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Monasterevin (), also Monasterevan, and Mevin is a town in
County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
,
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 ...
. The town lies on the
River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
and the Barrowline, a canal branch of the Grand Canal. The population was 4,246 at the 2016 Census.


Location and Access

Situated 63 km from
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 ...
on the
R445 road The R445 road is a regional road in Ireland. The route is a non-motorway alternative route to the N7/ M7 motorway between Naas and Limerick, and at 170 km it is one of the longest regional roads in Ireland (longer than most national roads). I ...
, Monasterevin has been relieved of much through-traffic by the opening in 2004 of a section of the M7 motorway bypassing the town on the N7 Dublin to
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 ...
route.
Monasterevin railway station Monasterevin (Mainistir Eimhín in Irish) (also Monasterevan) railway station is on the Dublin to Cork InterCity railway line. It is served mostly by commuter services to and from Heuston Station, Dublin. Until December 2017, there were no se ...
is on InterCity rail lines for trains from Dublin to the southwest (Cork, Limerick and Tralee) and west (Galway and Mayo). The town is also on Ireland's canal network, linking the Grand Canal and the River Barrow.


History

Monasterevin is situated on the border of
County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...
and
County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a medie ...
. The towns and districts of Rathangan,
Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...
, Portarlington and
Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kild ...
surround the parish. The main geographical features of the countryside are the
River Barrow The Barrow ( ga, An Bhearú) is a river in Ireland. It is one of The Three Sisters; the other two being the River Suir and the River Nore. The Barrow is the longest of the three rivers, and at 192 km (120 mi), the second-longest ri ...
, its tributaries, the extensive bogland and the limestone outcrop of Moore Abbey Hill.


Pre-historic Era

In pre-historic times, glacial activity shaped the landscape. The meltwater from the retreating ice-sheet formed outwash plains of gravel to the east and west. These are of course the Curragh and Heath. The land between is mainly limestone and proved an ideal path for the River Barrow, fed by its tributaries the Black and the
Figile The Figile River (; ga, Abhainn Fhiodh Gaibhle) is a river in eastern Ireland. Name The earliest recorded name is ''Fidgable''/''Fid nGabli'', meaning "Gabul's Wood", recorded in the Book of Leinster and the Metrical Dindshenchas, both c. 116 ...
. Evidence of the early Stone Age is sketchy but there are traces of Neolithic man in the area. A dolmen, now collapsed, once marked the burial of some important tribal potentate in a local townland. During the Barrow drainage, hundreds of stone axe heads were found on the river-bed at each of the three major crossing points that occur within the town. Their presence may indicate the importance of Monasterevin as a fording point on the mystical Baru. Neolithic travellers may have sacrificed the valuable axe heads to the spirit of the Barrow or Baru. Or they may have been placed in the shallow water to mark the significance of crossing the boundary between two peoples. The Bronze Age in Monasterevin was the age of the small farmer as evidenced by several earthwork enclosures. One such is the earthwork enclosure just above the town referred to as the Aquafort, resting as it does on the spit of land where the
River Figile The Figile River (; ga, Abhainn Fhiodh Gaibhle) is a river in eastern Ireland. Name The earliest recorded name is ''Fidgable''/''Fid nGabli'', meaning "Gabul's Wood", recorded in the Book of Leinster and the Metrical Dindshenchas, both c. 116 ...
joins the River Barrow. At the time it would have been in use the water level was much higher meaning that approaching the defences was more difficult. The pattern of fortified settlement continues into the Iron Age. We also know that by this time the bogland around Monasterevin was fully formed. Traversing these areas would have been difficult but the importance of the fords on the Barrow meant that some solution had to be found. The equivalent of the M7 motorway was needed and indeed it was provided by what is known as "The Danes Road". It was built by laying large rough-hewn planks and a foundation of brushwood on boggy ground. This base spread the weight of the gravel layer on top, allowing the roads to be used by chariots. St. Brigid is said to have ordered the construction of such a road.


