Carrick-on-Shannon

Carrick-on-Shannon Cora Droma Rúisc
Location
Coordinates: 53°56′49″N 8°05′24″W / 53.9469°N 8.09°W / 53.9469; -8.09Coordinates: 53°56′49″N 8°05′24″W / 53.9469°N 8.09°W / 53.9469; -8.09
Irish grid reference M941997
Statistics
Province:	Connacht
County:	County Leitrim
Elevation:	75m
Population (2006)	3,163
Website: www.carrickonshannon.ie

Carrick-on-Shannon (Irish: Cora Droma Rúisc, meaning "the weir of the marshy ridge") is situated in County Leitrim in Ireland on the County Roscommon border. The population of the town was 3,163 in 2006 ^[6]. It is the largest town in County Leitrim.

History

Ancient stronghold of the O'Rourke's of Breffni and their ofttimes rivals, the O'Raghnaills (Reynolds) of North Roscommon, Carrick was granted a Royal Charter and named a borough with its own seal in 1607. The remains of Carrick Castle can still be seen on the N4 By-Pass near the Carrick Bridge. Carrick is steeped in history and signposted walking tours of the town allow us to discover its interesting historical buildings, in particular the Workhouse and Famine Graveyard, Hatley Manor (a restored Georgian period home of the St. George Family, now under the benevolent care of MBNA), St George's Church of Ireland ( has an interactive Visitor Centre), and the Costello Chapel which is believed to be the smallest chapel in Europe. The Carrick-on-Shannon & District Historical Society is very active and holds monthly lectures for members and the general public as well as running trips to various places.

The Quayside, Carrick-on-Shannon

Carrick-on-Shannon nestles on the most scenic stretch of the Shannon and is also surrounded by some of the most beautiful and unspoilt scenery in Ireland. It is the gateway to the Shannon-Erne Waterway, Lough Key, Acres Lake and Lough Allen via the picturesque villages of Cootehall, Knockvicar, Jamestown, Leitrim Village, Drumshanbo and Keshcarrigan and is only a short distance away as are the spectacular Glens of North Leitrim.

Carrick Bridge and Quay

Our trail begins outside the Tourist Information Office on the Quay... Until the early 19th Century, the head of the Shannon Navigation was Drumsna, where the famous English novelist, Trollope, was Postmaster. In the 1840s the improvement of the navigation entailed extensive dredging of the river, the cutting of Jamestown Canal, the construction of locks at Drumsna and Knockvicar, and the building of a new bridge and Quays at Carrick-on-Shannon. The new bridge, built in 1846, took the place of a nine arch stone bridge, which in turn replaced a wooden structure. For over a century, until the closing of the Grand Canal Company in 1960, Carrick was a major depot for river trade; timber, cemnt, hardware, and especially Guinness stout (see the Old Barrell Store, right) were all transported here from Dublin, Athlone and Limerick. Nearby is the clubhouse of Carrick-on-Shannon Rowing Club, which has been one of the foremost in the country since its establishment in 1827. Its traditions are very much alive and visitors may observe club members in practice on the river.

The annual regatta at the August Holiday was a famed highlight of the festive season in the whole North West. M.J. McManus recalls that he watched...

"In August sunshine, the eights and the fours and the pleasure boats and the turf-cots competing on Carrick's day of days."

St. Mary's and St. George's Church

We now retrace our steps to the Town Clock and Main Street. St. Mary's Catholic Church is on our left. This fine edifice which is in the Gothic style was designed by W.H. Hague, a distinguished Dublin architect and was dedicated on 19 October, 1879. The church is enhanced by its position on elevated ground and the flights of stone steps leading to it. Fr. Thomas Fitzgerald, the priest responsible for its construction is buried within the chancel in front of the Blessed Sacrament Altar.

St. George's Church, which stands uphill to the left of Main St. at the top of St. Mary's Close, is the Church of Ireland parish Church. Prior to 1698 the parish church was situated at Kiltoghert. In that year it was transferred to its present site in Carrick. It was re-built in 1829 and the interior reconstructed in the years 1910-1914. Rev. W.A. Percy who was Rector from 1869 to 1886 was grandfather of the famous song writer Percy French. We now come back down St. Mary's Close and further on up Main St. "The Priest's Lane" was the old name for the road at the Swan Bar leading to St. Patrick's Park. This was where the Catholic clergy first lived after the relaxation of the Penal Laws. It is also reputed to have been the home of Turlough Carolan, the harpist and composer when he came to Carrick as a boy with his family from Nobler, Co. Meath in 1684.

