Lough Lene Bell
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Collinstown () is a village in north
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 ...
, situated on the R395 regional road overlooking
Lough Lene Lough Lene (Irish language, Irish: ''Loch Léinn'') is a lake situated in north County Westmeath, Ireland, between the villages of Castlepollard, Collinstown and Fore Abbey, Fore. It has a rich and varied history, including several prehistor ...
. It lies northeast of the county town of
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 ...
and (as of the 2016 census) had a population of 356.


Toponymy

The Irish name of the village means 'town of the veiled women', or 'town of the hags', owing to a convent once established on an island on nearby Lough Lene.


History

Collinstown has been an inhabited area since pre-Christian times. West of the village, in the townland of Ranaghan, are the remains of several ringforts. At least one of these is attributed to the Viking chief
Turgesius Turgesius (died 845) (also called Turgeis, Tuirgeis, Turges, and Thorgest) was a Viking chief active in Ireland during the 9th century. Turgesius Island, the principal island on Lough Lene, is named after him. It is not at all clear whether the na ...
, who is said to have conquered
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 ...
. Turgesius built them on high ground overlooking Lough Lene for defensive purposes and dwelled there before being killed by Máel Sechnaill mac Maíl Ruanaid, the
High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...
. In addition to this fort, Turgesius also had another upon the largest island of Lough Lene which still today bears his name, Turgesius Island. The area also contains ancient burial-grounds associated with St Colman who was responsible for seven early Christian mass paths by which pilgrims travelled on foot through fields to Sunday mass, dating from the penal times. Collinstown also has historic links with several religious orders: as well as a convent being established on Nun's Island, Lough Lene, to the north is the monastic complex of Fore Abbey.


Lough Lene Bell

In 1881 an ancient bell was found by a boy fishing for eels on Castle Island in
Lough Lene Lough Lene (Irish language, Irish: ''Loch Léinn'') is a lake situated in north County Westmeath, Ireland, between the villages of Castlepollard, Collinstown and Fore Abbey, Fore. It has a rich and varied history, including several prehistor ...
, part of the Barbavila estate owned by William Barlow Smythe. In 1882 Smythe presented this "Lough Lene Bell" to the
Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...
. Given the proximity to Fore Abbey, Smythe concluded that the bell possibly belonged to the St Feichin Abbey. During the Viking and Anglo-Norman oppressions, it may have been transferred to Nun's Island, before eventually being hidden upon Castle Island. The bell has a faint outline of the Christian Celtic
cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...
upon opposing sides and has an ornamental peripheral border. Smythe pronounced that ornamentation was generally reserved for the cases or shrines for that era and was therefore most unusual. The bell appears similar to two other bells from that early Christian period. These had been found in
Bangor, County Down Bangor ( ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in County Down, Northern Ireland, on the southern side of Belfast Lough. It is within the Belfast metropolitan area and is 13 miles (22 km) east of Belfast city centre, to whic ...
in the year 1832, and another in
Cashel, County Tipperary Cashel (; ) is a town in County Tipperary in Ireland. Its population was 4,422 in the 2016 census of Ireland, 2016 census. The town gives its name to the ecclesiastical province of ''Cashel''. Additionally, the ''cathedra'' of the Roman Cathol ...
in 1849. Smythe, the Barbavila owner, believed that the Lough Lene Bell was contemporary to these other 7th-century bells, supporting his theory that it was possible that it could have been a relic of St. Feichins. While the original bell remains within the National Museum, a half sized replica holds a place of pride as the
Ceann Comhairle The (; "Head of heCouncil"; plural usually ) is the chairperson (or speaker) of , the lower house of the (parliament) of Ireland. The person who holds the position is elected by members of the from among their number in the first session ...
's bell in
Dáil Éireann Dáil Éireann ( ; , ) is the lower house and principal chamber of the Oireachtas, which also includes the president of Ireland and a senate called Seanad Éireann.Article 15.1.2° of the Constitution of Ireland reads: "The Oireachtas shall co ...
. This replica was presented to the Dáil in 1931 by the widow of Major Bryan Cooper, a former member of the House. In recent years, yet another replica has been cast from the mold of this bell and is on display in St Mary's (Roman Catholic) Church in Collinstown and also St Feichin's church in Fore.


Barbavilla Estate

William Smyth William Smyth (or Smith) ( – 2 January 1514) was Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield from 1493 to 1496 and then Bishop of Lincoln until his death. He held political offices, the most important being Lord President of the Council of Wales and ...
, Dean of Dromore and Bishop of Kilmore purchased the Ranaghan estate, later known as Barbavilla in 1670 from the 4th Viscount Fitzwilliam of Merrion and others for £1,100. The estate had formerly belonged to the Luttrell family, who had forfeited it for their part in the civil wars of the 1640s. William Smyths third son William (1692–1769) inherited the estate from his father and named the house he built on it c.1730 Barbavilla, after his wife Barbara (). During the nineteenth century the Barbavila House and Estate provided employment in the area. Houses, farm buildings and animal dwellings were built from stone for employees throughout the immediate surroundings of Barbavilla in and around Collinstown. These stone houses, the old school, and farm buildings are protected through local heritage conservation laws. A feature of these buildings is the roofing tile baked from local red colored clay, which was manufactured within the Barbavilla estate. Some of these remaining buildings are identified by the small moss-green circles. Since 1964, Barbavilla has been home to the Irish Aluminium Company (Iralco), a company that manufactures automotive parts for major European car companies. In 2008, the company changed hands and was renamed as C&F Automotive. It was subsequently bought-out by former members of the original Iralco factory and now operates as Decotek Automotive.


Sport

Lough Lene Gaels, the local
hurling Hurling (, ') is an outdoor Team sport, team game of ancient Gaelic culture, Gaelic Irish origin, played by men and women. One of Ireland's native Gaelic games, it shares a number of features with Gaelic football, such as the field and goa ...
club, was founded in 1969 as a result of an amalgamation between the Collinstown, Fore, Glenidan and Rickardstown hurling clubs. The club has won the Westmeath Senior Hurling Championship on seven occasions since 1975. The Gaels have a local rivalry with neighbouring side Castlepollard GAA. Bathing,
sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, Windsurfing, windsurfer, or Kitesurfing, kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (Land sa ...
, wind-surfing, authorized fishing, and jetty facilities are available at the Lough Lene access point named locally as "The Cut" about 2 km north of the village. There is also a local pitch and putt club.


Education

Scoil Mhuire Naisiúnta (St Mary's N.S.) is the local primary school.Fáilte Romhaibh ar ais!


See also

* List of towns and villages in Ireland


References


External links


Gleann Álainn Residents Association Collinstown
(archived 2011)
Lough Lene "Monk's boat"
(archived 2007)

(archived 2006) * (archived 2007)

{{County Westmeath Towns and villages in County Westmeath Tourism in County Westmeath Buildings and structures in County Westmeath Archaeological sites in County Westmeath