Mohill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Mohill Maothail |
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| Location | ||
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| Irish Grid Reference N088963 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Connacht | |
| County: | County Leitrim | |
| Elevation: | 82 m | |
| Population (2002) - Town: - Rural: |
786 1,328 |
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Mohill (Irish: Maothail) is a town in County Leitrim, Republic of Ireland. The town is located in the south of the county, north of the midlands of Ireland. The town of Carrick-on-Shannon is approximately 16km away.
Mohill, or Maothail Manachain, is named for St. Manachan who founded a monastery there as early as 500AD. The Monastery was taken over by Augustinians in the 1200s and was later closed in the time of King Henry VIII. The site of the settlement is now occupied by a Protestant church and graveyard, but ruins remain nearby of a round tower.
Ownership of the town passed to the Crofton family during the plantations and areas around the town were owned by the Clements family (Lord Leitrim), who built the nearby Lough Rynn estate and was also the owner of what is now Áras an Uachtaráin.
The Catholic parish of Mohill also includes the nearby church areas of Eslin and Gorvagh and is administered from St Patrick's Church at the top of the town.
The town is built on a slope toward the River Rynn and is centred on a cross-road of the Main Street and the principal cross streets of Glebe Street and Hyde Street. Hyde Street is named for Douglas Hyde, first president of Ireland, whose father and grandfather lived on the street and who spent part of his childhood in the town.
Mohill is also closely associated with Turlough O'Carolan , the blind harpist, who lived in the town after his marriage.
The town was served by a narrow-gauge railway, which closed in 1959.
Currently, Mohill has a growing population and is supported by local industry and enterprise, as well as agriculture and tourism. The town has not grown as quickly or achieved as much devolpment for tourism as neighbouring towns such as Carrick-on-Shannon or Ballinamore, which are aided by the River Shannon in attracting visitors.
The town celebrates an annual fair, Monaghan Day (named for St Manachan), on 25 February and hosts a large Agricultural Show and Summer festival in August.
