Monivea () is a village in County Galway,

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 approximately 30 km from

Galway City Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

and 9 km from

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

. It was formerly part of the kingdom of the

Soghain The Soghain were a people of ancient Ireland. The 17th-century scholar Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh identified them as part of a larger group called the Cruithin. Mac Fhirbhisigh stated that the Cruithin included "the Dál Araidhi ál nAraidi t ...

Connacht Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Del ...

. Monivea is known for its forest,

Monivea Castle Monivea Castle ( ga, Caisleán Mhuine Mheá) is a former O'Kelly tower house, located near Monivea in County Galway, Ireland. It was acquired by the ffrench family, one of the fourteen Tribes of Galway, who developed it further, enhancing the ...

which now lies in partial ruins, and a well-preserved mausoleum. The mausoleum and castle were built by the Ffrench family, one of the "

Tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

", who were also responsible for the distinctive layout of the greens in the centre of the village, which were used as drying stations for the linen (known as flax) of local industries. The forest, mausoleum and castle were left to the State by the last Ffrench, and the forest is now held by Coillte. There are two small grocery shops one with a petrol station, a butcher shop, four pubs, a Garda station, a post office, a playground, a church in Ryehill, and Monivea National School.

History

In 1609, members of the ffrench (or Ffrench) family, who had been landholders in Galway since the early Norman era, and were one of the Norman-Gaelic

tribes of Galway The Tribes of Galway ( ga, Treibheanna na Gaillimhe) were 14 merchant families who dominated the political, commercial and social life of the city of Galway in western Ireland between the mid-13th and late 19th centuries. They were the families ...

, bought land from the O'Kelly family. Building on to a fortified residence ("castle") built by the O'Kellys, the Ffrenches established Monivea House, which is commonly known as

. During the

Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

, the Ffrenches remained Catholic. As a result, in 1650 the

Commonwealth of England The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execu ...

confiscated their properties. Following the Restoration, however, these lands were returned to the Ffrenches. Subsequent generations of the Ffrenches

reclaimed land Land reclamation, usually known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new land from oceans, seas, riverbeds or lake beds. The land reclaimed is known as reclamati ...

that had previously been bogs. In 1744, Robert Ffrench inherited the property. He made bogland arable by liming, ploughing and seeding it. He set up a linen industry and houses for the weavers. Greens were laid out to dry the linen. He built a school and planted trees where Monivea Woods now stands. In 1762, construction commenced on a Protestant ( Anglican) Church, which was consecrated by the

Archbishop of Tuam The Archbishop of Tuam ( ; ga, Ard-Easpag Thuama) is an archbishop which takes its name after the town of Tuam in County Galway, Ireland. The title was used by the Church of Ireland until 1839, and is still in use by the Catholic Church. Histor ...

. It remained in use until 1924, after which the building deteriorated. The south side of the roof collapsed in 1955, although most of the building remains, alongside the playground in the village.

Landmarks

The Father Sammon Centre is used to host events, including those marking the twinning with Treméven and celebrating the 1916 Rising. The hall is also used by several clubs in including boxing, active age, taekwondo and dance clubs. The mausoleum contains the remains of Robert Ffrench and his daughter. A nearby icehouse was used for food storage by the Ffrenches.

Sport

Monivea Abbeyknockmoy and Abbeyknockmoy Hurling are the local

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 ...

clubs. Monivea Rugby Club has been present in the village since 1977. There are also taekwondo, kickboxing and boxing clubs.

Twinning

The village of Monivea had been officially twinned with the town of Treméven

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in 2010. However this process begun long before this with a number of visits between the two towns in the preceding years. The first part of the twinning towns charter was signed on 5 July 2009 in the town of Treméven

. The Monivea representatives spent a week being entertained by music, dance, tours of the area, and banquets provided by their hosts in Trémeven. Monivea signed the second part of the Twinning towns charter on Sunday 15 August 2010 in Monivea with the town of Treméven

References

External links

Monivea History & Heritage
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010025612/http://homepage.eircom.net/~oreganathenry/oreganathenry/localhistory/moniveahistoryandheritage.html , date=10 October 2014 Towns and villages in County Galway