Kentstown () is a village in

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 ...

at the junction of the R153 and R150 regional roads. The village is in a

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 ...

and

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

There are two churches in Kentstown, the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

Church of the Assumption (built in 1844 by the then parish priest Revd. J. Sheridan) and the

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 ...

Saint Mary's (built in 1798 with funds from the local

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

Somerville family). The Somerville family mausoleum can be found at the back of the church. The ruins of a medieval church are located in Danestown Cemetery, just outside of Kentstown which is next to Danestown Fort. In the Church of Ireland church, Saint Mary's, is an effigy in the shape of a medieval

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 9th and 10th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norma ...

knight carved on a slab. The knight wears a tight-fitting jupon and has a dagger on his right hip. An inscription, in Latin, accompanies it: "Here lies Thomas de

Tuite Tuite is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Aidan Tuite, Irish Gaelic footballer *Gerry Tuite (1910–1990), Australian rules footballer *Hugh Morgan Tuite (1795–1868), Irish politician *James Tuite (1849–1916), Irish watchmak ...

, Knight, once Lord of Kentstown, who died on 2nd June 1363". The Catholic church, the Church of the Assumption, was built on land donated by James Kinsella of Veldonstown and £200 was donated by

William Somerville, 1st Baron Athlumney William Meredyth Somerville, 1st Baron Athlumney, 1st Baron Meredyth PC (1802 – 7 December 1873), known as Sir William Somerville, Bt, between 1831 and 1863, was an Anglo-Irish Liberal politician. He was born in 1802. Background and educat ...

for its construction. The church, which was dedicated in 1854, has a

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

facade, paired with 5 bays of tall Gothic windows. Within the church is a medieval

holy water Holy water is water that has been blessed by a member of the clergy or a religious figure, or derived from a well or spring considered holy. The use for cleansing prior to a baptism and spiritual cleansing is common in several religions, from ...

font moved from the old ruined church in nearby Timoole. An inscription on the font reads: "This font stone was built by Robar e Hollywood, Anno Domini,1597, he being proctor (PlsXXVIII7XXIX)". There is also a large painting depicting the marriage of Saint Catherine to the side of the main door which was donated by the local Somerville family. The large marble

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

was brought from the Augustinian church in

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 ...

. At the back of the altar, an inscription reads, "Erected at the request of Maria Soran Railthogue by her executors Christoper Daly and Thomas Byrne, Dec. 1907." Amedeo Guillet, a

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Italian cavalry officer and former diplomat, retired to Kentstown in 1974 with his wife and lived in the old Protestant village rectory. They spent a large portion of their summers there and Guillet hunted with the Tara Harriers and the Meath hounds.

Demographics

In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 census, the population of Kentstown more than tripled from 324 to 1,179 inhabitants. According to the 2016 census, 71% of the village's homes (252 of 353 households) were built between 1991 and 2010.

Transport

Kentstown village is served by

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 105, which operates hourly in each direction providing links to

Duleek Duleek (; ) is a small town in County Meath, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Duleek takes its name from the Irish language, Irish words ''daimh'' and ''liag'', meaning house of stones, referring to an early stone-built church, St. Cianán's Churc ...

and in the other direction to Ashbourne,

Ratoath Ratoath () is a commuter town in County Meath, Ireland. A branch of the Broad Meadow Water (Broadmeadow River) () flows through the town. The R125 and R155 roads meet in the village. At the 2022 census, there were 10,007 people living in Ra ...

and

Blanchardstown Blanchardstown () is a large outer suburb of Dublin in the modern Counties of Ireland, county of Fingal, Ireland. Located northwest of Dublin city centre, it has developed since the 1960s from a small village to a point where Greater Blanchards ...

. In addition, route 103X (

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 ...

- Ashbourne-

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 ...

) provides a limited service of a morning journey to Dublin and an evening journey to

Mondays to Fridays inclusive. In 2023 a new Transport for Ireland local link bus route, the 188 was added to Kentstown. The route, which starts in

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 ...

and ends in

connects Kentstown with other local villages and towns such as

, Donore and

and also Newgrange Neolithic tomb.

Nanny River

The

Nanny A nanny is a person who provides child care. Typically, this care is given within the children's family setting. Throughout history, nannies were usually servants in large households and reported directly to the lady of the house. Today, modern ...

rises outside of Kentstown, and flows about 18 miles to the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

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, ...

Notes

Towns and villages in County Meath Townlands of County Meath Civil parishes of County Meath {{Meath-geo-stub