Mulhussey () is 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 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 ...

. It has a school, a castle with accompanying cemetery, a nearby church (or the 'Little Chapel', as it is commonly known) at the edge of the Kilcloon parish in Kilcock, and a religious antiquity, St Bridgid's Well, located in Calgath near Mulhussey.

History

Mulhussey's first inhabitants were the Husseys, a noble Norman family in the 13th century AD. The Lord of Trim at the time sent the Husseys to an area outside

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

, which at the time was very important because of the large Norman castle owned by the Fitzgeralds of

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 ...

. A tower house and manor was to be built and lived in by the Husseys to look after the land and protect it for the DeLacy family of Trim. Legend has it that toward the end of the 16th century AD, the last inhabitant of the tower house and manor ''or Mulhussey Castle'' as it is known today, was a bald lady. The literal translation for Maol Hosae is 'Hussey's Summit', but folklore provides a second translation. Combining the Irish word for bald and the Irish name for Hussey (''Maol and Hosae''), the land protected by the Hussey family was named Maol Hosae, which was anglicised to Mulhussey.

Geography

Mulhussey is located at the very south of County Meath in the parish of Kilcloon, along with neighbouring townlands Jenkinstown, Longtown, Kimmins Mill, Pagestown, Kilclone, Collistown and Rodanstown.

An Post (; literally 'The Post') is the state-owned provider of Mail, postal services in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. An Post provides a "universal postal service" to all parts of the country as a member of the Universal Postal Union. Services provide ...

delivers mail to people in Mulhussey from Kilcock post office in Kildare, which leads some people to believe Mulhussey is in Kildare county, but this is for postage convenience only. Mulhussey's closest towns and villages are Kilcock and Maynooth, 6 and 8 kilometres to the south respectively,

Dunboyne Dunboyne () is a town in County Meath, Ireland, north-west of Dublin city centre. It is a commuter town for Dublin. In the 20 years between the 1996 and 2016 censuses, the population of Dunboyne more than doubled from 3,080 to 7,272 inhabitan ...

16 kilometres to the east, Sumerhill 8 kilometres to the north, along with

Dunshaughlin Dunshaughlin ( or locally ) is a town in County Meath, Ireland. A commuter town for nearby Dublin, Dunshaughlin more than tripled in population (from 2,139 to 6,644 inhabitants) between the 1996 and 2022 censuses. The town is in a townland and ...

18 kilometres to the north. A tributary of the

River Tolka The River Tolka (; , "the flood"), also once spelled ''Tolga'', is one of Dublin's three main rivers, flowing from County Meath to Fingal within the old County Dublin, and through the north of Dublin city, Ireland (the other main rivers are t ...

flows through Muhussey and Kilclone townlands.

Sport

Mulhussey's inhabitants are eligible to join 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, Blackhall Gaels GAA. Training grounds are located in Pagestown and Batterstown - both with modern club houses and gym facilities. The club has men's

Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...

and ladies Gaelic football teams, with smaller teams for

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 ...

and

camogie Camogie ( ; ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the game "hurling" (which is played by men only), it is organised ...

also.

Developments

The area around Mulhussey has experienced a decline in population since 1991. The Central Statistics Office census records indicate that, in 1991, the Kilcloon census town had a population of 351, which by 2002 had fallen to 309, and by the time of the 2016 census, the population stood at 280 inhabitants. St Joseph's National School in Mulhussey, (located on the Summerhill road) which was established in 1964, had an enrollment of 74 pupils as of 2013, increasing to 81 as of early 2020. Mulhussey Castle, or tower house, still stands today on the road from Kilcock. The Mulhussey Graveyard Restoration Society have undertaken restoration work on the Mulhussey cemetery beside the castle.

References

External links