| Abbeyleix Mainistir Laoise
|
|
|---|---|
| — Town — | |
| Abbeyleix, Main St | |
|
Abbeyleix
|
|
| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Laois |
| Elevation | 95 m (312 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Town | 2,569 |
| • Urban | 1,568 |
| • Environs | 1,001 |
| Irish Grid Reference | S435850 |
Abbeyleix (Irish: Mainistir Laoise, meaning "Laois Abbey") is a town in County Laois, Ireland about 14 km (9 mi) from Portlaoise and located on the N77 national secondary route. Formerly the N8 National Primary Route ran through the centre of the town, making Abbeyleix an infamous bottleneck on the Dublin-Cork corridor with up to 15,000 vehicles passing through the main street everyday. However, the town was bypassed by the M8 motorway on 28 May, 2010.
Contents |
Abbeyleix was founded in the 18th century as a town by Viscount de Vesci and is situated near a 12th century Cistercian monastery beside the River Nore. Today, there is a large range of historical structures still standing in and around the small village - ancient ring forts, burial grounds, early monastic buildings, Norman and mediaeval castles, churches and colonial estate houses. The town once had a carpet factory, established in 1904 by Yvo de Vesci, the 5th Viscount – notably producing some of the carpets used on the RMS Olympic and RMS Titanic[2].
There is a heritage house located in the old Patrician monastery schoolhouse which provides information on the towns history. Abbeyleix was made a Heritage town of Ireland several years ago.
Access to the M8 motorway to Cork is provided via the R433 road, while the N77 links the town with the Dublin-Limerick M7 and to Kilkenny.
Abbeyleix railway station opened on 1 March 1865, but finally closed on 1 January 1963.[3]
Bus Eireann operates an expressway service between Dublin and Cork which calls at Abbeyleix, whilst Aircoach operate a similar service that also calls at Dublin Airport.
There is a district hospital in the town, and a number of shops and pubs, such as Morrissey's Pub, which claims to be the oldest in Ireland. The Father Breen Park forms the nexus for a great many activities, providing fields for soccer, football and other sports, while the adjacent CYMS hall is home to numerous clubs, such as boxing and Tae-Kwon-Do. The town boasts a newly built hotel - the Abbeyleix Manor Hotel. The hotel has recently extended to 46 bedrooms and includes a new state-of-the-art Conference Suite.
Abbeyleix is part of the Borris-In-Ossory Electoral Area for Laois County Council. The area is largely regarded as supportive of the Fine Gael party in both Local and Dáil Éireann elections.[4]
|
|||||||||||||||||||||