Middle Ages

Saint Abban of New Ross, a contemporary of
Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...
, established a monastic settlement by the banks of the River Barrow at Rosglas and gave it into the charge of his protégé Evin (''Éimhín''; the name is a diminutive of the adjective ''eimh'' "swift, active", Latinized ''Eminus''). Saint Evin brought a number of monks with him from his native Munster. This gained the settlement the name Rosglos-na-Moinneach (the greenwood of the Munstermen). Saint Evin was politically astute; today he would be called a spin-doctor. He secured special status for the Monasterevin area placing it outside the common law, making it a sanctuary. His famous bell was used for swearing oaths and was much in demand by tribes of the region for guaranteeing peace treaties. St. Evin also co-authored the "Tripartite Life of St. Patrick". Other writing by Evin survives including the "Cain Emhin". Although St. Evin's monastery died out about the time of the Viking raids in Ireland, its importance continued. In 903 AD, the Battle of Ballaghmoon was fought for the ownership of the church. The next religious establishment on the site was in the 12th century when the Cistercian Abbey was founded under the patronage of Dermot O’Dempsey. This began a long connection with Mellifont in
County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...
the Cistercian motherhouse overall Ireland and
Baltinglass Baltinglass, historically known as Baltinglas (), is a town in south-west County Wicklow, Ireland. It is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Carlow and County Kildare, on the N81 road. Etymology The town's Irish name, ''Be ...
in
County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ga, Contae Chill Mhantáin ) is a county in Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the province of Leinster. It is bordered by t ...
, the motherhouse of Monasterevin. At this time the O’Dempseys were the rulers of the area, which was part of the territory of Clanmaliere. The O’Dempseys remained involved with the Abbey providing the last abbot in Monasterevin Hugh O’Dempsey. Once again the importance of Monasterevin as a crossing point on the Barrow asserted itself and the town came under the opposing influences of the O’Mores of Laois, the Hiberno Norman Earls of Kildare and the English Pale. Abbots of Monasterevin, therefore, had to inherit St. Evin's talent for politics. Abbots of Monasterevin held a seat in the Irish Parliament while assisting outlaws and rebels against the crown of England. By 1427 Rosglas had fallen on hard times and in 1541 the Abbey was handed over to Henry VIII of England as part of his reformation. He, in turn, leased it to his nobles. During the Elizabethan period, there were several occupants including Sir Robert Devereaux, Earl of Essex after whom Essex Bridge is named (commonly called the Pass Bridge because he passed over it on his way to his disastrous campaign against the native Irish in Munster). It is not recorded whether he passed that way again on his way to be beheaded at the Tower of London.


