Moneygall () is a small village on the border of counties
Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in h ...
and
Tipperary
Tipperary is the name of:
Places
*County Tipperary, a county in Ireland
**North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh
**South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel
*Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...
, 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 on the
R445 road between
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
and
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
. There were 313 people living in the village as of the 2016 census.
Moneygall has a
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, motorway service station, a car sales and repair centre, a
national school, a
Garda station and two
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s. The nearest
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 second ...
church, Borrisnafarney, is 2 km from the village beside the former Loughton Demesne.
The village received international attention for being the ancestral home of Falmouth Kearney, a maternal great-great-great grandfather of
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. Obama visited the village in 2011.
Moneygall is in the
Dáil constituency of Laois Offaly (Dáil constituency). It was in the former constituency of Offaly and was one term in the
Tipperary North Dáil constituency.
Transport
![MoneygallMainSt](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/MoneygallMainSt.JPG)
Moneygall is on the
R445 regional road and close to the
M7 motorway where Junction 23 provides access to the village.
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 ...
no longer provides a service to Moneygall but some of
JJ Kavanagh and Sons
JJ Kavanagh and Sons is Ireland's largest private coach operator. It was founded in 1919 by J.J. Kavanagh with the operation of a service connecting Urlingford with Kilkenny City.
The company has expanded greatly since the 1990s with the tak ...
services between
Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport (Irish language, Irish: ''Aerfort Bhaile Átha Cliath'') is an international airport serving Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by DAA (Irish company), DAA (formerly Dublin Airport Authority). The airport is located in Collinsto ...
and
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...
continue to stop in the village. Bus service 854 operated by Local Link Tipperary between
Roscrea railway station
Roscrea railway station serves the town of Roscrea, County Tipperary, in Ireland.
Roscrea station is on the Limerick-Ballybrophy railway line of the Irish railway network connecting to the main Cork-Dublin line at Ballybrophy. It is listed a ...
and Nenagh calls at Main Street and
Obama Plaza. The service operates seven days a week.
There is no train station in the village but the nearest stations are in
Nenagh
Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...
,
Cloughjordan
Cloughjordan, officially Cloghjordan ( , ), is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Ormond Lower, and it is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe.
The town is situated in the north-western part of T ...
and
Roscrea
Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...
, all on the
Limerick-Ballybrophy railway line, a feeder service to the main
Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
line, operated by
Iarnród Éireann
Iarnród Éireann () or Irish Rail, is the operator of the national railway network of Ireland. Established on 2 February 1987, it is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). It operates all internal InterCity, Commuter, DART and fr ...
.
The closest
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surface ...
with scheduled passenger services is
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...
in
County Clare
County Clare ( ga, Contae an Chláir) is a county in Ireland, in the Southern Region and the province of Munster, bordered on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. Clare County Council is the local authority. The county had a population of 118,817 ...
.
Education
There is one
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 ...
national school in the village. The former
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 second ...
school (now used as a parish hall) was built in 1888 beside the
R490 Borrisokane turn-off, and closed in 1976, when its pupils were transferred to the neighbouring village of
Cloughjordan
Cloughjordan, officially Cloghjordan ( , ), is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is in the barony of Ormond Lower, and it is also a parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Killaloe.
The town is situated in the north-western part of T ...
. An earlier building, constructed around 1800, was previously used as a school. It was then used by the local Church of Ireland community as a chapel of ease until the late 1970s. It has now been converted to a private residence.
Children travel mainly to either
Roscrea
Roscrea () is a market town in County Tipperary, Ireland, which in 2016 had a population of 5,446. Roscrea is one of the oldest towns in Ireland, having developed around the 7th century monastery of Saint Crónán of Roscrea, parts of which rem ...
or
Nenagh
Nenagh (, ; or simply ''An tAonach'') meaning “The Fair of Ormond” or simply "The Fair", is the county town and second largest town in County Tipperary in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Nenagh used to be a market town, and the site of the ...
for secondary schooling. The nearest
third-level institutions are
Tipperary Institute
The Technological University of the Shannon: Thurles Campus (TUS Thurles; established as the Tipperary Institute and later as LIT Tipperary ga, ITL Thiobráid Arann) is a constituent institute of the Technological University of the Shannon, lo ...
in
Thurles
Thurles (; ''Durlas Éile'') is a town in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is located in the civil parish of the same name in the barony of Eliogarty and in the ecclesiastical parish of Thurles (Roman Catholic parish), Thurles. The cathedral ch ...
or the
University of Limerick
The University of Limerick (UL) ( ga, Ollscoil Luimnigh) is a Public university, public research university institution in Limerick, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it beca ...
