Leixlip: Information from Answers.com

Leixlip
Léim an Bhradáin

Motto: Léim ar Aghaidh
"Leap Ahead"

Location

Coordinates:
53°21′49″N 6°29′11″W / 53.3636°N 6.4864°W

Irish grid reference
O003360

Statistics

46 m

Population (2006)

14,676^[1]

Website: kildare.ie/leixlip/

Coordinates: 53°22′N 6°29′W / 53.367°N 6.483°W / 53.367; -6.483

Leixlip (pronounced /ˈliːks.lɪp/ — Irish: Léim an Bhradáin) is an urban village in north-east County Kildare, Ireland, east of the midlands of Ireland, situated on the confluence of the River Liffey and the River Rye, on the border of the ancient kingdoms of Leinster and Brega. Parts of Leixlip are located in County Dublin and the area is on the western edge of the Dublin conurbation.

Name

The placename comes from the Old Norse Lax Hlaup which means "leap of the salmon". The name in Irish (Léim an Bhradáin) is a direct translation of this, and was first adopted in the 1890s.

History

Leixlip was the site of the famous Battle of Confey, in which the Viking King Sigtrygg Caech of Dublin defeated the Irish King of Leinster around the year 917. The town was also home to Arthur Guinness's first brewery where he brewed ales until he moved to St. James's Gate Brewery, Dublin in 1759, where he first brewed Guinness.

Historical populations
Year	Pop.	%±
1821	1,358	—
1831	1,149	−15.4%
1841	1,086	−5.5%
1851	832	−23.4%
1861	788	−5.3%
1871	817	3.7%
1881	741	−9.3%
1891	679	−8.4%
1901	691	1.8%
1911	583	−15.6%
1926	558	−4.3%
1936	571	2.3%
1946	467	−18.2%
1951	504	7.9%
1956	898	78.2%
1961	915	1.9%
1966	1,059	15.7%
1971	2,402	126.8%
1979	7,536	213.7%
1981	9,306	23.5%
1986	11,938	28.3%
1991	13,194	10.5%
1996	13,451	1.9%
2002	15,143	12.6%
2006	14,676	−3.1%
^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

Development

The population of 14,676 (2006 Census^[7]) makes it the fourth largest town in Kildare and the 26th largest in the Republic of Ireland, hosting both local workers, and those commuting to Dublin, which is around 15 km distant. Leixlip itself is broken up effectively into two distinct areas. People from the Confey parish (which is located up the Captain's Hill) have their own church, schools and sporting teams. People from the St. Mary's parish also have their own identity separate from people in the Confey parish. The Confey parish members are known as 'Hillers' and people from the St Mary's parish are know as 'farenders'. There is the usual local rivalry associated with two different parishes which is particularly evident during sporting events.

Industry

Leixlip's leading employer is Intel, who own a complex consisting of Fabs (fabrication plant) 10 & 14 (IFO), 24, and 24-2 of Intel's manufacturing operations. Hewlett-Packard is the other main local employer. Most other employment in Leixlip is in retail and the licence trade (see below for details).

Politics

Leixlip is governed by a nine member Town Council, headed by a Cathaoirleach (chairperson). This has control over many local matters, although it is limited in that it is not also a planning authority. Leixlip also elects four councillors to Kildare County Council in a combined Local Electoral Area with Maynooth.

Transport

Road

Leixlip is located just off the M4 motorway, on the R148 (reclassified from N4) road with nearby Lucan located further towards Dublin along the same route. The R148 continues from Leixlip to Maynooth, while the R449 links Leixlip to Celbridge.

Rail

Leixlip is connected to the Irish railway network on the Dublin – Sligo line, with two stations, Leixlip (Louisa Bridge), opened on 1 September 1848, and Leixlip (Confey), opened on 2 July 1990,^[8] located at either end of the town. While InterCity services to Sligo do not serve the town, the Maynooth Commuter service does, the frequency of the trains peaking in the mornings and evenings. Some of these services continue outbound to Mullingar and Longford.

Local attractions

Leixlip Castle. Built on a rock at the confluence of the River Liffey and the Rye Water, the central part of the castle dates from shortly after the Norman Invasion of 1171 and is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited buildings in Ireland, pre-dating Dublin Castle by 30 years. It was used as a hunting base by King John when Lord of Ireland in 1185. It was not of major military importance but withstood a 4-day siege by the army of Edward Bruce in 1316.

The property of the Whyte family from the 1500s to 1734, it was then bought by the Conolly family of nearby Castletown House, who sold it in 1914. Various famous tenants of the Conollys included Archbishop Stone, the Protestant Primate (1750s), Viceroy Lord Townshend (1770s), Lord Waterpark, and Baron de Robeck. In the 1920s it was the residence of the first French ambassador to the Irish Free State. In 1945 the castle was sold to William Kavanagh, prior to the purchase in April 1958 by The Hon. Desmond Guinness.