Early Modern Era

King James I granted the Abbey and demesne of Rosglas at Monasterevin to Sir Adam Loftus in 1613. The Earls of Drogheda married into the Loftus family. Charles Lord Moore Earl of Drogheda married Jane Loftus in 1699. Their son Edward became the Fourth Earl who sold the Mellifont estates and transferred the family seat to Monasterevin. The coming of the Moores marks an important point in the history of Monasterevin. Its rise as the "Venice of Ireland" was encouraged by the many improvement works undertaken by the family and the influx of a mixed Protestant and Catholic merchant class. The First Earl had laid out the streets at the centre of Dublin, Drogheda Street (
O'Connell Street O'Connell Street () is a street in the centre of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, running north from the River Liffey. It connects the O'Connell Bridge to the south with Parnell Street to the north and is roughly split into two sections ...
),
Moore Street Moore Street (; ) is a street in central Dublin, Ireland, off Henry Street, one of Ireland's main shopping streets. The famous Moore Street open-air fruit and vegetable market is Dublin's oldest food market. The market there is a famous landm ...
, Henry Street, and Mary Street. His descendants continued this tradition of town planning by laying out the grid-pattern of the town with the parallel Main Street and Drogheda Street which were connected by several crossing streets and lanes, some of which have disappeared. Monasterevin has an unusual number of Bridges giving rise to its nickname of the Venice of Ireland. Arriving in 1786, the Grand Canal lends support to this name. Originally the spur connecting the mainline the Barrow in Athy was carried down the bank by locks into Barrow and up the other side. The Grand Canal allowed the local distilling industry to flourish. The captains of this industry were the Cassidy Family whose
whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden c ...
and their St. Patrick Cross Pale Ale became world-famous. The wealth they acquired gave them considerable influence in the locality. In 1798, Cassidy was the local magistrate. On 25 May 1798, insurgents from the surrounding countryside marched on the town of Monasterevin in an attempt to capture it. The Battle of Monasterevin took place in the Main Street opposite St. John's church, which had been fortified by local yeomanry and militiamen. A charge by the Monasterevin Yeomanry Cavalry routed the insurgents. Later in the year Fr. Edward Prendergast was arrested and condemned to death for administering to the insurgents in their camp in Iron Hill near Nurney. He was hanged in the garden of Monasterevin House and buried there. Captain Padraig O’Bierne and a group of Derryoughter boatmen stole into the town under cover of darkness and removed the body to his home place of Harristown.


Modern Age

The 19th century was marked by further improvements to the town infrastructure including the building of a new Town Bridge in 1832 and the arrival of the railway. The area was largely unaffected by the widespread mass evictions of the era, the Droghedas being generally regarded as good landlords. An aqueduct built in 1826 carries the Grand Canal over the River Barrow, preceded by a lift drawbridge where the R424 main road crosses the Barrowline branch of the Grand Canal, the only such main road bridge to do so on the Grand Canal. Monasterevin is noted for its unusually high number of bridges in such a small semi-rural area, earning it the name of Venice of Ireland. The Great Famines of the 1840s also left the area relatively un-ravaged. The poet
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...
visited the town on seven occasions.


Birth of motor racing

On 2 July 1903, the Gordon Bennett Cup ran through Monsterevin. It was the first international motor race to be held in either Ireland or Great Britain. The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in Britain or Ireland, and Ireland was suggested as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads. After some lobbying, Kildare was chosen, partly because the straightness of the roads was seen as a safety benefit. As a compliment to Ireland, the British team chose to race in
Shamrock green Spring green is a color that was traditionally considered to be on the yellow side of green, but in modern computer systems based on the RGB color model is halfway between cyan and green on the color wheel. The modern spring green, when plott ...
which thus became known as
British racing green British racing green, or BRG, is a colour similar to ''Brunswick green'', ''hunter green'', ''forest green'' or '' moss green'' ( RAL 6005). It takes its name from the green international motor racing colour of the United Kingdom. This originat ...
. The route consisted of several loops of a circuit that passed-through
Kilcullen Kilcullen (), formally Kilcullen Bridge, is a small town on the River Liffey in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its population of 3,473 at the 2011 census made it the 12th largest settlement in County Kildare and the fastest growi ...
,
Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 8,634 making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. The town lies on the R445, some west of Dublin – near enough for it to have become, despite being a regional cen ...
, Monasterevin,
Stradbally Stradbally () is a town in County Laois, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, located in the midlands of Ireland along the N80 road, a National Secondary Route, about from Portlaoise. It is a townland, a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish an ...
,
Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Kild ...
,
Castledermot Castledermot () is an inland village in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the village but upon completion of a motorway ...
, and
Carlow Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272. The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
. The race started at the Ballyshannon cross-roads near
Calverstown Calverstown () is a small village in County Kildare, Ireland. It lies south of the town of Kilcullen and about from each of the towns of Athy, Kildare, Naas and Newbridge. It is an old settlement located close to the archaeological sites of DÃ ...
. The race was won by the Belgian
Camille Jenatzy Camille Jenatzy (1868, Schaerbeek – 8 December 1913, Habay la Neuve) was a Belgian race car driver. He is known for breaking the land speed record three times and being the first man to break the 100 km/h barrier. He was nicknamed ''Le ...
, driving a Mercedes.


