Kingscourt, historically known as Dunaree (), is a town in County Cavan,

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 near the Cavan– Meath border. The town was founded near the site of the old village of Cabra, by Mervyn Pratt, towards the end of the 18th century, and was completed by his brother, The Rev. Joseph Pratt.

History

Cabra Castle Cabra Castle is the name given to two castles, one now ruined, the other now used as a luxury hotel. They are near the hamlet of Cabra, which is very near Kingscourt (Irish: ''Dún a' Rí'') in south-east County Cavan, Ireland. The current ...

, an early 19th-century '

Gothick Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

-style' castle, is located very near the town, being on the

R179 The R179 is a class of 318 New Technology Train subway cars built by Bombardier Transportation for the New York City Subway's B Division. Entering service between 2017 and 2020, the cars replaced all remaining R32s and R42s. The R179 order ...

road (known locally as the Carrickmacross Road). The castle was originally called Cormey Castle and was built on the site of an earlier Cormey Castle which had been destroyed during 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 History of England, English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 ...

War. The castle has, in recent years, been restored and expanded and is now a four-star hotel which is popular for weddings.

Architecture

The local

Catholic 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 ...

church, which is perched high above the town, contains stained glass windows by the renowned Irish artist

Evie Hone Eva Sydney Hone RHA (22 April 1894 – 13 March 1955), usually known as Evie, was an Irish painter and stained glass artist.Nicola Gordon Bowe (May 2009)Hone, Eva Sydney (1894–1955) ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', online editio ...

, who also provided designs for

Eton College Chapel Eton College Chapel is the main chapel of Eton College, a public school in England. The chapel was planned to be a little over double its actual length, but this plan was never completed owing to the downfall of the founder Henry VI. A plaque ...

Economy

Building supplies company Kingspan is headquartered in the town. The company was founded in 1965 and initially known as Kingscourt Construction Group. Kingspan is now a constituent company on the Dublin stock market's

ISEQ 20 The ISEQ 20 is a benchmark stock market index composed of companies that trade on Euronext Dublin. The index comprises the 20 companies with the highest trading volume and market capitalisation contained within the ISEQ Overall Index. The index w ...

index.

Environment

Tree in Dun na Rí Forest Park, near Kingscourt, Co

Dún na Rí Forest Park is located a couple of kilometers from Kingscourt. Situated in a valley, and formerly part of the Pratt family's Cabra Estate (which was centered on nearby

), Dún na Rí is home to

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine, Beringian ermine and ermine, is a mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern portions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Conc ...

, hare, mink, rabbit and otter, as well as red and

grey squirrel The eastern gray squirrel (''Sciurus carolinensis''), also known, particularly outside of North America, as simply the grey squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus''. It is native to eastern North America, where it is the most prodi ...

along the banks of the

River Cabra A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

. The park itself borders the

Shercock Shercock ( ); ) is a small town situated in the east of County Cavan, Ireland. As of the 2016 census, the population of the town was 588. Shercock is located at the intersection of the R162 and R178 regional roads. It sits on the shores of ...

and Carrickmacross roads. The original Cabra House (also sometimes known as Cabra Castle) was located within the modern

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

park. The Pratt dynasty moved into the current Cabra Castle (which is just across the Carrickmacross Road from the forest park's main entrance) in 1813.

Transport

Railway

Kingscourt has a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

which has been disused following strike action by Iarnród Éireann train drivers in 2001. The line ceased to have passenger services in 1947, and was then a freight-only service. The line, which runs from Kingscourt 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 ...

and then on to Drogheda, was used to carry

gypsum Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula . It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, blackboard or sidewalk chalk, and drywal ...

ore daily from Gypsum Industries, but the company withdrew this service when Iarnród Éireann could not guarantee deliveries of Gypsum ore, and was consequently transferred to road transport in 2001.

Road

Kingscourt is situated on the R162 regional road where it connects with the R164, R165 and

. The town is approximately 30 minutes drive from 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 ...

, via

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 deve ...

, County Louth, providing easy access to

Dublin Airport Dublin Airport (Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinstown, north of Dublin, and south of ...

(95 km), Dublin city and its environs (90 km), Drogheda (50 km),

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 ...

(35 km) and

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

(130 km).

Bus

There are daily bus connections to

Nobber Nobber ( – referring to the description by the local native Irish population, to the development of moat around a Norman castle) is a village in north County Meath, Ireland. The village is located near a river called the Dee () and near White ...

and

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 ...

with both Sillan Tours Limited and Bus Éireann. On Tuesdays and Thursdays Bus Éireann route 166 provides a link to Cavan via

Bailieborough Bailieborough or Bailieboro (; ) is a town in County Cavan, Ireland. , its population was 2,683, up from 1,529 as of the 1996 census. Bailieborough's proximity to the N3 National Road has made it a commuter town. History Plantation Before ...

and Stradone, County Cavan. Royal Breffni Tours operate a twice-daily service from Kingscourt to Dundalk IT.

Sport

The Racquetball Association of Ireland is based in Kingscourt and the 14th IRF Racquetball World Championships took place in the town in 2008. Held every two years, previous championships were held in the Dominican Republic (2006), South Korea (2004) and Puerto Rico (2002). The Kingscourt Handball and Racquetball court complex is the largest in Ireland with three 40x20s and one 60x30 court. Kingscourt Handball Club is home to a number of All-Ireland champions, and the club have won the Senior All-Ireland Club title twice; once in 2001 and again in 2003. In Gaelic football, the Kingscourt Stars are the fourth most successful club in the county having won the Cavan Senior Football Championship eleven times, most recently in 2015.

Education

Schools include Coláiste Dún an Rí, a co-educational secondary school opened in August 2016.

Notable people

Shane Connaughton Shane Connaughton (born 4 April 1941 in Kingscourt, County CavanHogan, Sinead.Shane Connaughton brings it all home to his beloved native county ''The Anglo-Celt''. 4-29-2009.) is an Irish writer and actor, probably best known as co-writer of ...

(born 1941), Irish writer and actor *

Eugene Murtagh Eugene Murtagh (born 23 June 1942) is an Irish billionaire businessman, and the founder and chairman of Kingspan Group, a building materials manufacturer. Early life Eugene Murtagh was born on 23 June 1942, in Kingscourt, County Cavan, Ireland, ...

(born 1942), billionaire businessman, founder and chairman of

Kingspan Group Kingspan Group plc is a building materials company based in Ireland trading in over 70 countries with 159 factories employing over 15,000 people. The company operates with five divisions; Insulated Panels, Insulation, Light & Air, Water & Energy, ...

Victor Sherlock Victor Sherlock (1924–2004) was a Gaelic footballer who played for Meath and Cavan. Among other honours, he won All-Ireland Senior Football Championship medals in 1948 and 1952 with Cavan. Playing career Sherlock was a versatile footballer. ...

, Gaelic football player for Meath and Cavan

References

External links

{{County Cavan Towns and villages in County Cavan