ...
that passes under the five-storey building, the water-powered mill in the building ground flour until the 1870s, at which point roller mill
Roller mills are mills that use cylindrical rollers, either in opposing pairs or against flat plates, to crush or grind various materials, such as grain, ore, gravel, plastic, and others. Roller grain mills are an alternative to traditiona ...
s replaced grindstone
A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...
s. The mill building was later converted to processing Irish scutch flax
Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. Textiles made from flax are known in ...
for clothing.
With competition in the textile industry, the mill began to transition from primary sector
The primary sector of the economy includes any industry involved in the extraction and production of raw materials, such as farming, logging, fishing, forestry and mining.
The primary sector tends to make up a larger portion of the economy in de ...
to more secondary finished goods, and to that end, the workforce largely moved to the "new mill" in the early-mid-20th century, which could house the longer lines of power loom
A power loom is a mechanized loom, and was one of the key developments in the industrialization of weaving during the early Industrial Revolution. The first power loom was designed in 1786 by Edmund Cartwright and first built that same year. ...
s. A concrete walkway cutting through the forest that separates the two mills was similarly built to allow a quicker exchange of personnel. The now increasingly idle water-powered mill in what became the "old mill", was converted into a dedicated low head hydro power
Low-head hydropower refers to the development of hydroelectric power where the head is typically less than 20 metres, although precise definitions vary. Head is the vertical height measured between the hydro intake water level and the water level ...
run-of-the-river hydroelectricity
Run-of-river hydroelectricity (ROR) or run-of-the-river hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric generation plant whereby little or no water storage is provided. Run-of-the-river power plants may have no water storage at all or a limited amou ...
generating station. Its operators received a cheque from the ESB for a number of decades until it fell into disrepair.
By the late 20th century, both mills shared the fate of most others in the textile industry of western Europe; repeated downsizing brought about by a failure to innovate a desirable and unique design signature, competition from businesses with greater supply-chain vertical integration
In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the suppl ...
, the need to upgrade to more modern air-jet loom
An air-jet loom is a shuttleless loom that uses a jet of air to propel the weft yarn through the warp shed. It is one of two types of fluid-jet looms, the other being a water-jet loom, which was developed previously. Fluid-jet looms can operat ...
s and cheaper labour in the far East have all conspired to ensure the "new mill" likewise has all but left the textile industry that was once the primary employer in Slane.
Slane Bridge
The N2 crosses the River Boyne south of the village. The road descends a steep hill from the village and makes an almost ninety-degree turn onto the 14th-century bridge. This bend has been the scene of at least 22 fatalities in living memory. As you climb the hill towards Slane village the wall on the right-hand side of the road has a number of small white crosses, each representing a death on this stretch of road. Most of the crashes have involved heavy goods vehicles which are not able to slow down sufficiently to make the sharp bend after picking up speed on the hill. Meath County Council
Meath County Council ( ga, Comhairle Chontae na Mí) is the authority responsible for local government in County Meath, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housing and co ...
and the National Roads Authority
The National Roads Authority (NRA) ( ga, An tÚdarás um Bóithre Náisiúnta) was a state body in Ireland, responsible for the national road network. The NRA was established as part of the Roads Act 1993 and commenced operations on 23 December ...
have installed a number of traffic calming
Traffic calming uses physical design and other measures to improve safety for motorists, pedestrians and bicycle-friendly, cyclists. It has become a tool to combat speeding and other unsafe behaviours of drivers in the neighbourhoods. It aims ...
measures over the years in an attempt to make the bend onto the bridge safer. These include separate traffic signals for heavy goods vehicles and cars, as well as a 30km/h speed limit throughout the village. Since their installation, fatal accidents have ceased. It was hoped that the opening of the M1 motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the country was the Preston By-pass, which lat ...
would divert a lot of the heavy traffic from the village but there is evidence that many heavy goods vehicles still use the N2 (and thus Slane bridge) to avoid paying the toll
Toll may refer to:
Transportation
* Toll (fee) a fee charged for the use of a road or waterway
** Road pricing, the modern practice of charging for road use
** Road toll (historic), the historic practice of charging for road use
** Shadow toll, ...
on the M1 bridge. Planning permission for a 3.5 km bypass of Slane was refused by An Bord Pleanála
(; meaning "The Planning Board"; ABP) is an independent, statutory, quasi-judicial body that decides on appeals from planning decisions made by local authorities in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2007, An Bord Pleanála directly decided major ...
in 2012, due to heritage concerns regarding the nearby Newgrange monument. An Bord Pleanála said that due to the proposed road being in the "viewshed" of the Newgrange UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
site, approval would only be considered if no alternative route was possible.
