Johnstownbridge ( or ''Droichead Baile Sheáin'') is a

commuter town A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

located in north

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

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 lies in the parish of Cadamstown, in the district of Balyna, and

barony of Carbury Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

. It is located on the R402 road between Enfield and

Edenderry Edenderry (; ) is a town in east County Offaly, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is near the borders with Counties County Kildare, Kildare, County Meath, Meath and County Westmeath, Westmeath. The Grand Canal of Ireland, Grand Canal runs along ...

just off the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is the third longest motorway in the United Kingdom, running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh ele ...

. As of the 2016 census, Johnstownbridge had a population of 683 people, up from 211 in the 2002 census.

History

A freestanding limestone cross of disputed provenance stands at Johnstown Crossroads dating to 1412. The bridge was the scene of a battle in the

1798 rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1798 (; Ulster-Scots: ''The Turn out'', ''The Hurries'', 1798 Rebellion) was a popular insurrection against the British Crown in what was then the separate, but subordinate, Kingdom of Ireland. The main organising force ...

between Michael Aylmer's rebel forces and British colonial forces. Johnstownbridge had a patent granted in the 17th century for holding a weekly market on Monday, but Lewis's Topography noted in 1837 that "this privilege has not been enjoyed for many years: fairs are held on March 31st, May 29th, Oct. 13th, and Dec. 21st." Lewis also noted "a curious old cross, the only relic to mark the site of an abbey that formerly existed here.". A constabulary police station was based here in the first half of the 19th century. One of

Daniel O'Connell Daniel(I) O’Connell (; 6 August 1775 – 15 May 1847), hailed in his time as The Liberator, was the acknowledged political leader of Ireland's Roman Catholic majority in the first half of the 19th century. His mobilisation of Catholic Irelan ...

's colleagues in Irish independence movement

Richard More O'Ferrall Richard More O'Ferrall (10 April 1797 – 27 October 1880) was an Irish politician, a high level British government official and a Governor of Malta. Born to a noble Irish Catholic family at Balyna, he was the eldest son and heir of Ambrose ...

(1797–1880), MP for Kildare 1839-57 and 1859–65, lived in Balyna house.

Amenities

The town is served by Saint Patrick's National School. The town's Gothic-style Catholic church dates to c.1830, and is also dedicated to Saint Patrick.

Johnstownbridge GAA Johnstownbridge GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) club in the village of Johnstownbridge, County Kildare, Ireland, Winner of eleven senior county championships across football and camogie and Kildare club of the year in 1983. Gaelic F ...

, the local

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

club, has won the Kildare football championship three times and their camogie team has won multiple All-Ireland titles.

Notable people

* Daniel Flynn – Kildare Senior footballer and former Australian rules footballer, grew up on a farm near Johnstownbridge * Colonel Francis Forde (1718–1769) – Anglo-Irish military officer and

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

officer, built and lived in Johnstown House, 1 km north of Johnstownbridge * Major Edward Dudley Metcalfe (1887–1957) –

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

officer and

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire, and Emperor of India, from 20 January ...

, born and raised in Metcalfe Park House in Gorteen, Johnstownbridge *

Damien Molony Damien Molony is an Irish actor. He is best known for his television roles as Hal Yorke in BBC Three's '' Being Human'', DC Albert Flight in the BBC's '' Ripper Street'', DS Jack Weston in Channel 5's '' Suspects'', Jon in Channel 4's '' GameFa ...

– Irish actor, grew up in Johnstownbridge *

Rory O'Moore Sir Rory O'Moore (; c. 1600 – 16 February 1655), also known Sir Roger O'Moore or O'More or Sir Roger Moore, was an Irish landowner, and is most notable for being one of the four principal organisers of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Early life ...

(1600-1655) - Leader of the

1641 Rebellion The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and return of confiscat ...

was likely born at Balyna House, 4km west of Johnstownbridge.https://seamusdubhghaill.com/2024/02/16/death-of-rory-omoore-organizer-of-the-irish-rebellion-of-1641/

References

{{Reflist Towns and villages in County Kildare