Collon

Collon
Collann
Town

The Foster homestead at Collon
Collon

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 53°46′43″N 6°28′52″W / 53.77870°N 6.48116°WCoordinates: 53°46′43″N 6°28′52″W / 53.77870°N 6.48116°W
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Louth
Elevation 128 m (420 ft)
Population (2006)
  Urban 564
  Rural 1,306
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
  Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference O001820

Collon (Irish: Collann) is a village and townland in the south west corner of County Louth, Ireland on the N2 national primary road. The village is home to the Cistercian Abbey of New Mellifont.

Facilities

The Church of Ireland parish church at the lower end was built in 1810 to a design by Daniel Augustine Beaufort who was the rector between 1789 and 1821. There is a memorial in the graveyard at the front of the church to men of the parish who died during the 1914-18 Great War, inscribed on the front is the name of Lt. James Emerson V.C. who was born in the village. The church has been described as "dramatic and atmospheric" and hosted the 2008 Ardee Baroque Festival.[1]

At one point there was a Russian language school in the village, which was founded by White Russian emigres. It is rumoured that the British spies Philby, Burgess and Maclean visited the school as part of their Russian language training.

Collon is home to an animal sanctuary where animals are homed until suitable accommodation is found.

The village also shares its name with a popular Japanese confectionary snack - Collon, wholly unrelated.

Sport

Mattock Rangers, Louth Senior Football Champions 2002, 2005, 2009 and 2010. Mattock Rangers, Louth Junior Hurling Championship Winners

See also

References

  1. Irish Ties, 20 October 2008, page14, article by Eileen Battersby

External links