The bridge has not always been the source of tragedy, the evening of 18 May 1969 is fondly remembered by many of the community when a truck laden with Bushmills
Bushmills (From Irish ''Muileann na Buaise'') is a village on the north coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland. Bushmills had a population of 1,295 in the 2011 Census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under ...
and Cream of Barley Whiskey was travelling from Antrim to Dublin when its brakes failed coming down the hill and it rolled over the bridge wall into the river some 3 meters or so below, the driver survived and was brought to Hospital but the entire loot of liquor was strewn across the river bottom. Most of the town of Slane were quick on the scene, vans and truck were seen spiriting away from the wreck of the truck in the dead of night. Several prosecutions followed, but the actual quantity of whiskey taken away is still known only to the management of Bushmills and perhaps to the Insurance Company that followed up the claim. The following day five Irish Divers, Brian Cusack, Sean Sheridan, Joe Murray, Fergus McKenna and Sean Donohoe arrived and while the local people of Slane were still dredging
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing da ...
for bottles they collected 408 bottles in total, the local butcher in Slane at the time was apparently still drinking Bushmills Whiskey four years later.
Near Slane
There are many other historical sites in the area around Slane. The Brú na Bóinne
(; 'Palace of the Boyne' or more properly 'Valley of the Boyne') or Boyne valley tombs, is an area in County Meath, Ireland, located in a bend of the River Boyne. It contains one of the world's most important prehistoric landscapes dating from ...
complex of Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...
chamber tomb
A chamber tomb is a tomb for burial used in many different cultures. In the case of individual burials, the chamber is thought to signify a higher status for the interred than a simple grave. Built from rock or sometimes wood, the chambers could ...
s lies on the River Boyne, downstream from the village. This includes Newgrange
Newgrange ( ga, Sí an Bhrú) is a prehistoric monument in County Meath in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the River Boyne, west of Drogheda. It is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, ...
, a passage tomb
A passage grave or passage tomb consists of one or more burial chambers covered in earth or with stone, and having a narrow access passage made of large stones. These structures usually date from the Neolithic Age, and are found largely in Wester ...
built c. 3200 BC.
Across the river from the old mill stand the ruins of Fennor Castle/Tower House
A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, in order to command and defend strateg ...
, adjacent to Fennor Church and its graveyard.
The ruins of Castle Dexter which was built circa the 12th century, lay approximately 2 kilometres (1.3 miles) west of Slane Castle and it is likewise sited near the banks of the River Boyne. 18th-century drawings and watercolours of how this castle appeared are held in the National Library of Ireland
The National Library of Ireland (NLI; ga, Leabharlann Náisiúnta na hÉireann) is the Republic of Ireland's national library located in Dublin, in a building designed by Thomas Newenham Deane. The mission of the National Library of Ireland is ...
.
In common with the town of Drogheda and the area around the adjacent limestone quarry of Platin, a number of now overgrown lime kiln
A lime kiln is a kiln used for the calcination of limestone (calcium carbonate) to produce the form of lime (material), lime called quicklime (calcium oxide). The chemical equation for this chemical reaction, reaction is
:Calcium carbonate, Ca ...
s dot the hills of Slane, with the most visible being behind the only service station remaining in the village and to the rear of Ledwidge Cottage.
Rosnaree
Rossnaree (; Old Irish ''Ros na Ríg'' or ''Ros na Ríogh'') is a small village and townland in County Meath, Ireland, on the south bank of the River Boyne. The Brú na Bóinne complex of neolithic monuments is nearby, on the north bank of the B ...
Mill and its accompanying Sheela na Gig, a stone carving which has been taken indoors to prevent further weathering, can be viewed upon request to the owner at George's Patisseries on Chapel Street, Slane.
The site of the Battle of the Boyne
The Battle of the Boyne ( ga, Cath na Bóinne ) was a battle in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II of England and Ireland, VII of Scotland, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and ...
is downriver, east, from Slane.
Transport
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 190 links Slane to Drogheda, 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 ...
, 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 ...
, Mullingar
Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, with a population of 20,928 in the 2016 census.
The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act 1543 proclaimed Westmeat ...
and 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 ...
. There is a bus in each direction every hour to/from 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 ...
, 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 ...
and Drogheda and every two hours 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 ...
. The bus to Duleek
Duleek (; ) is a small town in County Meath, Ireland.
Duleek takes its name from the Irish word ''daimh liag'', meaning house of stones and referring to an early stone-built church, St Cianán's Church, the ruins of which are still visible in Du ...
was withdrawn in November 2013. Collins Coaches operate a route linking Slane 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 ...
, Collon
Collon () is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland, on the N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont, and to Collon House, the ancestral home of the Foster family. ...
, Ardee
Ardee (; , ) is a town and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is located at the intersection of the N2, N52, and N33 roads. The town shows evidence of development from the thirteenth century onward but as a result of the continued devel ...
and Carrickmacross
Carrickmacross () is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town and environs had a population of 5,032 according to the 2016 census, making it the second-largest town in the county. Carrickmacross is a market town which developed around a ca ...
with one journey each way to/from Ballybay
Ballybay () is a town and civil parish in County Monaghan, Ireland. The town is centred on the crossroads of the R183 and R162 regional roads.
