Swan or The Swan () is a small village in

County Laois County Laois ( ; gle, Contae Laoise) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and in the province of Leinster. It was known as Queen's County from 1556 to 1922. The modern county takes its name from Loígis, a med ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. Around 20 km south-east of

Portlaoise Portlaoise ( ), or Port Laoise (), is the county town of County Laois, Ireland. It is located in the South Midlands in the province of Leinster. The 2016 census shows that the town's population increased by 9.5% to 22,050, which was well above t ...

, it lies near the

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

border where the R430 regional road crosses the R426. The village lies within the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic orig ...

of Slatt (Lower), in the civil parish of Rathaspick.

History

The Swan is a relatively "new" village in County Laois, and is named after a local public house, The Swan Inn. A

fire clay Fire clay is a range of refractory clays used in the manufacture of ceramics, especially fire brick. The United States Environmental Protection Agency defines fire clay very generally as a "mineral aggregate composed of hydrous silicates of alumi ...

factory was opened in the area in 1935 to take advantage of local fire clay deposits.

Amenities

The village is largely linear, developed along the R430 regional road. There are no shops in the village, and it is served primarily by the pub, and a community centre in the centre of the village. Other community amenities include an outdoor playground and playing pitches. The local national (primary) school is Swan National School.

Economy

Fleming's Fireclays was started by PJ Fleming in 1935. It generated employment for the village and the surrounding areas and provided housing for many of its workers. These houses constituted nearly all the dwellings in the village until 2003, when two new housing projects began and the number of houses has almost doubled as a result. The factory utilises fireclay, which is an abundant local resource, to make bricks and chimney flues. The factory was rebranded as Lagan Brick when Flemings Fireclay was absorbed into the Lagan Group.

Sport

St Joseph's is the local

Gaelic Athletic Association The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA; ga, Cumann Lúthchleas Gael ; CLG) is an Irish international amateur sporting and cultural organisation, focused primarily on promoting indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, which include the traditional ...

club and takes its players from Luggacurren, Wolfhill and Ballyadams. Some players of note from the Swan have included Tom Kelly and Joe Higgins, both of whom received

GAA All Stars Awards The Gaelic Athletic Association-Gaelic Players' Association All Stars Awards (often known simply as the All Stars) are awarded annually to the best player in each of the 15 playing positions in Gaelic football and hurling. Additionally, one playe ...

in 2003. Joe Higgins also won several boxing titles, including nine Leinster and two

All-Ireland All-Ireland (sometimes All-Island) refers to all of Ireland, as opposed to the separate jurisdictions of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. "All-Ireland" is most frequently used to refer to sporting teams or events for the entire islan ...

boxing titles. The local soccer team, Wolfhill Athletic, play in the Premier Division of the Carlow League. In the 2004/2005 season, the club won the Carlow Challenge cup. There is also an Over 35's team which has won their league in 2006/2007, 2008/2009 and 2009/2010. Former jockey turned trainer, Kevin O'Brien, and his stable of horses have established themselves in the village. Successful horses have included ''Unique Moment'' and ''Duty'', which were owned by a local syndicate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Swan, County Laois Towns and villages in County Laois

History

Amenities

Economy

Sport

See also

References