Moynalty () is a village in the north-west of
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 sou ...
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 located at the junction of the
R194 and
R164 regional roads north of
Kells, near the border with
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...
. It was part of the Kells
Poor Law Union. The
Borora river flows through the village. Its population in 2011 was 116 people.
Origins of the name
According to the
Annals of the Four Masters
The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' ( ga, Annála Ríoghachta Éireann) or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' (''Annála na gCeithre Máistrí'') are chronicles of medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Deluge, dated as 2,24 ...
, the name ''Mágh nEalta'' was introduced into Ireland about 2000 BC when
Partholon, a Greek, gave that name to a treeless fertile plain in Dublin. Because the description also described its location, the area now known as Moynalty got the name also. The name was initially used to describe the manorial lands and settlement in the area.
The
Synod of Kells
The Synod of Kells (, ) took place in 1152, under the presidency of Giovanni Cardinal Paparoni, and continued the process begun at the Synod of Ráth Breasail (1111) of reforming the Irish church. The sessions were divided between the abbeys of ...
in 1152 restructured
Catholicism
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 ...
on Ireland, replacing a monastic system of directing the Irish Church with a system of parishes, dioceses and archdioceses. As the old manorial village had embraced the name of the surrounding plain, the new parish assumed that name '' also.
Current village
The village was built by the grandson of James Farrell who purchased the lands of Moynalty and its hinterland in 1790. That grandson John Arthur completed the building of Moynalty Village in 1837 and it is to some extent based on a Swiss design. The village was built on one side only earning it the saying "All To One Side Like The Village Of Moynalty". It was only after 1900 that houses were built on the river side of the village.
The Donore Hoard of bronze artifacts, a bronze chain, plates, and a door knocker, decorated in an 8th-century style, were discovered in the townland of Donore, Moynalty during an excavation in 1984. The items have been housed in the National Museum of Ireland since June 1985.
There was a small lace-making industry in Moynalty. This lace making industry supplied Lace to the wife of King George at Buckingham Palace in London. The village has become a familiar face in the national
Tidy Towns competition. Moynalty was awarded with the title of Best Kept Town in All of Ireland in 2011. The village also hosts the Moynalty Steam Threshing festival, held every August since 1975.
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 108 provides three journeys a day (one on Sundays) to
Kells and three journeys a day (one on Sundays) to
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 road (Ireland), N3 National Road has made it a commuter town.
History P ...
in County Cavan via
Mullagh Onward connections 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 ...
and
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 ...
are available at
Kells.
Notable people
*Matthew Gilsenan - Member of the Irish-based classical music group
The Celtic Tenors
The Celtic Tenors began life as the Three Irish Tenors on RTÉ's ''Theatre Nights'' in October 1995. The group at that time consisted of James Nelson, Niall Morris, and Paul Hennessey.
In 1998, Matthew “The Gill” Gilsenan from Kells, Co. Me ...
was born in Moynalty in the early 1970s.
*Senator
Patrick Lynch (1867–1944) - Born in Shearke, Moynalty in 1867.
*Kevin Doyle - CEO 999 Australia
See also
*
List of towns and villages in Ireland
References
{{Authority control
Towns and villages in County Meath
Planned communities in the Republic of Ireland