Geography
The town is the meeting point for roads going to Monaghan, Castleblayney, Carrickma ...
. McConnons also serve Slane with a few services a day. The Sunday only 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 177 providing a single journey each way via Slane on the Monaghan
Monaghan ( ; ) is the county town of County Monaghan, Ireland. It also provides the name of its civil parish and barony.
The population of the town as of the 2016 census was 7,678. The town is on the N2 road from Dublin to Derry and Lette ...
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 ...
route was withdrawn in November 2013.
Slane local electoral area
Slane is also the name of a local electoral area
A local electoral area (LEA; ga, Toghlimistéir Áitiúil) is an electoral area for elections to local authorities in Ireland. All elections use the single transferable vote. The Republic of Ireland is divided into 166 LEAs, with an average po ...
encompassing a large area of eastern County Meath from Lobinstown to the Irish Sea
The Irish Sea or , gv, Y Keayn Yernagh, sco, Erse Sie, gd, Muir Èireann , Ulster-Scots: ''Airish Sea'', cy, Môr Iwerddon . is an extensive body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Ce ...
. This area includes other towns larger but not older than Slane in the modern day, such as Duleek
Duleek (; ) is a small town in County Meath, Ireland.
Duleek takes its name from the Irish word ''daimh liag'', meaning house of stones and referring to an early stone-built church, St Cianán's Church, the ruins of which are still visible in Du ...
, Stamullen and the portions of the environs of Drogheda which are in County Meath. The population of Slane Local Electoral Area was 32,126 in 2006.
"Slane" trademark controversy
An application by "Slane Castle Whiskey" to both the EU Intellectual Property
Intellectual property (IP) is a category of property that includes intangible creations of the human intellect. There are many types of intellectual property, and some countries recognize more than others. The best-known types are patents, cop ...
Office and the US Patent and Trade Mark Office, to trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
the placename of "Slane" was filed in 2015. This trademarking became known after a business in the village, which had desired to use "Slane" in its title, discovered it was blocked from doing so.[‘Slane’ registered as trademark by US multinational, ''The Irish Times''](_blank)
/ref> The controversy, around the trademarking includes that this application was designed to cast a very wide net, over a range of goods and services, not limited to alcohol, resulting in the trademark-holders controlling an array of other categories. In the EU jurisdiction, the attempt had been granted, without the prerequisite of a simple web-search being conducted on the name, raising issues of corruption and reassessment being required, as an earlier EU-trademark-ruling exists, that explicitly prohibits businesses from trademarking the name of historical places.
In the still ongoing US case,[ ] the attempt to trademark "Slane" was refused in 2015 on the grounds that, upon doing a web-search, the word is both the name of a place and there are other local businesses with a long-standing use of "Slane" as part of their name.
Notable people
* John Cassidy (1860–1939), painter and sculptor
*Dean Cogan
Dean Anthony Cogan (1826–1872) was a nineteenth-century Roman Catholic Irish priest, (awarded the religious title of ''dean''), born in Slane, who wrote a history of the Diocese of Meath in Ireland. Published in two volumes in 1862 and 1867, Cog ...
(1826–1872) Catholic historian, author of '' The Diocese of Meath''.
* John Connolly (1750–1825), second Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York
The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...
*Francis Ledwidge
Francis Edward Ledwidge (19 August 188731 July 1917) was a 20th-century Irish poet. From Slane, County Meath, and sometimes known as the "poet of the blackbirds", he was later also known as a First World War war poet. He befriended the establish ...
(1887–1917), poet killed in action during World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
*Denis Nulty
Denis Nulty KC*HS (born 7 June 1963) is an Irish Roman Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin since 2013.
Early life
Nulty was born in Slane, County Meath, on 7 June 1963, the youngest of five children to Den Nulty an ...
(1963-), current Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin
*John Boyle O'Reilly
John Boyle O'Reilly (28 June 1844 – 10 August 1890) was an Irish poet, journalist, author and activist. As a youth in Ireland, he was a member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood, or Fenians, for which he was transported to Western Australi ...
(1844–1890), poet, publisher, and member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood
The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; ) was a secret oath-bound fraternal organisation dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland between 1858 and 1924.McGee, p. 15. Its counterpart in the United States ...
See also
* List of towns and villages in Ireland
* List of abbeys and priories in the Republic of Ireland, (County Meath)
References
External links
Visit Slane
– Slane's Official Website
Slane Tourism
– information on sights, activities and accommodation in and around the village.
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in County Meath
History of Catholicism in Ireland
Tourist attractions in County Meath
Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland