Golden () is a village in

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

in Ireland. The village is situated on the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

. It is located between the towns of

Cashel Cashel (an Anglicised form of the Irish language word ''Caiseal'', meaning "stone fort") may refer to: Places in Ireland *Cashel, County Tipperary **The Rock of Cashel, an ancient, hilltop fortress complex for which Cashel is named ** Archbishop ...

and Tipperary on the N74 road. In older times the village was known as Goldenbridge. It is also a parish in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly The Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church located in mid-western Ireland, and the metropolis of the eponymous ecclesiastical province. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral of the Assump ...

, and is in the historical

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Clanwilliam.

History

The bridge at Golden, which straddles an island in the

River Suir The River Suir ( ; or ''Abhainn na Siúire'' ) is a river in Ireland that flows into the Atlantic Ocean through Waterford after a distance of . The catchment area of the Suir is 3,610 km2.

, was the scene of an event of some significance in

1690 Events January–March * January 2 – The Ottoman Empire defeats Serbian rebels and Austrian troops in battle at Kaçanik Gorge, prompting more than 30,000 Serb refugees to flee northward from Kosovo, Macedonia and Sandžak to the Au ...

, when

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

renewed, by letter in his own hand, the Royal Charter of the city of

as an act of gratitude to the people of Cashel for the hospitality received by his followers following their attack on Limerick. There is a medieval castle on the island, currently in a ruinous state. Located in the castle ruins is a memorial sculptured bust of

Thomas MacDonagh Thomas Stanislaus MacDonagh (; 1 February 1878 – 3 May 1916) was an Irish political activist, poet, playwright, educationalist and revolutionary leader. He was one of the seven leaders of the Easter Rising of 1916, a signatory of the Proclama ...

(1878–1916), Tipperary-born poet and leader of the

Easter Rising The Easter Rising (), also known as the Easter Rebellion, was an armed insurrection in Ireland during Easter Week in April 1916. The Rising was launched by Irish republicans against British rule in Ireland with the aim of establishing an ind ...

in 1916.

The Augustinian Athassel Priory is located south of the village. The abbey was founded by

William de Burgh William de Burgh ( , ; ; –winter 1205/06) was the founder of the House of Burgh (later surnamed Burke or Bourke) in Ireland and elder brother of Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent and Geoffrey de Burgh, Bishop of Ely. William is often given ...

in the last decades of the 12th century. It was once the largest abbey in Ireland and was surrounded by a small town named Athassel which was burned twice, in 1319 by Lord Maurice Fitzthomas and in 1419 by Bryan O'Brien. No fragment of the settlement survives today, though an aerial survey exposes to view, a faint tracery of old foundations close to the Abbey ruin. Father Theobold Mathew, OFM (Cap), was born at Thomastown Castle, close to Golden on 10 October 1790. It is also sometimes claimed that Rathclogheen House, close to the castle, was the place of his birth – that residence being part of the extensive family estate of the Mathew family, Earls Landaff. Father Mathew was the best known Irish temperance reformer and founded the Abstinence Society in 1838 and became widely known as the "Apostle of Temperance". To mark the centenary of the foundation of the society, a statue in his honour was raised at Thomastown Cross in 1938 and is a visible landmark on the N74 road, west of Golden. Golden was once home to the Judkin-Fitzgerald baronets of Lisheen. Sir John Judkin-Fitzgerald, the second baronet and first of the family to live here was also Mayor of

and Sheriff of Tipperary. The third baronet, Sir Thomas Judkin-Fitzgerald's residence was located just outside of Golden in the townland of Golden Hills.

Amenities

The local church, the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, is in the parish of Golden & Kilfeacle in the

. There are two hamlets close by at Kilfeacle and Thomastown, the latter being an estate village which co-existed with the demesne of Thomastown Castle, home of the Matthew family, Earls of

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

. The valley of the Suir is a fertile agricultural area and is part of the region known as the "

Golden Vale The Golden Vale () is the historic name given to an area of rolling pastureland in the province of Munster in southwestern Ireland. The area covers parts of three counties: Cork, Limerick and Tipperary. Considered the best land in Ireland ...

". The N74 connects Golden with

Tipperary Town Tipperary (; ), commonly known as Tipperary Town, is a town and a civil parish in County Tipperary, Ireland. Its population was 4,979 at the 2016 census. It is also an ecclesiastical parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly, ...

and

, while the L3121 links it with the nearby village of

New Inn New Inn () is a village and community directly south east of Pontypool, within the County Borough of Torfaen in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It had a population of 5,986 at the 2011 Census. Location The village is bo ...

. Golden contains a sports field, home to the local club of the

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 ...

, Golden–Kilfeacle, once called the ''Golden Fontenoys''. The club's facilities include an indoor hall and floodlighting. The village, which had a population a population of 267 as of the 2016 census, is home to a number of local businesses including an agricultural museum, a dog cafe, butchers, a supermarket and several public houses.

Notable people

References

External links

Tipperary Agricultural & Heritage Museum website
Parishes of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly Towns and villages in County Tipperary Clanwilliam, County Tipperary

History

Amenities

Notable people

See also

References

External links