Clonard, County Meath

Clonard
Cluain Ioraird
Town
Clonard

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°27′07″N 7°01′19″W / 53.451820°N 7.021877°WCoordinates: 53°27′07″N 7°01′19″W / 53.451820°N 7.021877°W
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Meath
Population (2006)
  Urban 347
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
  Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)

Clonard (Irish: Cluain Ioraird, meaning "Iorard's pasture"[1]) is a small village in County Meath, Ireland. It lies on the R148 regional road between the towns of Kinnegad and Enfield. This road was the main road between Dublin and Galway until the construction of the M4 motorway - it is still used by traffic avoiding the toll on the M4.

Clonard
Clonard Motte

It is notable for being one of the earliest Christian sites in Ireland, being linked with the first Irish bishop Palladius c.450 and as the location of a major early medieval monastery, founded in the 6th century by St. Finnian.

Circa 1177, Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath, build a motte-and-bailey fortification at Clonard. It is a well-known landmark in the village.

Common family names to be found in the local catholic church graveyard are Gannon and Mitchell.

See also

References

  1. A. D. Mills, 2003, A Dictionary of British Place-Names, Oxford University Press

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clonard.