20th Century

The rise of Nationalism at the turn of the 20th century was well supported in the area. In 1900 a
Celtic Cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses er ...
style Monument in honour of Fr. Prendergast was erected by popular subscription of the Nationalists of the town and surrounding districts. During the
Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
many young men from the town and surrounding areas joined the
Leinster Regiment The Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment (Royal Canadians) was an infantry regiment of the line in the British Army, formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 100th (Prince of Wales's Royal Canadian) Regiment of Foot and the 109th Regiment of Foot ...
and
Connaught Rangers The Connaught Rangers ("The Devil's Own") was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army formed by the amalgamation of the 88th Regiment of Foot (Connaught Rangers) (which formed the ''1st Battalion'') and the 94th Regiment of Foot (which ...
. Many died on the Western Front and of those who returned many were physically or physiological scarred. During the War of Independence, the rail lines around Monasterevin and Kildangan were the chief targets of IRA action. The population suffered the attentions of the Black and Tans on their way down the country. From 1925 Count John McCormack was the tenant of
Moore Abbey Moore Abbey () is a monastic house on the east bank of the River Barrow at Monasterevin in County Kildare, Ireland. History Moore Abbey was designed by the English engineer Christopher Myers in the Gothic style and was built in the late 176 ...
. The world-famous tenor entertained many famous guests during his years in the house. As well as recording his albums in the Great Hall, one of the scenes from his film Song of My Heart was filmed on the grounds. During the Emergency of 1939–45, Monasterevin prepared to defend itself against any aggressor by raising its own Local Defence Force, preparing its bridges for demolition, and building a pillbox to defend the town. The engineering works of Samuel E. Holmes produced grenades for the army. In 1975, Monasterevin made international headlines. On the morning of 21 October, Gardaí surrounded a house in St. Evin's Park. Inside were the kidnappers of Dr.
Tiede Herrema In October 1975, Dutch businessman Tiede Herrema (21 April 1921 – 24 April 2020) was kidnapped by the Provisional IRA in Castletroy, near Limerick. This triggered a large police investigation and a two week siege, after which Herrema was relea ...
The "Siege at Monasterevin" lasted 17 days ending on 7 November with the surrender of the kidnappers and the freedom of Dr. Herrema.


Culture

From 1987 to 2015, a
Gerard Manley Hopkins Gerard Manley Hopkins (28 July 1844 – 8 June 1889) was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame placed him among leading Victorian poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovato ...
Literary Festival was held annually in the town, which the poet described as "one of the props and struts of my existence" whilst he was teaching in Dublin. It then moved to neighbouring Newbridge.


Sport

Monasterevin G.F.C. is one of the local
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 ...
football clubs, the others including Ballykelly GAA and Ros Glas hurling club. Monasterevin is the birthplace of Wimbledon Tennis Champion
Willoughby Hamilton Willoughby Hamilton (born as James Willoughby Hamilton; 9 December 1864 – 27 September 1943) was a co-world No. 1 Irish male tennis player, a footballer and international badminton player. Tennis career Hamilton played his first tournament ...
.


See also

* List of abbeys and priories in (County Kildare) * List of towns and villages in Ireland * Market Houses in Ireland


Notes

a. According t
''Leinster Leader'', Saturday, 11 April 1903
Britain had to choose a different colour to its usual national colours of red, white and blue, as these had already been taken by Italy, Germany and France respectively. It also stated red as the color for ''American'' cars in the 1903 Gordon Bennett Cup.


References


External links

*
Monasterevin website
Monasterevin Community Council
Monasterevin Historical SocietyMonasterevin Hopkins Society and Annual Festival
{{County Kildare Towns and villages in County Kildare