Fishing

Carrick-on-Shannon is acknowledged nationally and internationally as an Anglers Paradise, and has hosted National and International Fishing Competitions. Within a 10 km radius of the town are no fewer than 41 lakes, all of which are free unrestricted and easily accessible. Catchwise expect excellent Roach, Bream, Rudd, Tench, Pike, Perch, Eel or Trout. Boats, live bait, specialised fishing maps and a vast fund of local fishing knowledge and expertise are readily available throughout the town.

Carrick Water Music Festival

Since its inception in 2005, the Festival has brought a range of musical talent to Carrick-on-Shannon, the intention, to reinforce the image of the Northwest as a desirable place to live, work and visit. In 2008 the Festival has grown from a five day event to a week long festival with an even greater breadth of performances from a variety of musical genres. This year we are delighted to see the return of The Veronica Dunne Singers who will be performing at our key note event and back by popular demand are the hugely entertaining Black Magic Big Band. Festival goers will also enjoy many new acts including Lunfardia & Havana Son, The Slovak Festival Orchestra, Caroline Moreau and Redmond O'Toole & Cora Venus Lunny.

Carrick-on-Shannon Bridge

Once again we will have a full programme of Fringe Events planned adding to the very special atmosphere of the Festival.

We hope you and your friends and families will join us in August for what promises to be a memorable occasion and valuable addition to the Carrick-on-Shannon calendar of events.

Geography

As its name implies the town is located on the River Shannon, which is linked to the Erne via the Shannon-Erne Waterway Also, it is nested on one of Ireland's main Highways (The N4), to the east bound route it will lead you all the way to Dublin, and on the west it will lead you all the way down to the southern part of county Mayo. People go on their boats on the Shannon. A short drive from the town will lead you to County Roscommon. There you can travel on the N4 to Sligo, then Castlebar, County Mayo. then further south in county Mayo. Carrick-on-Shannon also has a small village within its town called Cortober.

The Dock Arts Centre

The Dock is a multi purpose arts centre in Carrick on Shannon, Co. Leitrim with an extensive performing and visual arts programme and a vibrant community workshop programme.

Housed in a beautifully renovated 19th Century courthouse building overlooking the river Shannon, The Dock houses an intimate theatre space with regular performances of music, theatre, comedy and more; three art galleries with monthly exhibitions showcasing the best of local, national and international work; artists' studios, workshop spaces, a coffee shop and theatre bar and The Leitrim Design House, a unique retail gallery with work from a wide array of local artists and designers.

The building was completely refurbished and re-opened as an arts centre, The Dock, in August 2005.

Climate

Carrick on Shannon, like the rest of Ireland, experiences a year-round mild, moist, temperate and changeable climate, due to the prevailing winds of the Gulf Stream. The town experiences a lack of temperature extremes, with temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F) and above 30 °C (86 °F) being rare. The town receives an average of 1,147 mm (45.2") of precipitation annually, which is evenly distributed throughout the year. Rain is the most common form of precipitation - hail, sleet and snow are rare in the town, though will sometimes be experienced during particularly cold winters. Carrick on Shannon is also consistently humid, with humidity normally ranging from 70% to 100%, and this can lead to heavy showers, and even thunderstorms breaking out when drier east winds, originating in the European continent, clash with this humidity particularly in the late summer.

The average January temperature in the town is 6.8 °C (40.6 °F) and the average July temperature is 16.0 °C (60.8 °F). This means that Carrick on Shannon is said to have a Maritime Temperate climate (Cfb) according to the Köppen climate classification system.

While extreme weather is rare, the town and county can experience severe windstorms that are the result of vigorous Atlantic depressions that occasionally pass along the north west coast of Ireland. Most of these storms occur between late autumn and early spring.

Due to the towns north westerly location, has long summer days. Daylight at midsummer is before 04:00 and lasts until after 23:00. In midwinter, daylight does not start until 09.00, and is gone by 16:00.

Transport

Carrick on Shannon railway station opened on 3 December 1862.The N4 is the main road artery that links Dublin with the North West of Ireland. Offering an excellent road link between East and West the N4 enjoys motorway status for considerable amount of its length.

