Agher () is a crossroads and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

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 ...

. It is located southwest of Summerhill. Agher is in a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

of the same name.

Agher Demesne

Turn left at the crossroads; continue a kilometre down the road and on the left is the entrance to Agher Demesne or also called Agher Pallis. This was the seat of the Winter family, and had a number of out-houses, gardens, and orchards. The residence was situated in a demesne of about 350 acres. It is said that the cottages on his estate were excellent, showing Winter's regard for comfort of his tenants and employees.

Agher House

Agher House faced east with the wing to the south side. The gardens included trees and shrubs, with a pond to the west of the house. The Winters had many servants including a butler, cook, housekeeper and maids as well as a coachman, a carpenter and a gardener. In the early 1930s Colonel Winter sold the estate to the Irish Land Commission. The Land Commission divided the land among some local people and people from the west and south of Ireland. The Commission tried to sell the house but could get no offers and in 1947 a decision was taken to demolish the house by controlled explosion. The rubble was pushed into the basement of the former mansion and a modern house was built beside it. The site retains some original features like the entrance, gate lodges, out-offices and the farmyard.

Agher Church

Agher Church is the local

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

church. The church holds a very important stained-glass window made by Thomas Jervais. It is the second-earliest known Irish-made stained-glass window. The unusual subject is St Paul preaching to the Athenians on top of Mars Hill outside the Court of Areopagus. The window was originally erected in the private chapel of the nearby Dangan Castle, the former stately home and seat of the Wellesley family (the childhood home of

Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington (; 1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was a British Army officer and statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures in Britain during t ...

), which burnt down in the 1809. The window was presented to Agher by the O'Connor family, who were then occupying Dangan. Soon after the new Agher Church was constructed, Samuel Winter erected a family burial vault in the churchyard. Agher church was re-built in 1902. The church's history goes back to 1407, when The Reverend W. Edwards and Reverend N. Vale was a part of the clergy. The poet, political writer, and clergyman

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

(1667–1745) was rector of the ''Church of Ireland'' Church at Agher. The adjoining cemetery contains the graves of the Winter family, who provided the land on which the church was built in 1802. Members of the

O'Higgins Family O'Higgins (Irish: ''Ó hUiginn'') is an Irish noble family. Its Ballynary line is descended from Shean Duff O'Higgins (fl. 1600 C.E.), Gaelic Baron of Ballynary, who was married to a daughter of the royal family of O'Conor at Ballintuber Castl ...

who were descended from the Barons of Ballynary in

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

and of whom

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...

of Chile was a kinsman are also buried in Agher Cemetery. Agher Church is in the Rathmolyon and Dunboyne Union of parishes. The rector of the union is Rev. Eugene Griffin.

Sport

Summerhill Golf Club is a 9 hold golf course located on the Rathmolyon end of the area close to the Rahinstown Estate. It is owned by the Nangle family. As of 2013, the captain was Joe Crowe. Agher's local Association football (soccer) club is Park Celtic Summerhill. Originally formed in the 1980s as Agher Park FC, with just one team playing in the Meath and District League, the club grew to 12 teams by 1995. Agher Park FC amalgamated in 2009 with another local club Summerhill Celtic to become Park Celtic Summerhill.

References

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