Monivea () is a village in

County Galway "Righteousness and Justice" , anthem = () , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Galway.svg , map_caption = Location in Ireland , area_footnotes = , area_total_km2 = ...

, Ireland. It is located approximately 30 km from Galway City and 9 km from Athenry. It was formerly part of the kingdom of the Soghain of Connacht. 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 A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

. The mausoleum and castle were built by the Ffrench family, one of the " Tribes of Galway", 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 Coillte (; meaning "forests"/"woods") is a state-owned commercial forestry business in Ireland based in Newtownmountkennedy. Coillte manage approximately 7% of the country’s land, and operates three businesses - their core forestry business, a ...

. 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, 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 Ffrenches remained Catholic. As a result, in 1650 the Commonwealth of England confiscated their properties. Following the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

, however, these lands were returned to the Ffrenches. Subsequent generations of the Ffrenches reclaimed land that had previously been

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

s. 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 Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

) Church, which was consecrated by the Archbishop of Tuam. 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 Easter Rising ( ga, Éirí Amach na Cásca), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the a ...

. 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 Monivea-Abbey is a Gaelic Athletic Association club based in Monivea, County Galway, Ireland. The club is a member of the Galway GAA. Monivea-Abbey cater for Gaelic football. Notable players * Cillian McDaid History Honours *Galway Senior ...

and

Abbeyknockmoy Hurling Abbeyknockmoy () is a village and parish in County Galway, Ireland. It is known for the nearby ruins of the 12th century Cistercian abbey, established with the Kings of Connacht as its benefactors. The abbey was the burial site of King Cathal ...

are the local Gaelic Athletic Association 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 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 France. 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 France.

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