Carrick on Shannon railway station

N4 West - Sligo (30 Minutes) - Donegal (1 Hour) - North Roscommon (10 Minutes)

N4 East - Dublin (2 Hours) - Longford (25 Minutes) - West Meath (1 Hour) - Kildare (1.5 Hours)

R280 - Cavan (30 Minutes) - Northern Ireland (45 Minutes) - Belfast (2 Hours)

^[7]

Politics

As of March 2009 the town was represented by three County Councillors, Sinead Guckian (Fianna Fáil), Gerard Reynolds (Fine Gael) and Liam McElgunn (Fianna Fáil)

Sport

• Gaelic games - St Marys GAA Club^[8]

The present day St. Mary’s GAA club was re-formed in March 1944 at a meeting in the Town Hall, Carrick on Shannon. The following officers were elected: Chairman: Fr Bernie Keville R.I.P. Secretary: Brother Gabriel R.I.P. Treasurer: Brother Patrick R.I.P.

Like most newly formed clubs St. Mary’s had no home grounds and to overcome this obstacle they rented the Show Grounds on the Boyle Road at a cost of £15 per annum. For the next 55 years the club were to be synonymous with the promotion of Gaelic games and cultural activities associated with the GAA in the parish of Kiltoghert.

• Golf - Carrick on Shannon Golf Club^[9]

Golf was first played in Carrick- On- Shannon in 1910: Ballinamoney a townland outside Carrick was the first site for a golf course.

In 1936 the club moved to a site nearer the town in Lisnagot which is now part of St Patrick's Park, a housing estate in Carrick- On- Shannon, this 6 hole course which had approx 12 members remained at Lisnagot until 1944 when it moved to its present location here in Woodbrook, the club enjoyed free tenurefrom Major Kirkwood who owned the land and resided in Woodbrook House, A house made famous by the award winning authorDavid Thomson in his book Woodbrook.

• Rowing - Carrick on Shannon Rowing Club^[10]

Carrick on Shannon Rowing Club was founded in 1836 and has seen a revival of fortunes in recent years after a number of years in decline - there are approximately 50 people competing regularly for the club at present across all age groups and are always on the look out for new members in one of the most challenging and demanding sports going.

• Rugby

A new era in rugby in the region was launched April when Irish rugby coach Eddie O'Sullivan officially launched the re-formed Carrick-on-Shannon Rugby Club in a packed C.J.'s restaurant in The Landmark Hotel . When efforts were being made to launch the club in recent weeks, the club was known as the East Connacht Rugby Club, perhaps in an effort to attract members from all around the south Leitrim and north Roscommon area. But members have decided to revert to their roots, voting the name of the club as Carrick-on-Shannon Rugby Football Club. And it worked as a packed Landmark Hotel saw current Irish coach Eddie O'Sullivan re-launch the club. Launching the club, Eddie O'Sullivan said: "It is a very exciting time for rugby in Carrick-on-Shannon and I hope it won't be too long before the club is challenging for trophies. The last time I met Jim Newcombe was in 1989 when I came here in my first coaching position to work with the club's under 18s. Rugby in Connacht went into a slump and Carrick-on-Shannon suffered along with that. It is great to see people picking up the reins again. At the moment, Connacht is fighting for its life as a professional team and growth of the game is very important to the future of the game in the province."^[11]

Townlands in Carrick on Shannon

• Cloonsheebane
• Cortober

Twin Town

• Cesson-Sévigné,Brittanny France

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Market Houses in Ireland
• Cortober
• Andersons Thatch Pub

External links

• Tour of Old Carrick-on-Shannon
• Carrick on Shannon Chamber of Commerce
• Carrick on Shannon Education Centre
• Carrick on Shannon Cineplex
• The Dock Arts Centre
• Water Music Festival
• Carrick Holiday Homes

References

1. ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
2. ^ http://www.histpop.org
3. ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
4. ^ Lee, JJ (1981). "On the accuracy of the Pre-famine Irish censuses". in Goldstrom, J. M.; Clarkson, L. A.. Irish Population, Economy, and Society: Essays in Honour of the Late K. H. Connell. Oxford, England: Clarendon Press. 
5. ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November), "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850", The Economic History Review Volume 37 (Issue 4): 473–488, doi:10.1111/j.1468-0289.1984.tb00344.x, http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract 
6. ^ "Population and area of each Province, County, City, urban area, rural area and Electoral Division, 2002 and 2006" (pdf). Census 2006, Volume 1 - Population Classified by Area. CSO. 2007-04-26. pp. page 106. http://www.cso.ie/census/documents/census2006_Table_6.pdf. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
7. ^ "Carrick on Shannon station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-05. 
8. ^ Gaelic games club website
9. ^ Golf club website
10. ^ Rowing club website
11. ^ Connacht Rugby article