The Wonderful Barn

Leixlip Castle

Castletown House & The Wonderful Barn. Located off the main street of nearby Celbridge, Castletown House is the first grand Palladian House in Ireland - the design of the building led to the construction of Leinster House and from thence to the White House in Washington, D.C.. Begun in 1722 by Speaker William Conolly (1662-1729), Speaker of the Irish House of Commons, the lands and the house itself lie in Celbridge, however there is also an entrance from Leixlip, hence there are two modern estates bearing the Castletown name, one in each town. To mark the eastern vista of Castletown a conical shaped building - The Wonderful Barn - was constructed in 1743 with the stairs ascending around the exterior of the building.

A further point of interest is Confey Castle53°22′40″N 6°28′54″W / 53.377821°N 6.481682°W / 53.377821; -6.481682, which the British Publisher and Cartographer Samuel Lewis, mentions in the second volume of his 183d9 opus "A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland". In it he comments that Confey's (or Confoy as he spells it) population was 165, had formerly had a town and a castle of some importance, which were noticed by Camden. Of the tower’s remains were a massive five storey structure with turrets at the north and west angles; that at the north angle containing a winding staircase opening through pointed arches into each storey. The principal entrance was under a semicircular archway. In the war of 1688 the castle is said to have been strongly garrisoned, and to have sustained an attack.

Also of note is Leixlip Spa, a spa found by workmen working on the construction of the Royal Canal, which runs through Leixlip.

Leixlip's main attraction in the past was the Salmon Leap, from which the town is named, a 5 metre waterfall on the Liffey just upstream from the then village. This was a popular place for Dubliners wanting a day out in the country, and the Salmon Leap Inn was built to refresh them. In 1945, a hydroelectric dam was completed and its lake flooded the waterfall.

Schools and public library

As with religion and sport, education in Leixlip is divided by the two Catholic parishes of Leixlip (Our Lady's Nativity) and Confey (St. Charles Borromeo).

The respective schools in the Confey district are Confey Community College (a community school), Scoil San Carlo (Junior), and San Carlo Senior School (both national schools). The community school of Confey College has approximately 600 pupils in total, and similarly to Colaiste Chiarain is mixed gender and non-denominational. The name "San Carlo", while used as the Irish names of the national schools in the St Charles Borromeo parish, is actually the Italian rather than actual Irish translation (which would be "Naomh Cathal").

A brand new modern public library opened in Leixlip in May 2006. It is situated in Confey beside the Town Council Office. It is also near both Scoil San Carlo and Confey Train Station. It is open fifty one hours a week, with Sunday being the only day that it is closed. Among the material library members may borrow from the library include books, dvds, cds, and language packs. The library also offers free Internet access to library members. Library membership is free to anyone under 18 years of age, while a small membership charge exists for those over 18.

Religion

Leixlip is divided into two Roman Catholic Church parishes, Leixlip (Our Lady's Nativity) and Confey (St. Charles Borromeo), each with its own parish church. The Church of Ireland parish of St Mary's also has a church in Leixlip, located in Main Street. This medieval church was restyled in the 1750s with Gothic windows, and its belltower clock dates from 1720.

Shopping

The town is not a major retail centre, but there are three supermarkets - a SuperValu, Eurospar, and Lidl. As well as Eurospar, there are also three Spar convenience stores and a Mace in Leixlip. The Liffey Valley Shopping Centre is a short drive down the N4, and Leixlip is also within easy reach of Dublin city centre's wide variety of shops, as well as the Blanchardstown shopping centre.

It has been agreed to develop a shopping centre in the Collinstown area of Leixlip (opposite Intel) which will be along the same lines as the Liffey Valley and Blanchardstown centres. This new development is designed to serve the needs of the North-East Kildare area, comprising Leixlip as well as the towns of Naas, Celbridge, Maynooth and Kilcock, all located within the Dublin Metropolitan Area. This proposal, currently known as the Collinstown Town Centre, is undergoing planning. The developers of the scheme intend to proceed with planning applications in late 2006, with a view to completion in 2010 [1].

Arts

There are a number of groups and societies in the town that put on productions and gigs all year round in the town. There are also a number of performing arts schools for young people of the town. Many of these groups joined together and formed PLATFORM, a group focused on obtaining a theatre for the town.

Leixlip Musical & Variety Group (LMVG) are a local amateur group that put on annual musicals and pantomimes in the town.

Bradán Players is an amateur dramatic society that puts on many plays during the year around the town, and further afield. The group has the distinction of winning, and coming 3rd, in the National One-Act Festival in their first year of competing. The group performs a Theatrical Pub Crawl during the Leixlip Festival.

