Askeaton

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For other uses, see Askeaton (disambiguation).

Askeaton Castle viewed from the town square

Askeaton (Eas Geitine in Irish) is a town located in County Limerick, Ireland on the N69 road about two miles upstream from the River Shannon's Estuary. The town itself is built on the banks of the River Deel. There is a Franciscan Friary dating from 1389 and a castle dating from 1199 in the town among the many historic structures. The castle was abandoned to crown forces in 1580 - its walls blown up by the fleeing Spanish defenders - after the fall of Carrigafoyle Castle to the English during the Desmond Rebellions.

Franciscan friary viewed from the N69

[edit] Transport

The railway line that passes through the now closed Askeaton railway station was built by the former Limerick and Foynes Railway Company from 1856-1858. The line between Limerick and Foynes had stations at Patrickswell, Kilgobin, Adare, Ballingrane Junction (Rathkeale) and Askeaton. The railway line to Foynes passes north of the town, but Askeaton Railway Station was closed to passenger traffic on 4th April 1963 and freight in 1974. Trains for Foynes continued to pass through Askeaton until the line effectively lost all its freight services in 2000. The line is still officially open to freight traffic, it has not seen a train since the annual weedspray train visited the line in May 2002.