Carlow

Carlow Ceatharlach
Location
Coordinates: 52°49′50″N 6°55′54″W / 52.8306°N 6.9317°W / 52.8306; -6.9317Coordinates: 52°49′50″N 6°55′54″W / 52.8306°N 6.9317°W / 52.8306; -6.9317
Irish grid reference S724771
Statistics
Province:	Leinster
County:	County Carlow
Elevation:	57 m
Population (2006)  - Town:  - Environs:	13,623[1]   4,581 [1]
Website: www.carlow.ie

Carlow (from the Irish: Ceatharlach meaning "four Lakes"^[2]) is an inland town in the south-east of Ireland in County Carlow, 84 km from Dublin. The town numbers about 20,000 people, 3,000 of whom are students. The River Barrow flows through the town, and forms the historic boundary between counties Laois and Carlow: the Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 included the town entirely in County Carlow. Carlow town is County Carlow's largest town and its administrative centre.

Name

The name Carlow is an anglicisation of the Irish language name Ceatharlach. Historically, it was anglicised as Caherlagh,^[3] Caterlagh^[4] and Catherlagh,^[5] which are closer to the Irish spelling.

It is generally believed that this refers to "four lakes" — since ceathar means "four" and loch means "lake". The meaning is put forth in books of place names, although the Oxford Concise Dictionary of World Place-Names describes the lakes as being "no longer evident".^[2]

History

The Liberty Tree fountain in Carlow town centre commemorates the 1798 defeat of the United Irishmen

The Carlow area has been settled for thousands of years. St Mullins monastery is believed to have been established around the 7th century. Carlow Castle was constructed by William Marshal, Earl of Striguil and Lord of Leinster, c1207-13, to guard the vital river crossing. Saint Patrick's College dates from 1793 and the Carlow Courthouse was constructed in the 19th century. There are still many old estates and houses in the surrounding areas, among them Duckett's Grove and Dunlecky Manor. St Mullins today houses a Heritage Centre. Carlow was an Irish stronghold for agriculture in the early 800s which earned the county the nickname of the scallion eaters.

The town is recalled in the famous Irish folk song, Follow me up to Carlow, written in the 19th century about the Battle of Glenmalure, part of the Desmond Rebellions of the late 16th century. In 1650, during the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Carlow was besieged and taken by English Parliamentarian forces, hastening the end of the Siege of Waterford and the capitulation of that city. During the 1798 rebellion Carlow was the scene of a massacre of 600 rebels and civilians following an unsuccessful attack on the town by the United Irishmen, known as the Battle of Carlow. The Liberty Tree sculpture in Carlow, designed by John Behan, commemorates the events of 1798. The rebels slain in Carlow town are buried in the 'Croppies Grave', in Graiguecullen, County Laois.^[6]

The birth of Motor racing

On Thursday, 2 July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup ran through Carlow. It was the the first international motor race to be held in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, an honorific to Selwyn Edge who had won the 1902 event in Paris driving a Napier. The Automobile Club of Great Britain and Ireland wanted the race to be hosted in the British Isles, and their secretary, Claude Johnson, suggested Ireland as the venue because racing was illegal on British public roads roads. The editor of the Dublin Motor News, Richard Mecredy, suggested an area in County Kildare, and letters were sent to 102 Irish MPs, 90 Irish peers, 300 newspapers, 34 chairmen of county and local councils, 34 County secretaries, 26 mayors, 41 railway companies, 460 hoteliers, 13 PPs, plus the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Patrick Foley, who pronounced himself in favour. Local laws had to be adjusted, ergo the 'Light Locomotives (Ireland) Bill' was passed on 27 March 1903. Kildare and other local councils drew attention to their areas, whilst Queen’s County declared That every facility will be given and the roads placed at the disposal of motorists during the proposed race. Eventually Kildare was chosen, partly on the grounds that the straightness of the roads would be a safety benefit. As a compliment to Ireland the British team chose to race in Shamrock green^{[Note 1]} which thus became known as British racing green, although the winning Napier of 1902 had been painted Olive green.^{[7][8][9][10]}

The route consisted of two loops that comprised a figure of eight, the first was a 52 mile loop that included Kilcullen, The Curragh, Kildare, Monasterevin, Stradbally, Athy, followed by a 40 mile loop through Castledermot, Carlow, and Athy again. The race started at the Ballyshannon cross-roads (53°05′07″N 6°49′12″W / 53.0853°N 6.82°W / 53.0853; -6.82) near Calverstown on the contemporary N78 heading north, then followed the N9 north; the N7 west; the N80 south; the N78 north again; the N9 south; the N80 north; the N78 north again. Competitors were started at seven minute intervals and had to follow bicycles through the 'control zones' in each town. The 328 miles (528 km) race was won by the famous Belgian Camille Jenatzy, driving a Mercedes in German colours.^[11][8]

Weather

A local weather station operates in Tullow, which records all local weather and provides a 5 day local forecast, this is a free service and can be found on Carlow Weather.com.

Places of interest

• One of Carlow's most notable landmarks is the Brownshill Dolmen, situated on the Hacketstown Road (R726).

