Athenry ( ; , , transl.
'Ford of the King') is
a town in County
Galway
, Ireland
. It lies east of Galway
city, and
one of the attractions of the town is its medieval castle. The town is also well-known by virtue
of the song "
The Fields of
Athenry".
Its name derives from the ford ('Áth') crossing the river Clarin
just east of the settlement. Because three kingdoms met at that
point, it was called 'Áth na Ríogh', or 'the Ford of the Kings'. On
some medieval maps of English origin the town is called Kingstown.
The kingdoms were
Hy-Many to the north-east,
east and south-east;
Aidhne to the south and
south-west;
Maigh Seola to the west and
north-west. Up to around
1000 it was included
in
Uí Briúin Seóla. In the
mid-11th century it was part of the
trícha cét of
Clann Taidg.
History
Athenry Castle.
The earliest remaining building in the town is Athenry Castle which
was built sometime before
1240 by
Meyler de Bermingham. In 1241, the
Dominican Abbey was founded, a major
institution. It was ostensibly closed during the
Reformation but survived until been desecrated
and burned during the Mac an Iarla Wars of the 1570s, and was
finally vandalised by Cromwellians in the 1650s. The Medieval walls
around Athenry are among the most complete and best preserved in
Ireland and still retain a number of the original towers as well as
the original North gate. The remains of the Lorro Gate were
partially unearthed in
2007 during
redevelopment road works in the area. In the centre of the town is
the square; it is here that Athenry's late 15th century
Market Cross is located. The monument which is
of
Tabernacle or
Lantern type is the only one of its kind in Ireland
and the only medieval cross still standing in situ in the country.
A Heritage centre now occupies the remains of the mid 13th century
St Mary's
Collegiate Church
immediately North of the Square. The original church is largely
destroyed but in
1828 Church of Ireland church was built into
its chancel.
Moyode Castle is another tall sixteenth-century fortified
tower house of the Dolphin family, which went to
the Persse family. The castle is now restored and inhabited and is
located 3.5 miles from the town of Athenry.
Transport
Athenry Dominican Priory.
Athenry
lies on the Galway–Dublin main line of the Irish rail network, at the
junction of that route with the
currently disused Limerick
–Sligo
line (dubbed
the Western Railway
Corridor – see Irish railway
history). Work is now underway ('West on Track') to
re-open these passenger links, with the Ennis
-Athenry
section due for re-opening in 2009 and the Athenry-Tuam
section by
2011. Athenry railway
station opened on
1 August 1851.
Sport
Athenry is home to St. Mary's G.A.A. club who have won numerous
All-Ireland
Senior Club Hurling Championships.
Athenry Athletics Club has had a large juvenile section for many
years and was complemented in
2002 by a senior
section. The senior section now has over 100 members, approximately
half of whom are women. The club has produced two Olympic
sprinters, Martina MacCarthy, who is from Oranmore and
Paul Hession who hails from Ballydavid, just
outside the town itself.
Martina represented Ireland in the women's 4
x 400 metres relay at the Sydney
games and
Paul competed in the 200 metres at the Beijing games. A number of other club members
have represented their country with distinction in both track and
field and cross country across Europe and North America.
Athenry also home to Athenry Soccer Club which reached the
2006 final of the
FAI Junior Cup. In
2007 Athenry Soccer Club became the Galway Premier League Champions
for the first time in the clubs 36 year history. In 2007 and 2008
Athenry Soccer Club also won back to back Connaught Junior Cup
Titles.
Athenry
Golf Club is an eighteen hole championship course located between
Athenry and Oranmore
in the
townland of Palmerstown. The club is a mixture of parkland
and heathland built on a limestone base against the backdrop of a
large forest giving excellent drainage, which makes the course
playable all year round. Athenry Golf course was extended to 18
holes in
1991 under the guidance of architect
Eddie Hackett and further improvements
in recent years have led to the club hosting recent Provincial and
National championships.
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Athenry is
twinned with the town of Quimperlé
in Brittany.
Notable natives
The following is a list of notable natives of Athenry and its
immediate environs:
The "Stations of the Cross" in Kiltullagh Church were painted by
the artist Eva Hoan.
See also
Further reading
References
- Athenry is pronounced like Athens without the s, followed by
rye; the accent is on the last syllable.
- http://www.athenrygaa.com
- http://www.athenryac.com
- http://www.athenryfc.com
-
http://www.fai.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=46&Itemid=60
External links
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