Gormanston () is a village in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

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 ...

. It is near the mouth of the River Delvin and the northern border of

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History

Archaeology

A group of passage graves on either side of the mouth of river Delvin, known as the Bremore/Gormanston group, is believed to mark the arrival of that culture from the Iberian peninsula and to be the precursor of later developments such as the Newgrange cluster. Legend also associates the site with the first landings of both Saint Patrick and

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

. During construction of a gas pipeline between

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

, a 7-metre-long prehistoric dugout was found just offshore at Gormanston Strand. Unlike other ancient Irish boats, the Gormanston boat seems to have been of outrigger construction.

Historic features

Several ancient cob cottages still exist in the village under more modern surfaces. Gormanston Bridge dates to the 13th century and is believed to be one of the oldest structures on the Dublin-Dunleer turnpike. St Brigid's Well in Tobersool is an ancient holy well reputedly associated with a cure for diseases of the eye. In 1870, the first authentic game of polo in Ireland was played on Gormanston Strand involving the 9th Lancers, who were at the time quartered in the country.

Gormanston Castle and the Prestons

Gormanston Castle was, from the 14th century to the 1950s, the seat of the Preston family, who managed to hold on to their estate lands through the centuries despite being staunch Catholics. The head of the family is known as

Viscount Gormanston Viscount Gormanston is a title in the Peerage of Ireland created in 1478 and held by the head of the Preston family, which hailed from Lancashire. It is the oldest vicomital title in the British Isles; the holder is Premier Viscount of Ireland. ...

, premier Viscount of Ireland. The current holder of the title is the 17th Viscount Gormanston, who resides in London. Elizabeth Gorman, painter, lived here. The family sold the castle in the 1950s, when it was acquired by the Franciscan Order of Friars who then established a boarding school for boys in the grounds, known as Gormanston College. Since 2015, the school has been managed by Meath VEC under Franciscan trusteeship and is now largely a day school although there are still 70 boarders. The sports facilities and vacation accommodation for groups are separately managed by a new company Gormanston Park. According to ''The New Ireland Review'', April 1908, legend holds that when the head of the family is in his final hours, the foxes of County Meath, except for nursing vixens, emerge from their earths and make their way to the door of Gormanston Castle to keep vigil until he has died, in thanksgiving for the deliverance and protection from marauding predators of a vixen and her young by a previous Lord Gormanston.

Gormanston Camp

Gormanston Camp Gormanston Camp (Irish: ''Campa Rinn Mhic Ghormáin'') is a military camp in Ireland and consists of approximately 260 acres. It is used for air-ground and air-defence training. It is located between Balbriggan and Drogheda along the east coa ...

is currently home to B Company, 27 Infantry Battalion, of the

Irish Army The Irish Army, known simply as the Army ( ga, an tArm), is the land component of the Defence Forces of Ireland.The Defence Forces are made up of the Permanent Defence Forces – the standing branches – and the Reserve Defence Forces. The A ...

, and is a former aerodrome of the

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Transport

Gormanston is near the M1 Dublin–Belfast motorway and on the R132 regional road.

Gormanston railway station Gormanston railway station ( ga, Stáisiún Baile Mhic Gormáin, links=no) (often mistakenly written ''Gormanstown'') serves Gormanston, County Meath, Ireland. It is located between Balbriggan and Laytown, north of a cast-iron bridge on which th ...

, opened in May 1845, is on the Dublin–Belfast line.

Development

Gormanston underwent development in the first decade of the 21st century, including the opening of the CityNorth Business Park campus which is a mix of buildings, facilities, a hotel and services.