Caragh or Carragh () is a village 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 count ...

, Ireland. It is located on the R409 regional road between the

River Liffey The River Liffey ( Irish: ''An Life'', historically ''An Ruirthe(a)ch'') is a river in eastern Ireland that ultimately flows through the centre of Dublin to its mouth within Dublin Bay. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the Riv ...

and the Grand Canal and is located 6.1 km north-west of

Naas Naas ( ; ga, Nás na Ríogh or ) is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. In 2016, it had a population of 21,393, making it the second largest town in County Kildare after Newbridge. History The name of Naas has been recorded in th ...

. The village is also 7.9 km from

Clane Clane (; ) is a town in County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, from Dublin. Its population of 7,280 makes it the eighth largest town in Kildare and the List of towns in the Republic of Ireland by population, 66th largest in Ireland. It ...

and 10.6 km from Newbridge. Caragh is also the name of the parish that includes the village itself, surrounding

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 orig ...

s, and the village of Prosperous, about 3 km northwest of Caragh.

Name

Kildare County Council, OSI and other government bodies and agencies use the spelling "Carragh". This spelling is used only on official maps, planning notices and other official documents.

Geography

The village is situated in the northern half of County Kildare approximately 3 km north-west of junction 10 of the M7 motorway. The Liffey flows adjacent to the village. There is a single traffic lane bridge crossing the Liffey approaching Caragh on the R409 from the south. A local historian claims that it is the oldest bridge still in existence on the entire course of the river. The

Bog of Allen The Bog of Allen ( ga, Móin Alúine) is a large raised bog in the centre of Ireland between the rivers Liffey and Shannon. The bog's 958 square kilometers (370 square miles) stretch into County Offaly, County Meath, County Kildare, County Lao ...

, a peatland region that covers large parts of central Ireland, borders the village.

Amenities

The main features in the village are a large

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church (Our Lady & St. Joseph), a well stocked shop, a pub, a national primary school and

Mondello Mondello is a small borough of the city of Palermo in the autonomous region of Sicily in Southern Italy. Its beach lies between two cliffs called Mount Gallo and Mount Pellegrino. The town was originally a small fishing village situated on mars ...

motor racing circuit (approx. 1.5 km from village centre). As of March 2010, the church and school in the village are undergoing extensive redevelopment.

Transport

The Dublin to Cork railway line runs through the village, but there is no railway station. The Grand Canal also runs past Caragh, and nearby is the Leinster Aqueduct where the Grand Canal crosses over the river Liffey.

Representation

The village forms part of the Kildare South Dáil constituency for national elections. For County Council elections, Caragh is within the Naas Local Electoral Area of Kildare County Council.

Demographics

The population of Caragh village has grown significantly in the early 21st century, increasing from 242 inhabitants in 2002, to 751 as of the 2006 census, to 966 by the time of the 2016 census. The 2016 census recorded a 'housing stock' of 263 homes within the village boundary.

Sport

There are a number of

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 ...

clubs in and around Caragh ( Éire Óg-Corrachoill CLG, Raheens GAA and Caragh GFC), and a

ladies' Gaelic football Ladies' Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach na mBan) is a women's team sport. It is the women's equivalent of Gaelic football. Ladies' football is organised by the Ladies' Gaelic Football Association. Two teams of 15 players kick or hand-pass a ...

team (Robert Emmets). Raheens GAA is a

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

club which has its grounds at Tom Lawlor Park, approximately 0.5 km from the village. The local community hall of Caragh is situated adjacent to the pitch and is used for indoor training during winter. Caragh GFC, also a football club, is based in Prosperous. The local hurling club, Éire Óg-Corrachoill CLG, is an amalgamation of two former clubs associated with the villages of Prosperous and Caragh. The local ladies football team, Robert Emmets, is made up of people from Raheens and Sallins, and trains in both Caragh and Sallins. Caragh Celtic F.C. is a local

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

(soccer) team that plays home games at a pitch in Donore in Caragh. There is also a fishing club in Caragh that meets at the Liffey Bridge and on the Osberstown Road towards Sallins. There is also some recreational fishing on the Grand Canal.

Notable people

* Paddy Power (1928–2013), former politician, TD and government minister * Sean Power (b.1960), former politician and TD for the Kildare South Dáil constituency

References

External links

Caragh Village websiteHistory of Caragh (entry from Lewis's Topographical Dictionary, 1837)
{{County Kildare Towns and villages in County Kildare