Athgoe ()''Newcastle Lyons A Parish of the Pale'', P. O'Sullivan (Ed.), Geography Publications, Dublin, 1986 is the name of an area constituting three

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

s situated in the Barony of Newcastle, in

South Dublin , image_map = Island of Ireland location map South Dublin.svg , map_caption = Inset showing South Dublin (darkest green in inset) within Dublin Region (lighter green) , area_total_km2 ...

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 ...

located near the Dublin/

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 ...

border. The townlands are Athgoe, Athgoe North and Athgoe South.

Etymology

The name probably derives from either "Ath Gabha" (the "ford of the smith" in Irish, or "Smithford" to completely anglicize it) or "Áth Gó" the "ford of the water" or the ford leading to the sea. The land immediately to the west of Mileys Bridge (see below) is quite wet despite having been drained both recently and earlier. In the Ordnance Survey map of 1840, the contour line suggests a partially or permanently wet area. This would lend credence to the name being derived from the "ford of the water".

Geography and land use

The area lies between

Newcastle, County Dublin Newcastle () is a village in the south-western part of South Dublin Counties of Ireland, county, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is also a Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the Barony (Ireland), barony of the same name. It was the loc ...

and the N7 Dublin to Limerick road. The townlands are contiguous and range from the top of Athgoe Hill southwest to the Kildare border. Athgoe is a predominantly rural area with tillage, cattle and sheep as the main farming activities. The ford that gives the area its name would have crossed what is now a minor stream at the bottom of Athgoe hill that feeds into the Camac river further east. The Camac eventually empties into the Liffey at Heuston Station.

History

At the top of Athgoe hill there is a circular earthwork described as "Raheen" on maps (the little rath), although it is possibly a

Bronze Age The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...

barrow Barrow may refer to: Places England * Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria ** Borough of Barrow-in-Furness, local authority encompassing the wider area ** Barrow and Furness (UK Parliament constituency) * Barrow, Cheshire * Barrow, Gloucestershire * Barro ...

. Athgoe Castle (completed in 1579 by the Locke family) is a prominent landmark. The small post-medieval bridge spanning the stream is known locally as Miley's bridge. In the documentary records, the earliest mention of Athgoe is in the 13th century when a document is witnessed by one Thomas De Agdoo in 1250.''Register of St. John the Baptist, Dublin'' F.E. Ball, Dublin, 1936, No. 340 Later, in 1283, another document is witnessed by Roger of Athgo.

References

Towns and villages in South Dublin (county) Townlands of County Dublin Newcastle (County Dublin barony) {{Dublin-geo-stub