Enfield, County Meath
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Enfield (), also known as Innfield,Ordnance Survey of Ireland map
/ref> is a town in south
County 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 ...
,
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 ...
, situated between Kilcock and Kinnegad and very close to the border with
County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, 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 gove ...
. The town is on the Dublin-Sligo railway line. It is located on the R148 regional road, formerly the N4
national primary road A national primary road () is a road classification in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of road has the pr ...
connecting
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
to
Connacht Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, C ...
. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 census, the population of Enfield grew considerably from just 566 inhabitants to 3,239 people. This increase is due to its location on the commuter belt to Dublin. Similarly to many other dormitory towns in this vicinity, numerous housing estates have been constructed, with 2016 census numbers indicating that 80% of the town's housing stock (826 of 1,024 households) was built between 1991 and 2010. By the 2022 census, population had increased to 3,663.


Name

The village's Irish name, ''An Bóthar Buí'' (the yellow road), is derived from the yellow mud that formed on the main street of the village through a combination of rain and the churning effect of the wheels of the stagecoach on the soil. Another theory is that the name arose from the yellow colour of the ragwort vegetation at the sides of the road.


History

Enfield's phased growth is paralleled with the various phases of transport history throughout south County Meath. Going back to Ancient Times, prior to and during the early part of the first millennium A.D., the Enfield area is believed to have been situated on one of the main roads to Tara, the coronation site and seat of the High Kings of Ireland from the 3rd century until 1022. From the great heart and centre of the Irish Kingdom, five great arteries or roads radiated from Tara to the various parts of the country, namely, the Slighe (a way or path) Cualann, which ran toward the present County Wicklow, the Slighe Mór, the great Western road, which ran via Dublin to Galway, the Slighe Asail, which ran near the present Mullingar, the Slighe Dala, which ran southwest, and the Slighe Midluachra, the Northern road. During Norman times (from 1169) under the Fitzgeralds, Earls of Kildare, a road was built from
Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...
Castle to Courtown House in Kilcock, to the Windmill on Cappagh Hill, to Cloncurry over to Johnstown House (now the Johnstown House Hotel and Spa), and from there on to Newcastle and Balyna House. When the stagecoach was used as a form of transport in Ireland, this road took a slightly different route to include the area that is now known as Enfield. The road between Dublin and Mullingar running through Enfield was built in 1735. A livery stable and courtyard existed opposite the old post office building (now a Chinese restaurant) at the east end of the town, to service people travelling on this road. Fresh teams of horses were available for hire at the livery stable when the coaches stopped at the post office. The building also provided some stopover accommodation. Some of the remains of the original livery courtyard could be seen adjacent to the SuperValu (formerly Centra) supermarket and car park. These sites were protected once by the Office of Public Works, but have made way for redevelopment in 2014. The first postal deliveries by stagecoach, in the area, occurred around 1740, during the time of Robert Fitzgerald, 19th Earl of Kildare. In the 1790s, maps denote the site as "A New Inn", later "The New Inn" and eventually, Innfield. This derives from a mail-coach inn on the 18th century Dublin to
Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...
coach route called "The Royal Oak Inn", which is estimated to have been where the Bridge House Inn now stands. The
Royal Canal The Royal Canal () is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition to the Grand Canal. Th ...
also passed through Innfield, and with the arrival of the Midland Great Western Railway, the name became anglicised to Enfield. The name Innfield became Enfield towards the end of the 19th Century when a new postmaster came from Enfield, Middlesex, England and decided to use the same name for the area. The N4, the main road to the west from Dublin, passed through Enfield and plagued it with traffic problems. In December 2005, a new stretch of the M4 motorway opened and most traffic now bypasses the town. The section of the N4 which was bypassed has been redesignated as the R148. In 2013, St. Mary's National School was redeveloped and officially opened by
Enda Kenny Enda Kenny (born 24 April 1951) is an Irish former Fine Gael politician who served as Taoiseach from 2011 to 2017, Leader of Fine Gael from 2002 to 2017, Minister for Defence (Ireland), Minister for Defence from May to July 2014 and 2016 to 201 ...
and Bishop Michael Smith of the Meath Diocese.