Festival

The Leixlip Festival (previously known as the Salmon Festival) has taken place every year since 1990 on the June bank holiday weekend. It offers live entertainment in pubs, a number of open-air concerts, and also a street carnival. Most notably, in 1995 a replica Viking ship was burnt. A fireworks display takes place on the Sunday night. Leixlip Salmon Festival Limited also provides a youth training scheme in association with Foras Áiseanna Saothair.

Notable people

The rock group U2 played as the third act at Leixlip Castle on July 27, 1980, during what was titled "The Dublin Festival, 1980". The main act was The Police followed by Squeeze and Chicago's Skafish Band.[2] The video for U2's song "Another time, another place" was made using footage of the band performing the song at this gig.
Pop star Lily Allen lived in the town for a period when she was involved with Lester Lloyd - said to be the inspiration for her first hit "Smile".
Eoin Rheinisch, the Irish Canoeist for the Olympics lives in Leixlip. He also attends the Salmon Leap Canoe Club beside Barnhall in Leixlip. Eoin finished fourth over all in Beijing.
According to his autbiography, soccer star Roy Keane lodged in Leixlip for a period from late 1989 when he first started full time training at a Palmerstown FAS course.
Ireland international rugby star Trevor Brennan grew up in Leixlip, and played for the local rugby team Barnhall RFC.
Jack O'Shea (Kerry footballer) played his football with St. Marys, Leixlip.
David Matthews (Track Athlete) current Irish Record holder for the 800 meters, grew up in Leixlip and ran for the Leixlip athletic club in his early career.
Leixlip was the site of the notorious suicide-by-starvation of 83-year-old Frances Mulrooney and her three nieces, Josephine (46), and twins Catherine and Ruth, (51), discovered July 12, 2001.[3]

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

Twin towns — Sister cities

Leixlip is twinned with the following towns:

Bressuire, France
Niles, IL, USA

Sports

Athletics

Le Chéile Athletic Clubwas founded in 1981 to offer the youth of Leixlip, Maynooth and surrounding areas (aged 7 and older) the opportunity to partake, regardless of their ability, in all athletics disciplines at a club, county and national level. Outside of competing, the club offers its members the opportunity to get fit, stay healthy and have a bit of fun! The club trains every Tuesday and Thursday evening throughout the year at their facility at the Leixlip Amenities Centre, Collinstown, Leixlip

Canoeing

Salmon Leap Canoe Club founded in 1963 is located on the banks of Leixlip Lake. Members of the club have represented Ireland at every Olympic Games from 1972 to 2004. The club is the most successful sprint and marathon club canoe club in Ireland having won the Riba de Sella trophy more times than any other club. The club has 150 active canoeists. One inspiration for the club was the international Liffey Descent canoe race from Straffan to Dublin, which passes through Leixlip and celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Gaelic games

Leixlip has two Gaelic Athletic Association clubs, Leixlip GAA founded in 1887 and Confey GAA founded recently in 1989.

Soccer

There are also four amateur football clubs, Confey FC, Leixlip United FC , Barnhall Rovers and Leixlip Town FC. Confey FC and Leixlip United FC both participate in Dublin District leagues (or in the case of both clubs' senior teams the Leinster Senior Football League). Leixlip Town FC and Barnhall Rovers on the other hand participate in the UCFL Dublin League.

Rugby

Barnhall Rugby Football Club, a rugby union club, which competes in the All-Ireland League is also located on the outskirts of the town in close proximity to the Wonderful Barn. The Le Cheile Athletics Club trains at its grounds based at the Amenities Centre and the members compete in indoor, outdoor track & field events and cross country competition at county,provincial and national level.

Basketball

Liffey Celtics Basketball Club is the local girls basketball club for ages 8–18. There are 8 underage basketball teams competing in the Dublin Area Board League and Cup competition. Training and home matches take place at the Amenities Centre and Confey GAA hall.

Fishing

Leixlip has been the host to many coarse fishing competitions thanks to the permanently pegged stretch of the Royal Canal. The Leixlip stretch consists of 62 marked pegs and there is also the Confey stretch consisting of sixty pegs. These swims as well as the large fish stocks have created a unique fishery. Conditions are suited to both the pleasure and match angler. The Rye river runs through Carton Demesne and through the Intel Ireland site, the fishing on the river is mainly trout with the occasional salmon.The Leixlip stretch is controlled by the Leixlip and District Angling Association and permits to fish are available from the local Amenity centre.Trout up to 2 lbs are regularly taken, with fish of 1/2 lb to 1 lb being the average.

Sports centre

A sports centre, Leixlip Amenities Centre, is located in the town with various facilities, including a children's playground, sports hall, astro turf football pitches and tennis courts. There are plans for a swimming pool also.