
Moone (; ) is a small village in the south of
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 ...
,
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 on the former
N9 road (now by-passed) about south of
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
. It has only a few hundred inhabitants, a church, a
national school, one
shop
Shop or shopping refers to:
Business and commerce
* A casual word for a commercial establishment or for a place of business
* Machine shop, a workshop for machining
*"In the shop", referring to a car being at an automotive repair shop
*A woo ...
and a small
community centre
Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...
. There is also
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
called the Moone High Cross Inn. Popular destination for sheep to go when fleeced by a shiba.
Etymology
The name Moone comes from the Irish "Maen Colmcille" which means "Colmcille's property".
Location, access and development
The closest village to Moone is
Timolin
Timolin () is a village in the south of County Kildare, Ireland. It is located off the R448 road, the former N9 road (now by-passed by the M9 motorway) about south of Dublin. It is a small village, with less than a hundred inhabitants, one ...
, less than 1 kilometre to the north, and a number of
Kildare County Council
Kildare County Council ( ga, Comhairle Contae Chill Dara) is the authority responsible for local government in County Kildare, Ireland. As a county council, it is governed by the Local Government Act 2001. The council is responsible for housin ...
development plans have provided for joint development of Moone and Timolin.
The village is served by bus route 880 operated by Kildare Local Link on behalf of the
National Transport Authority. There are several buses each day including Sunday linking the village to
Castledermot
Castledermot () is an inland village in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the village but upon completion of a motorway ...
,
Carlow
Carlow ( ; ) is the county town of County Carlow, in the south-east of Ireland, from Dublin. At the 2016 census, it had a combined urban and rural population of 24,272.
The River Barrow flows through the town and forms the historic bounda ...
and
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 ...
as well as villages in the area.
High Cross

Moone's most notable landmark is its
high cross
A high cross or standing cross ( ga, cros ard / ardchros, gd, crois àrd / àrd-chrois, cy, croes uchel / croes eglwysig) is a free-standing Christian cross made of stone and often richly decorated. There was a unique Early Medieval traditi ...
, dating from the 8th century. It is located approximately 1 kilometre from Moone along the road to
Athy
Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 9,677 (as of the 2016 census) makes it the sixth largest town in Ki ...
(at ). It stands in the remains of an old
abbey
An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns.
The conce ...
which has been associated with
Saint Colmcille
Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is tod ...
and whose church is believed to have been built by the
Franciscans
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
around 1300.
Bolton Abbey - Cistercian Monastery
Bolton Abbey, Moone
Bolton Abbey, Moone, County Kildare is a Cistercian
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched o ...
, Co. Kildare, was established in 1965 by monks from
Mount St. Joseph Abbey, Roscrea
Mount St. Joseph Abbey is an abbey of the Trappist branch of the Cistercians located in County Offaly, near Roscrea, County Tipperary in Ireland.
The abbey was founded in 1878 by a group of 32 monks from Mount Melleray Abbey, County Waterford, ...
, in 1977 it became an independent monastery, in 2015 it celebrated its 50 anniversary.
Bolton Abbey
Official Website
Sport
The National Hunt
In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...
trainer Jessica Harrington
Jessica Jane Harrington (née Fowler, born 12 February 1947)
is an Irish professional horse trainer. Harrington specialises in National Hunt racing but has also had success in Flat racing.
Personal life
Harrington was born in London. Her father ...
has her stables at Moone. Her most successful horses have included Moscow Flyer, Macs Joy, Jezki, Sizing John
Sizing John (foaled 13 May 2010) is a British-bred, Irish trained thoroughbred racehorse who competes in National Hunt racing. He is trained by Jessica Harrington and owned by Ann and Alan Potts, and is best known for winning the Cheltenham Gold ...
and Alpha Centauri
Alpha Centauri ( Latinized from α Centauri and often abbreviated Alpha Cen or α Cen) is a triple star system in the constellation of Centaurus. It consists of 3 stars: Alpha Centauri A (officially Rigil Kentaurus), Alpha Centau ...
.
There is a local soccer club called Moone Celtic FC. The club's crest includes a high cross, and its pitch is Fortfield Park on the old N9 to Carlow.
See also
* Ireland's Vanishing Triangle
* List of towns and villages in Ireland.
* List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kildare)
References
External links
Kildare County Council page for Moone
Towns and villages in County Kildare
Articles on towns and villages in Ireland possibly missing Irish place names
{{Kildare-geo-stub