Edenderry (; ) is a town in east

County Offaly County Offaly (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the Ancient Ireland, ancient Kingdom of Uí ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It is near the borders with Counties

Kildare Kildare () is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. , its population was 10,302, making it the 7th largest town in County Kildare. It is home to Kildare Cathedral, historically the site of an important abbey said to have been founded by Saint ...

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

and

Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

. The Grand Canal runs along the south of Edenderry, through the

Bog of Allen The Bog of Allen () is a large raised bog in the centre of Republic of Ireland, Ireland between the rivers River Liffey, Liffey and River Shannon, Shannon. The bog's 958 square kilometres (370 square miles) stretch into counties County Offaly, ...

, and there is a short spur to the town centre. The R401 road from

Kinnegad Kinnegad () is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland. It is on the border with County Meath, near the junction of the M6 and the M4 motorways - two of Ireland's main east–west roads. It is roughly 60 km from the capital, Dublin. From 1 ...

to the north and the R402 from Enfield to the east meet at the northeastern end of the Main Street. At the Grand Canal they split, with the R402 continuing westwards towards

Tullamore Tullamore (; ) is the county town of County Offaly in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is on the Grand Canal (Ireland), Grand Canal, in the middle of the county, and is the fourth most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midlands Reg ...

and the R401 heads south to Rathangan and

Town.

History

In the 16th century, Edenderry was known as Coolestown, after the family of Cooley or Cowley, who had a castle here. It was defended in 1599 against the Confederates, during the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

. This subsequently passed by marriage to the Blundell family and was sacked in 1691 by the army of James II. The Blundells' land passed subsequently to the

Marquess of Downshire Marquess of Downshire is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a former Secretary of State. Hill had already been created Earl of Hillsborough and Viscount Kilwarlin of County Down ...

who reversed the earlier opposition of the Blundell sisters to the establishment of a branch to the Grand Canal to Edenderry and paid for the £692 cost of the project, which was completed in 1802. By 1716 there was thriving woollen cloth manufacturing, established by

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestantism, Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally ...

, which employed around 1,000 people. By 1911 the town had grown to 2,204 people. Other industries included the factory of Daniel Alesbury who made a variety of woodwork as well as the first car manufactured in Ireland, the Alesbury, in 1907. Edenderry Town Hall was completed in 1830.

Demographics

The population of Edenderry doubled in the period between the census of 1996 (when it had a population of 3,825 people) and the 2022 census (which recorded a population of 7,888 people).

Education

There are two

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s in the town, St. Mary's Secondary School and Oaklands Community College, as well as five

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

, Gaelscoil Éadan Doire, St. Mary's Primary School, Scoil Bhríde Primary School, Saint Patrick's Primary School and Monasteroris National School. There is also a Youthreach centre , for students aged 15 and older.

Local organisations

Organisations and businesses operating in the area include the

Offaly Express The ''Offaly Express'' is an online newspaper and former print newspaper in Ireland that serves County Offaly. The paper is part of the Iconic Newspapers Group. The offices of the ''Offaly Express'' are based in Portlaoise. The paper was founded ...

newspaper, Edenderry Chamber of Commerce and Eden FM Community Radio Local sports clubs include Edenderry Rugby Club, Edenderry GAA club, Edenderry Town AFC, and Highfield Golf Club.Highfield Golf Club
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Notable people

Neil Delamere Neil Delamere ( ; born 1979) is an Irish comedian. He is a regular on the BBC Northern Ireland television show '' The Blame Game'', and was the BBC Fighting Talk Champion of Champions in 2022. Early life and education Delamere is from Ede ...

, comedian *

Frantic Jack ''Frantic Jack'' are an Irish rock band formed in Edenderry, County Offaly. Since its creation, the band's line-up has included Daragh Fitzgerald (vocals), Mark Kelly (guitar), Pauric Hurst (bass), and James Kearney (keys). The band's current d ...

, Irish Indie Rock band *

Josef Locke Joseph McLaughlin (23 March 1917 – 15 October 1999), known professionally as Josef Locke, was an Irish tenor. He was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s. Background Born in Derry, Ireland, he was the son of a ...

(1917–1999), tenor, lived in Edenderry

References

External links

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Offaly