| Ratoath Ráth Tó
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| — Town — | |
| Ratoath - Holy Trinity church | |
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Ratoath
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Leinster |
| County | County Meath |
| Elevation | 90 m (295 ft) |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Urban | 7,249 |
| Irish Grid Reference | O016519 |
Ratoath (Irish: Ráth Tó, meaning "Tó's ringfort")[2] is a town in the barony of the same name, County Meath in Ireland. The town is centered on the point where the R125 and R155 regional roads meet. In the 1996 census, the population was recorded as 1,061. In the 2006 census, it was 7,249. The Broad Meadow River (Irish: An Gabhair) flows through the town.
Just outside the town is the horse racing track, Fairyhouse racecourse where the Irish Grand National is held.
Ratoath gives its name to a village, a townland, a parish, an electoral division and to a barony. The derivation or meaning of the word is uncertain. Two alternative Irish forms are cited: Ráth-Tógh and Ráth-Tábhachta. These placenames occur in Irish manuscripts and scholars say that the writers were referring to Ratoath. Evidently they were trying to give a phonetic rendering of a name that was unfamiliar to them. Mruigtuaithe occurs in the Book of Armagh as the name of one of these places in Meath where St Patrick founded a church and Eoin MacNeill identifies it as Ratoath. If this is correct it would seem that the second portion of the word comes from the Irish word tuath which means a territory belonging to a family or sept. Mruig means a grazing plain. Ráth is the Irish for a fortified mound or a Motte.
Joe Lynch was the first and only Lord Mayor in the village and raised the largest amount of cash to help with the construction of the former Community Centre. He was involved in most community activities in the parish and was a great loss when he died at the age of 62.
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