Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the

County Westmeath County Westmeath (; or simply ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It formed part of the historic Kingdom of ...

border. It is around 15 km west of

Navan Navan ( ; , meaning "the Cave") is the county town and largest town of County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is at the confluence of the River Boyne and Leinster Blackwater, Blackwater, around 50 km northwest of Dublin. At the ...

and 50 km north-west of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The town 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.

History

In medieval times it was a walled stronghold of

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

. Eoin Roe O'Neill took it in 1643, and six years later

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

camped his

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

on the

Hill of Ward The Hill of Ward (, formerly ''Tlachtgha'') is a hill in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Geography The hill lies between Athboy (to the west) and Ráth Chairn (to the east). During medieval times it was the site of great festival ...

nearby. Also known as Tlachtga, the Hill of Ward was the location for the pagan feast of

Samhain Samhain ( , , , ) or () is a Gaels, Gaelic festival on 1 November marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter or the "Celtic calendar#Medieval Irish and Welsh calendars, darker half" of the year.Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, Ó hÓ ...

, the precursor of modern-day

Halloween Halloween, or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve), is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christianity, Western Christian f ...

. The tower of St James,

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

, is a remnant of a 14th-century

Carmelite The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

priory. Behind the church are the remains of the town walls. The church boasts an interesting medieval tabletop.

Athboy Athboy () is a small agricultural town located in County Meath. The town is located on the ''Yellow Ford River'', in wooded country near the County Westmeath border. It is around 15 km west of Navan and 50 km north-west of Dublin. T ...

was a constituency in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

from 1613 until the Act of Union in 1800. In 1694, the town's 'lands and commons' and several other denominations of land were erected into a manor and granted to

Thomas Bligh Lieutenant-General Thomas Bligh (1685–1775) was a British Army officer best known for his service during the Seven Years' War when he led a series of amphibious raids, known as " descents" on the French coastline. Despite initial success in th ...

, MP for Athboy, who had earlier purchased almost 12 km² (3000 acres) in the area of Athboy. His son, John, was created

Earl of Darnley Earl of Darnley is a hereditary title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation in the Scots Peerage came in 1580 in favour of Esme Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox, ...

in 1725 and the Blighs (Earls of Darnley) were landlords of all but six of the 27 townlands in the parish of Athboy throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

Ivo Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley (13 March 1859 – 10 April 1927), styled The Honourable Ivo Bligh until 1900, lord of the manor of Cobham, Kent, was a British nobleman, parliamentarian and cricketer. Bligh captained the Engl ...

placed the fee-simple of the town of Athboy up for public auction in June 1909. The townspeople formed their own branch of The Town Tenants League and with the aid of Joseph Coghlan-Briscoe, national secretary of the league, they were able to purchase their homes and businesses via private treaty. The demesne of the Darnley Estate at Clifton Lodge just outside the town was sold in 1909 to Welsh explorer Mordecai Jones. Not long after Jones' death in 1913 his Japanese manservant Sanotic Koniste was found murdered in a field not far from Clifton Lodge. Both Jones and Koniste are buried in the graveyard of St. James' Church.

Transport

Rail

Athboy railway station opened on 26 February 1864, at the end of a branch from

Kilmessan Kilmessan () is a village in County Meath, Ireland. It is situated 10/15 minutes away from Dunshaughlin, Trim and Navan, 6 km from the M3 motorway. The village has a primary school, shop, post office and several pubs. The Station House Hote ...

via

Trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutting or trimming small pieces off something to remove them ** Book trimming, a stage of the publishing process ** Pruning, trimming as a form of pruning often used on trees Decoration * Trim (sewing), or ...

. It closed to passengers on 27 January 1947 and to goods traffic on 10 March 1947, but the branch remained open for

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

trains until final closure on 1 September 1954. The station building, and the nearby engine shed, are now private residences.

Bus

Today the town has regular bus services to

Granard Granard () is a town in the north of County Longford, Ireland, and has a traceable history going back to 236 CE. It is situated just south of the boundary between the watersheds of the Shannon and the Erne, at the point where the N55 ...

and

Cavan Cavan ( ; ) is the county town of County Cavan in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies in Ulster, near the border with County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The town is bypassed by the main N3 road (Ireland), N3 road that links Dublin ( ...

which are provided as

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

route 111 though passengers to/from

and

must change bus at Athboy. A

route, 190A, was introduced in 2013 to provide direct service to

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2022 census ...

