| Monasterevin Mainistir Eimhín |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish grid reference N624102 |
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|---|---|---|
| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Leinster | |
| County: | County Kildare | |
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Population (2006) |
3,017 | |
Monasterevin (Mainistir Eimhín in Irish) is a town in County Kildare in the Ireland. The town lies on the River Barrow and the Grand Canal. Its population of 3,017 (2006 Census[1]) makes it the 11th largest town in Kildare and the 105th largest in the Republic of Ireland.
| Historical populations | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Pop. | %± |
| 1821 | 1,275 | — |
| 1831 | 1,441 | 13.0% |
| 1841 | 1,097 | −23.9% |
| 1851 | 996 | −9.2% |
| 1861 | 908 | −8.8% |
| 1871 | 1,040 | 14.5% |
| 1881 | 1,044 | 0.4% |
| 1891 | 939 | −10.1% |
| 1901 | 762 | −18.8% |
| 1911 | 732 | −3.9% |
| 1926 | 574 | −21.6% |
| 1936 | 580 | 1.0% |
| 1946 | 448 | −22.8% |
| 1951 | 415 | −7.4% |
| 1956 | 1,180 | 184.3% |
| 1961 | 1,273 | 7.9% |
| 1966 | 1,413 | 11.0% |
| 1971 | 1,619 | 14.6% |
| 1981 | 2,146 | 32.6% |
| 1986 | 2,143 | −0.1% |
| 1991 | 2,224 | 3.8% |
| 1996 | 2,302 | 3.5% |
| 2002 | 2,583 | 12.2% |
| 2006 | 3,017 | 16.8% |
| [2][3][4][5][6] | ||
Situated 63 km from Dublin on the R445 road, Monasterevin has been relieved of much through traffic by the opening in 2004 of a new section of the M7 motorway bypassing the town on the N7 Dublin to Limerick route. Monasterevin is well connected by rail, with trains from Dublin to the southwest (Cork, Limerick, and Tralee) and west (Galway and Mayo) all serving the town.
Monasterevin is a small town, with Georgian houses, on a flat expanse of country, and occupies a right angle bend on the river Barrow, as it changes direction from east to south.
Due to its unusual number of bridges, and the arrival in 1786 of the Grand Canal, the town is sometimes referred to as "The Venice of Ireland".[7]
Contents |
History
The land, from pastoral to bog, gets its name from St. Eimhin's (Evin) Monastery, which was built in the 6th century. This gave way in the 12th century to a more prestigious house dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary by Dermot O'Dempsey, Prince of Offaly, whose mitred abbot sat as a baron in the Irish Parliament. This house disappeared and Moore Abbey was built in 1607, which was modernised in 1846, and was the seat of the Earls of Drogheda from the 18th century onwards. Count John McCormack the famous Irish tenor, rented the house for 9 years in 1936. The Abbey is now a convent, belonging to the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary.
A Celtic-style cross in the square of the town is in memory of Father Prendergast, who was hanged here for the part he played in the 1798 Rising.
An aqueduct built in 1826 carries the Grand Canal over the River Barrow. Monasterevin is noted for its unusually high number of bridges.
In 1975 the kidnappers of Dr. Tiede Herrema held him in the town, culminating in a two week siege of the house where they held him.
Features
Monasterevin is 63 km (39 mi) from Dublin, 19 km (12 mi) from Athy and 21 km (13 mi) from Port Laoise. Items of interest are Moore Abbey and Monasterevin House. Other features are its angling, the Monasterevin Canal festival, and its sporting activities, which include Gaelic Athletic Association, badminton, golf, boating, gymnastics and shooting.
Since 1987, a Gerard Manley Hopkins Literary Festival[8] has been held annually in the town, which the poet described as 'one of the props and struts of my existence' whilst he was teaching in Dublin[9].
Sport
- Monasterevin G.F.C. is one of the local Gaelic Athletic Association football clubs, the other being Ballykelly GAA
- The town is also home to Ros Glas hurling club.
See also
- List of abbeys and priories in (County Kildare)
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Market Houses in Ireland
References
- ^ Census 2006 - Table 14A - Towns 10,000 population and over
- ^ Census for post 1821 figures.
- ^ http://www.histpop.org
- ^ http://www.nisranew.nisra.gov.uk/census
- ^ 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.
- ^ Mokyr, Joel; O Grada, Cormac (November), "New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850", The Economic History Review Volume 37 (Issue 4): pp. 473-488, doi:, http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/120035880/abstract
- ^ Fitzgerald, Barry - International Dictionary of Film and Filmmakers, (2000) by Anthony Slide
- ^ Gerard Manley Hopkins Literary Festival
- ^ However, in 2009, the Gerard Manley Hopkins Festival moved to nearby Newbridge. Hopkins and Monasterevin
External links
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