Navan (pronounced /ˈnævən/; Irish: An Uaimh, meaning "the cave"; etymology disputed) is the largest town and county town or administrative capital of County Meath, Ireland. It is one of the few places in the world to have a palindromic name (see List of palindromic places).
Name
The modern Irish name for Navan is An Uaimh meaning "the cave". However, it is uncertain whether the English version of the name, Navan, is an anglicisation of An Uaimh, or of an older Irish name. Possibilities for this older name are An Odhbha, after a mythical Milesian queen whose funeral mound was nearby, or Nuachongbhail, "new habitation".[1] Upon the arrival of the Normans in the twelfth century, they called the town "Nouan", which can be seen in many early maps. A Normanised version of "An Abhainn", "Nouan" became become Navan, in later Latin script. This is the most plausible explanation for the town name.
Geography
Trimgate Street, dimly viewed from Market Square.
Navan is situated in the centre of the County Meath, on the N3 National Primary Road approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north west of Dublin and 25 kilometres (16 mi) west of Drogheda. The town is in the Boyne Valley, at the confluence of the River Boyne and River Blackwater. It is 20 kilometres (12 mi) upriver from the Brú na Bóinne (the Neolithic monuments of Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth). The town is also near the historic locations of the Hill of Tara, Bective Abbey, Skryne and Slane. The town of Trim is upriver on the Boyne from Navan. The town of Kells is upriver on the Blackwater from Navan.[2]
Political
Navan is the county town or administrative capital of County Meath. Navan is also the name of a Local Electoral Area which includes the town and adjacent parts of the county. The total population of Navan Electoral Area was 38,891 in 2006.[3][4]
St. Mary's Church. The Parochial House is in the foreground.
Population
The population of the urban area of Navan was 24,851 in 2006. Using this criterion it was the fifth-largest town in Ireland. (10th including cities of Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick & Waterford). The population of the town and its environs had increased by 28% since 2002.[4] The population of Navan within its local authority boundary was 3,406 in 2006.
Local economy
Tara Mine, Europe's largest lead and zinc mine is located in Navan. The town traditionally was famous for carpets (Navan Carpets closed in 2003) and for a thriving furniture industry (Beechmount Home Park). Both are now in decline, or have ceased, as a result of the move away from manufacture to cheaper locations like Eastern Europe. Nevertheless, Navan has rapidly expanded with the Celtic Tiger to become a large dormitory town due to its proximity to Dublin.
People
Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, the fifth actor to play the celebrated role of James Bond. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan.
Other famous people included Sir Francis Beaufort famous for his wind scale. His birthplace was removed by the local council in the 1990s to make way for a road junction.
Brian Byrne, composer, is a native of Navan, and is currently living in L.A. working on film and TV scores. Leading Irish dance music producer John O'Callaghan is also from the area.
Entrepreneur Ian Clarke, the man behind Freenet, Revver and Thoof was also a Navan native.
Education
Navan has a number of secondary schools both private denominational and public inter-denominational and non-denominational. St. Patrick's Classical School is a Roman Catholic boys only school. St. Michael's Loreto Secondary School and St. Joseph's Secondary School at the Mercy Convent are both girls only Roman Catholic convent schools. Beaufort College is a large state owned inter-denominational vocational school. The Abylity College was a parent owned non-denominational school.[5][6]
Navan and the surrounding area has a number of primary schools including town's Catholic boys' primary school is Scoil Muire which was originally run by the De La Salle Brothers. Its past pupils included Pierce Brosnan. The town's only Church of Ireland school, Preston School, closed in the 1970s.
Railways
The town has a freight only railway line. Navan was a railway crossroads, with the GNR(I) line from Drogheda to Oldcastle and the MGWR line from Kingscourt to Clonsilla (on the Dublin to Sligo line) passing through the town, connecting at Navan Junction.
The GNR(I) line from Navan to Oldcastle and the MGWR line from Clonsilla to Navan closed in 1963, leaving the lines from Drogheda to Navan and Navan to Kingscourt in place. A spur to Tara Mines on the Navan to Oldcastle trackbed was reinstated in 1977.
As of 2005 the railway is solely used by Iarnród Éireann to bring freight from the local lead and zinc mine, Tara Mines, to Dublin Port. The line from Kingscourt was used for transport of gypsum until quite recently but now this line is unused.
A campaign to have the Clonsilla to Navan line reopened, seeks a commuter service to Dublin, initially via the existing Drogheda line, and then directly through reopening the direct line to Dublin via Dunboyne. The Transport 21 plan envisages the reopening of Clonsilla services happening in two stages, initially to a park and ride off the M3 at Pace by 2009 and later extending to Navan by 2015. Navan will have a station in the centre of the town, and a park and ride station to the north.
Twin towns
Sport
Navan Races in September 2007
See also
Coordinates: 53°39′N 6°41′W / 53.65°N 6.683°W / 53.65; -6.683
References
External links
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Towns and villages in County Meath |
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