Delvin () is a village in

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 ...

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 on the N52 road at a junction with the N51 to

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 ...

. The town is from

Mullingar Mullingar ( ; ) is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. It is the third most populous town in the Midland Region, Ireland, Midland Region, with a population of 22,667 in the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census. The Counties of M ...

(along the N52). The word Delvin comes from Delbhna. That tribe settled in what is present-day Delvin, along with a branch of the Soghain, in '' Tricha céd na Delbna Móire agus na Sogan''.

Delvin Castle and Clonyn Castle

Delvin Castle (or Nugent Castle), now a ruin, was built in 1181 by

Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, 4th Baron Lacy (; before 1135 – 25 July 1186), was an Anglo-Normans, Anglo-Norman landowner and royal office-holder. He had substantial land holdings in Herefordshire and Shropshire. Following his participation in ...

for his brother-in-law, Gilbert de Nugent. De Nugent came to Ireland with de Lacy in 1171 and settled on some land in Delvin. De Nugent was granted the title Baron of Delvin within the

Lordship of Meath The Lordship of Meath was an extensive seigneurial liberty in medieval Ireland that was awarded to Hugh de Lacy by King Henry II of England by the service of fifty knights and with almost royal authority. The Lordship was roughly co-extensive wit ...

, a title now held by the Earl of Westmeath. The ruins of Nugent Castle (not publicly accessible) remain near the centre of the town. A second castle was built several centuries later, hundreds of metres from the centre of the Delvin settlement of that time. This building, known as Clonyn Castle, is situated south of Delvin between the N52 and the Collinstown road. Built in the mid-19th century, by Lord and Lady Greville Nugent, it was sold by the Nugent family in 1922. Changing hands several times during the 20th century, it is now a private residence.

Amenities

The 18-hole Delvin Castle Golf Club is located near the town. Between the 2002 and 2016 census, the population of the town more than doubled from 270 to 740 people. In addition to other developments, plans were unveiled for the provision of a new sports and leisure facility within the village To date, a walking track, floodlit football pitch and basic changing facilities have been provided on site.

Education

National (primary) schools in the area include St. Patrick's (Crowenstown), St. Tola's (Hiskinstown), and St. Ernan's National Schools.

People

Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th Baronet Sir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman, 7th Baronet (6 November 1846 – 8 April 1919) was an Anglo-Irish people, Anglo-Irish landowner, the last of the Chapman baronets of Killua Castle in County Westmeath, Ireland. For many years he lived under th ...

, landowner and father of T. E. Lawrence, was brought up at a large manor house near Delvin *

Laurence Ginnell Laurence Ginnell (baptised 9 April 1852 – 17 April 1923) was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary ...

, nationalist politician, was also from Delvin * Brinsley MacNamara, writer and Delvin native, set the 1918 novel '' Valley of the Squinting Windows'' in Delvin (under the fictitious name of "Garradrimna") * Mary McEvoy, actress who played Biddy Byrne in '' Glenroe'' is from Delvin

References

External links

Delvin Village website

Delvin Parish
{{County Westmeath Towns and villages in County Westmeath