,
Limerick Institute of Technology
The Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT; ga, Institiúid Teicneolaíochta Luimnigh) was an institute of technology, located in Limerick, Ireland. The institute had five campuses that were located in Limerick, Thurles, Clonmel, as well as a r ...
and
Mary Immaculate College
Mary Immaculate College (Coláiste Mhuire gan Smál), also known as MIC and Mary I, is a College of Education and Liberal Arts. Founded in 1898, the university level College of Education and the Liberal Arts is academically linked with the Univ ...
, all of which are in
Limerick
Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...
.
Sport
While all of the village is located in
County Offaly
County Offaly (; ga, Contae Uíbh Fhailí) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is named after the ancient Kingdom of Uí Failghe. It was formerly known as King's County, in hono ...
, the
Gaelic Athletic Association
The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...
playing field is located in
County Tipperary
County Tipperary ( ga, Contae Thiobraid Árann) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary, and was established in the early 13th century, shortly after th ...
, and
Moneygall GAA
Moneygall GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club located in County Tipperary in Ireland. Both hurling and Gaelic football are played in the North Tipperary divisional championships, although the club is mainly known for hurling. The club r ...
play in the Tipperary GAA Championships.
Moneygall FC opened its new grounds in 2017 in the centre of the village. The club, while based in Offaly, compete in North Tipperary.
Demographics
As of the 2016 census, there were 313 people living in Moneygall.
The previous
2011 census counted 310 people in the village (153 males and 157 females). This, in turn, was an increase of 12 people (4%) since the census of 2006.
[ ]
Connection with Barack Obama
Falmouth Kearney, a maternal great-great-great grandfather of
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
, 44th
President of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
,
emigrated
Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
from Moneygall to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
at the age of 19 in 1850 and eventually resettled in
Tipton County, Indiana
Tipton County is a county in the U.S. state of Indiana, located north of the state capital of Indianapolis. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 15,936, a decrease of 3.9% from its 2000 population of 16,577. Its county seat is ...
. Kearney's father, Joseph, had been the village
shoemaker
Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers (also known as '' cordwainers''). In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen ...
. The Kearney family emigrated to
Ross County,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, in the first half of the 19th century. Falmouth Kearney's youngest daughter, Mary Ann, moved from Indiana to
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
after her father's death in 1878. Mary Ann Kearney was a paternal grandmother of
Stanley Dunham, President Obama's maternal grandfather.
On 23 May 2011, Obama and First Lady
Michelle Obama, visited Moneygall as part of a visit to Ireland. They were welcomed by 5,000 people and greeted upon arrival by the President's eighth
cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
, Henry Healy.
Following a walkabout on the main street, where they shook hands with many local residents, the Obamas entered a house that had been built on the site where Falmouth Kearney had lived. Afterwards, they visited Ollie Hayes's
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
to meet more of the President's distant relatives and to study the birth records of his ancestors. President and Mrs. Obama drank Irish
stout to the traditional toast, ''
sláinte'' (meaning "good health"), and Mrs. Obama went behind the bar to learn how to pull a pint.
The ''
Barack Obama Plaza
Barack Obama Plaza is a motorway service area on the R445 road (Ireland), R445 road at Junction 23, just off the M7 motorway (Ireland), M7 motorway in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is beside the village of Moneygall, which is just across the cou ...
'' service area was opened at Junction 23 of the
M7 on the outskirts of Moneygall in June 2014.
File:Marine One Flying Over Irish Fields.jpg, Presidential helicopter "Marine One" flies to Moneygall
File:Barack Obama meets Irish cousin in Moneygall.jpg, Henry Healy greets his eighth cousin, Barack Obama
File:Crowd watches Barack Obama in Moneygall, Ireland.jpg, A large crowd watches President Obama's approach
File:Michelle Obama pours a pint of stout.jpg, Michelle Obama pours a pint of stout
Notable people
*
Patrick Cronin, priest,
Archbishop of Cagayan de Oro (1970–1988)
*
Joseph Prosser
Joseph Prosser VC (1828 – 10 June 1867) was an Irish soldier and a recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Military career
Prosser was ...
, recipient of the
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 ...
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
*
Irish immigration to the United States
References
External links
Picture album of President Obama's visit Offaly County Council
President Barack Obama And First Lady Michelle Obama Visit Ireland White House picture album of the Obamas' visit
{{County Offaly
Towns and villages in County Offaly