Transport


Canal

The
Royal Canal The Royal Canal () is a canal originally built for freight and passenger transportation from Dublin to Longford in Ireland. It is one of two canals from Dublin to the River Shannon and was built in direct competition to the Grand Canal. Th ...
construction began in Dublin in 1790 and signaled the end of the stagecoach era, as the canals were a cheaper and more efficient means of transport. The stretch from Dublin to Mullingar opened as a trade route around 1807 and the canal eventually reached the Shannon in 1817, though the company was heavily in debt. The decision by the Duke of Leinster to build a spur from the canal to his country residence at Carton House was one of the contributing factors which finally broke the company. Even though rail travel was much quicker, the canal continued to carry traffic until the 1950s. It is only now, at the turn of the millennium, that the potential of the canal for tourism and as a natural amenity is being realised. The
Office of Public Works The Office of Public Works (OPW) (; legally the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland) is a major Government of Ireland, Irish Government agency, which manages most of the Irish State's property portfolio, including hundreds of owned and ren ...
took charge of it in 1986, and subsequent investment and significant restoration mean it has great prospects of becoming popular again as a means of leisurely transport.


Railway

The railway reached Enfield in 1847, when the Midland Great Western Railway opened between Broadstone Station in
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and Enfield railway station (opened on 28 June 1847). Upon the opening of the railway, canal boats ceased all passenger traffic between
Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...
and Enfield, passengers travelling west using the train to Enfield and transferring to the canal in the town. Both the canal and the railway had stopover points in Enfield, and this contributed to the development of the area. The line was extended to Hill of Down by the end of 1847 and to Mullingar in October 1848. In 1877, a branch line from Nesbitt Junction (about west of Enfield) to Edenderry was opened. The Edenderry branch line and Enfield station closed in 1963, although there had been no regular passenger service to Edenderry since 1931. Passenger services from Enfield resumed in 1988. Enfield is located on the
Sligo Sligo ( ; , meaning 'abounding in shells') is a coastal seaport and the county town of County Sligo, Ireland, within the western province of Connacht. With a population of 20,608 in 2022, it is the county's largest urban centre (constituting 2 ...
to Dublin rail line with termini at Sligo Mac Diarmada and
Dublin Connolly Connolly station () or Dublin Connolly is the busiest railway station in Dublin and Ireland, and is a focal point in the Irish route network. On the North side of the River Liffey, it provides InterCity, Enterprise and commuter services to ...
, operated by Irish Rail. As of 9 December 2018, there are 10 trains into Dublin city centre & 9 westbound trains Monday to Friday, 7 trains to Dublin & 7 trains westbound on Saturdays, and on Sundays, there are 6 trains to Dublin & 6 trains westbound.


Bus

Enfield is served by
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
route 115 (Mullingar/Kilcock to Dublin) and Irish Citylink route 763 (Dublin to
Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...
), in addition to less regular routes run by Kearns and Mullally's.


Local amenities

There is an amenity park along with a small harbour and slipway at the Royal Canal on the western side of the town. The local swimming pool and gym is in the Johnstown House Estate.


Sport

Enfield is located near The Rathcore Golf and Country Club and the Darren Clarke-designed Champions Club in Moyvalley. Na Fianna CLG (established in 2000) is the local
Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sports, amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional Irish sports o ...
club. The town is also home to Enfield Celtic Football Club, established in 1989.


Notable people

* Teresa Brayton (1868–1943), Irish nationalist, writer and poet, born in Kilbrook, near Enfield. Her best-known poem is The Old Bog Road. * Tony Brennan, former Meath football selector and player * Sarah Carey, journalist and political commentator * Peter Coffey (1876–1943), Roman Catholic Priest and neo-scholastic philosopher, born in Rathrone, near Enfield *
David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...
, former Irish Olympian equestrian * Seamus McDonagh, former professional boxer, raised in Enfield * Luke McNally, professional footballer * Sir William Welles (1409/10–1461), former Lord Chancellor of Ireland


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland.


References

{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Meath