• Carlow Courthouse is situated at the end of Dublin Street. It was designed by William Vitruvius Morrison in 1830 and completed in 1834. It is built of Carlow granite and gives the impression of being a temple set on a high plinth. The basement contains cells and dungeons. A cannon from the Crimean War stands on the steps.^[12]

• Carlow Castle was probably built between 1207 and 1213 by William Marshall on the site of a motte erected by Hugh de Lacy in the 1180s. Only the western wall and two towers now survive. It is located on the banks of the River Barrow near Carlow town centre.^[13] The castle is now the imposing centrepiece of a major urban renewal programme.^[14]

• Carlow Town Hall is situated on the north side of the Haymarket, and was the trading centre for Carlow. A number of other markets were located around the town, including the Potato Market and Butter Market. The Town Hall was designed by the church architect William Hague in 1884.^[15]

• Ducketts Grove is the ruin's of the georgian home of the Duckett Family, built circa 1800s. It was taken over by Carlow County Council in 2005, who restored the walled gardens for use by the public as a park. It is situated just off the R418.^[16]

• Milford is a green area on the River Barrow approx 5 miles outside of Carlow town. It is notable as its home to Milford Mill, which was the first inland hydro-electrical plant in Ireland. It began supplying Carlow town with power in 1891. ^[17]

Transport

• The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford passed directly through the town until May 2008 when a bypass, part of the M9 motorway, was opened, greatly reducing traffic through the town. The N80 National secondary road skirts the edge of the town. The town is also connected to the national rail network. These transport links have helped Carlow to become a successful satellite town of Dublin in recent years. The establishment of the Institute of Technology, Carlow, has also helped drive growth in the area and encouraged many school leavers to remain in the town.

• Carlow railway station opened on 4 August 1846 and was closed for goods traffic on 9 June 1976.^[23]

Economy

Carlow industry has come a long way since the early 20th century, when the town became the centre of Ireland's slow process of industrialization with the creation of the Irish Sugar Company - then the cutting edge of industry in Ireland, the sugar factory opened in 1926 as a private enterprise and was eventually nationalised before reverting to private ownership. The sugar factory was closed on March 11, 2005 as the management of the parent company Greencore decided that it was no longer economical to run the factory nor was it viable to upgrade the facility. The country's last remaining plant at Mallow, County Cork closed in 2006.

Today the principal employers in Carlow are OralB Braun, which has a large factory producing mostly hair dryers and electric toothbrushes, and Burnside which produces hydraulic cylinders. The Institute of Technology is also a significant employer in the town. Since opening its doors in October 2003 Fairgreen Shopping Centre has also played a large part in employment in the area, with Tesco, Heatons, Next, New Look and River Island being the main tenants of the shopping centre. Nonetheless, the town shares problems associated with other provincial towns in Ireland - the inability to attract significant new industry. Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. intends to build a new vaccine manufacturing plant in Carlow.^[24]

Education

• Institute of Technology, Carlow
• St. Mary's Knockbeg College
• St. Patrick's, Carlow College opened in 1793 and was the first post-penal Catholic seminary constructed in Ireland. It is built in the form of a large country house and claims to be the seminary in longest continuous use worldwide.^[25]
• St. Leo's College, Carlow
• Presentation College, Carlow
• St. Mary's Academy C.B.S Carlow
• Vocational School
• Carlow Institute of Further Education
• Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach
• Clareville Montessori Carlow

Religion

Carlow Cathedral, seat of the Catholic Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin

• Carlow Cathedral was started in 1828 and completed in 1833, in Gothic style. The main architect was Thomas Cobden, but the cathedral was the brain-child of the Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, James Doyle (J.K.L.), a prominent champion of Catholic Emancipation, who died the year after the cathedral was opened and is interred in its walls. A sculpture, by John Hogan, in memorial to the bishop was finished in 1839.^[26] An unidentified baby was left here on January 22, 2010.^[27][28]
• St. Mary’s Church of Ireland dates from 1727, though the tower and spire, built to a height of 59 m (195 ft) were added in 1834. The interior retains its traditional galleries and there are several monuments, including some by neo-classical architect, Sir Richard Morrison.^[29]

Media

• The Carlow Nationalist is a major newspaper which was established in 1883.^[30]

Sport

• Carlow GAA Club
• Dr. Cullen Park is a Gaelic Athletic Association stadium in Carlow, home of the Carlow Gaelic football and hurling teams and with a capacity of 21,000.
• Carlow Boxing Club
• County Carlow Football Club
• Carlow Golf Club
• Carlow Rowing Club
• Carlow Rugby Club
• Carlow Tennis Club
• FC Carlow are competing in the FAI A Championship. They currently play their home games in Ballon,

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Carlow has a sister city with Tempe, Arizona, in the USA.^[31] Every year, four Irish students are paired with four American students, and they each spend five weeks in one another's country. This student exchange is with the Tempe Sister Cities organization.

• Tempe, Arizona

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Monte Carlow - a place to discuss everything Carlow
• Wikitravel on County Carlow and Carlow Town

Notes

References

External links

• Local Weather
• Carlow Local Authorities
• Carlow Tourism
• Carlow Cathedral
• Carlow County Enterprise Board
• County Carlow Football Club
• Carlow Nationalist
• Carlow Vocational Educational Committee
• Carlow Institute of Further Education
• [http://www.burnside.eu/ Burnside Eurocyl Ltd

v • d • e Places in County Carlow, Ireland County town: Carlow Incorporated towns1 Carlow · Muinebeag Unincorporated towns2 Borris · Bunclody-Carrickduff · Clonegal · Hacketstown · Leighlinbridge · Tullow Villages3 Ballinkillen · Ballon · Ballymurphy · Clonmore · Coolkenno · Fennagh · Kildavin · Myshall · Nurney · Old Leighlin · Rathvilly · Royal Oak · Rossmore · Tinryland 1 A C.D.P. with defined boundaries.  2 A C.D.P. with undefined boundaries and a population above 1,000.  3 A C.D.P. with undefined boundaries and a population below 1,000.