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

and

Laytown Laytown () is a village in County Meath, Ireland, located on the R150 regional road and overlooking the Irish Sea. Historically it was called ''Ninch'', after the townland it occupies. Together with the neighbouring villages of Mornington, ...

. This service was discontinued in 2016. Although additional 111 services were added to include a non-stop service to Dublin and bus connections for

Clonmellon Clonmellon (, but also attested to originally have been ''Cluain Miolain'') is a small village officially in County Westmeath although on the border with County Meath, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an i ...

. During college terms there is a Sundays-only route 070 coach to

Athlone Athlone (; ) is a town on the border of County Roscommon and County Westmeath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the River Shannon near the southern shore of Lough Ree. It is the second most populous town in the Midland Region, Ir ...

and

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

Education

As well as rural primary schools in Rathmore and Rathcairn, O'Growney National School had provided education for the Athboy population since 1949. A new school building was opened in 2016. In terms of secondary education, the former St. Joseph's Convent of Mercy amalgamated with Athboy Vocational School in 2004 to form Athboy Community School. In 2011, the school relocated to a site behind the former vocational school.

Sport

Local sports clubs are Clann na nGael GAA (the local Gaelic football and hurling), and Athboy Celtic FC (a soccer club). Athboy RFC (a rugby union club) was formed in the area in 1978.

Popular culture

On 4 May 2011, Athboy featured on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's ''Dirty Old Towns'' programme, in which the local community came together to convert an old piggery into a Farmers' Market. Athboy has been the home of the

Blue Jean Country Queen Festival The Blue Jean County Queen is a festival run by Meath Macra na Feirme that has taken place over the June Bank Holiday weekend in Athboy, Co. Meath since 1987. History In 1987, Patrick Farrelly a member of Macra na Feirme from Carnaross was in ...

since 1987. The festival, which takes place over the June Bank Holiday weekend, is run by the Meath County executive of

Macra na Feirme Macra na Feirme (; officially meaning 'stalwarts of the land') is an Ireland, Irish voluntary rural youth organisation. It provides a social outlet for members in sport, travel, public speaking, performing arts, community involvement and agricult ...

and invites contestants from all over Ireland and abroad to compete for the title of Blue Jean Country Queen. In 2014, the festival was almost moved to the nearby town of

, however, the intervention of local businesses and, in particular, the local

Credit Union A credit union is a member-owned nonprofit organization, nonprofit cooperative financial institution. They may offer financial services equivalent to those of commercial banks, such as share accounts (savings accounts), share draft accounts (che ...

branch ensured that the festival remained in Athboy for the foreseeable future. In 2018, The Flame of Samhain Festival was launched as part of The Spirits of Meath Halloween Festival to celebrate Athboy's links to Halloween. The following year, Fáilte Ireland launched the Púca Festival was launched which incorporated the traditional celebration on the Hill of Ward with a larger festival spread between Athboy, Trim and Drogheda. The festival is expected to bring €12 million for the local economy by 2020.

People

* Nigel Connell, singer & songwriter, a finalist in The Voice Of Ireland (RTE) * John Gilroy, author and former Labour politician and member of

Seanad Éireann Seanad Éireann ( ; ; "Senate of Ireland") is the senate of the Oireachtas (the Irish legislature), which also comprises the President of Ireland and Dáil Éireann (defined as the house of representatives). It is commonly called the Seanad or ...

* Frederick Harvey, recipient of the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious decoration of the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British decorations system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British ...

* Jamie McGrath, football player currently playing for

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

* Fr

Eugene O'Growney Eugene O'Growney (; born 25 August 1863 at Ballyfallon, Athboy, County Meath, died 18 October 1899 in Los Angeles, California), was an Irish priest and scholar, and a key figure in the Gaelic revival of the late 19th century. Early life and edu ...

, key figure in the

Gaelic Revival The Gaelic revival () was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including folklore, mythology, sports, music, arts, etc.). Irish had diminished as a sp ...

References

Sources

* Noel E. French, ''A short history of Rathmore and Athboy'' (1995) * Beryl F.E. Moore, "Tombs in Athboy Graveyard", ''Irish Ancestor'', volume 13 (1981), pp. 123–4

External links

Athboy community directory

Athboy Parish

Athboy 100
{{Towns and villages in County Meath Towns and villages in County Meath Civil parishes of County Meath Former boroughs in the Republic of Ireland