| Abbeyleix Mainistir Laoise |
||
| Location | ||
|
||
| Irish grid reference S435850 |
||
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Leinster | |
| County: | County Laois | |
| Elevation: | 129 m | |
|
Population (2006) |
1,568 2,679 |
|
Abbeyleix or Abbeylaois (Irish: Mainistir Laoise, meaning "Laois Abbey") is a town in County Laois, Ireland about 14 km from Portlaoise. It is located on the N8 National Primary Route. The town is a major bottleneck on this route, with up to 15,000 vehicles passing through the towns main street everyday. The town will be bypassed as part of the M8/M7 Portlaoise-Cullahill motorway which is currently under construction and due to open late 2010.
Contents |
History
Abbeyleix was founded in the 18th century as a town by Viscount de Vesci and is situated near a 12th century Cistercian monastery beside the River Nore. Today, there is a large range of historical structures still standing in and around the small village - ancient ring forts, burial grounds, early monastic buildings, Norman and mediaeval castles, churches and colonial estate houses. The town once had a carpet factory - notably producing some of the carpets used on the RMS Titanic.
There is a heritage house located in the old Patrician monastery schoolhouse which provides information on the towns history. Abbeyleix was made a Heritage town of Ireland several years ago.
the town is home to the famous jungle joe, this local hero can be seen leading the hunt on st stevens day.
Transport
Abbeyleix railway station opened on 1 March 1865, but finally closed on 1 January 1963.[1]
Amenities
There is a district hospital in the town, and a number of shops and pubs. The Father Breen Park forms the nexus for a great many activities, providing fields for soccer, football and other sports, while the adjacent CYMS hall is home to numerous clubs, such as boxing and tae-kwon-do. The town boasts a newly built hotel - the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel. The hotel has recently extended to 46 bedrooms. A new state of the art conference centre is due open in early spring 2007.
Buildings of note
- Abbeyleix Market House is a 5 bay, 2 story building which was until 2005 used as a fire station and library. It has been renovated as a state of the art library/exhibition centre.
- Open once annually to the public, for local charity, are the beautiful grounds of the old de Vesci estate.
- Also of note are the heritage centre & the sensory gardens on Main Street.
- The Abbeyleix South National School is a beautiful 19th century building.
Notable residents
- Launt Thompson, (1833-1894), born in Abbeyleix, was a noted sculptor.[2]
Sport
- Abbeyleix GAA
- The Abbeyleix Golf Course is an 18-hole course located near the town.
See also
References
- ^ "Abbeyleix station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-08.
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
External links
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
