Crossakiel or Crossakeel ( Irish: ''Crosa Caoil'', meaning "the crosses of Caol") 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 sou ...

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 situated in the north-west of the county, at the junction of the R154 and the L2801, approximately 13km south of Oldcastle and 12km north of Athboy.

History

It is believed that a settlement may have existed in Crossakiel since the Bronze Age, as evidenced by the barrow mound in the centre of the village, around which the 19th-century village has developed. Following the

Siege of Drogheda The siege of Drogheda or the Drogheda massacre took place 3–11 September 1649, at the outset of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland. The coastal town of Drogheda was held by the Irish Catholic Confederation and English Royalists under ...

in 1649, it is believed that during his conquest of Ireland,

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 Ki ...

surveyed the view over the nearby townland of Clonabreany from Crossakiel Hill, when he gave 2,000 acres of land that was previously owned by the Plunkett family to the Wade family, which resulted in the construction of a Norman castle and settlement. This was later demolished to facilitate the construction of Clonabreany House, which is now a wedding venue. Crossakiel in 1837 was a post town with 200 inhabitants living in 60 houses and amenities including a police station, a Church of Ireland church, a pharmacy and a primary school.

Geography

Crossakiel is situated in north-west

, near the border with

County Cavan County Cavan ( ; gle, Contae an Chabháin) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Border Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is base ...

. It is 3km from

Kilskyre Kilskeer or Kilskyre is a townland and small village in County Meath, Ireland, southwest of the town of Kells. It is the birthplace of Brian O'Higgins, the revolutionary and poet who was president of Sinn Féin in the 1930s. Jim Connell, the ...

, 9km from Kells, 13km from Oldcastle and 12km from Athboy. Situated at the crossroads of the R154 regional road and the L2801

local road The road hierarchy categorizes roads according to their functions and capacities. While sources differ on the exact nomenclature, the basic hierarchy comprises freeways, arterials, collectors, and local roads. Generally, the functional hierarchy ...

, the latter linking to the R163 regional road between Oldcastle and Kells, the village is built around a triangular green known locally as "The Diamond". The Tremblestown River, which is located around 1.1km west of the village is a tributary of the

Kells Blackwater The Kells Blackwater ( ga, An Abhainn Dubh), also called the River Blackwater or Leinster Blackwater, is a river that flows through the counties of Cavan and Meath in Ireland. It is a tributary of the River Boyne which flows into the Irish Se ...

Facilities

There is no primary school in the village, with the nearest primary schools in Kilskyre and Drumbaragh and secondary schools in Kells and Athboy. There are two public houses in the village - McCabe's and The Welcome Wagon. A handball alley is also situated in Crossakiel. The sport has been played in the village since as early as the 1920s. While there is no Catholic church in the village, St Shiria's Church on its southern outskirts previously served the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

populace in the parish of Kilskyre, with records dating back to May 1761. The church was deconsecrated on 26 January 1962, with Meath County Council taking ownership in 1981.

Transportation

The village is not served by a public transport service, with nearby connections at Athboy, Kells and Oldcastle.

References

{{Towns and villages in County Meath County Meath

History

Geography

Facilities

Transportation

See also

References