Muine Bheag

Muine Bheag
Bagenalstown
Town

The railway station

Coat of arms
Motto: Uimhir gan choisc
"The Irrepressible Number"
Muine Bheag

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 52°42′04″N 6°57′25″W / 52.701°N 6.957°W / 52.701; -6.957Coordinates: 52°42′04″N 6°57′25″W / 52.701°N 6.957°W / 52.701; -6.957
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Carlow
Elevation 40 m (130 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Urban 2,950
 • Environs 203
Irish Grid Reference S683609
River Barrow flowing through the town

Muine Bheag[2] or Muinebheag [ˈmˠɪnʲə vʲɔɡ], also known as Bagenalstown /ˈbæɡ.nəlz.taʊn/, is a small town on the River Barrow in County Carlow, Ireland.

History and name

The town sprang up within the townland of Moneybeg, which comes from Irish Muine Bheag, meaning 'small thicket'.[3] In the 18th century there was a small hamlet there. Walter Bagenal decided to build a town on the site, named 'New Versailles' and modelled after Versailles in France.[4] However, shortly after the building began the coach route from Dublin was changed so that coaches now crossed the River Barrow at Leighlinbridge instead.[4] Bagenal abandoned his plans, having built only a courthouse.[4] It wasn't until the arrival of the railway in 1846 that the settlement began to grow into a town.[4]

The town was referred to in English as 'Bagenalstown', but local Irish speakers continued to refer to it as Muine Bheag. Following the creation of the Irish Free State, Muine Bheag became the town's only official name. A number of other places were renamed likewise.

The motto on the town's coat of arms is The Irrepressible Number and its Irish equivalent Uimhir Gan Choisc.

Places of interest

Near Muine Bheag is Ballyloughan Castle, which comprises a twin-towered gatehouse and the hall and foundations of one of the corner towers of a large castle dating from about 1300.[5]

Ballymoon Castle is 3 km (2 mi) east of Muine Bheag, and is thought to date from the 13th century.[6]

Activities

The 1st Bagenalstown BP Scout Group was set up in 2009 and meets in the McGrath hall. Their activities include hiking, camping, kayaking and games. In 2011 the troop became the first in the history of the state to stay in an Army barracks.[7]

Muine Bheag hosts a floral festival every August.

Sport

Muine Bheag/Erins Own is the local hurling club, and have won the Carlow Senior Hurling Championship 14 times; their last win was in 1970. The local Gaelic football club is named Saint Andrews, who won the Intermediate football championship in 2016.

Muine Bheag currently has two soccer clubs both participating in the Carlow premier division, Bagenalstown F.C. and Kilree Celtic.

Muine Bheag has had a long tradition in cricket. The Bagenalstown Cricket Club was first formed in 1843 by the local millers, and is still in use. The club's logo is a grinding wheel, which was used in early milling.

There is a swimming pool on the approach road to the town from Leighlinbridge.

The racehorse Danoli, described in 1995 as "the most popular racehorse in Ireland"[8] was trained near the town by Thomas Foley.

Education

Muine Bheag has three primary schools and two secondary schools.

People

Transport

The town is on the River Barrow. It is at the junction of the R705 and R724 regional roads and lies on the eastern side of the R448.

It is connected to the railway network on the Dublin – Kilkenny section of the Dublin-Waterford railway line. This connects the town to nearby Carlow, as well as Kilkenny to the southwest. Bagenalstown railway station opened on 24 July 1848. It was permanently closed for goods traffic on 6 September 1976[10] and renamed "Muine Bheag" in 1988.

International relations

The town was twinned with the town of Pont-Péan, Brittany in 1999. The twinning charter, which is written in Irish, English and French, commits the two towns to "developing social, economic, cultural, touristic, and sporting links" between the two communities.

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ "Muine Bheag". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  3. ↑ "Why rail is the way to go | Munster Express Online". Munster-express.ie. 2008-03-14. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Mayse, Shirley. Our Caswell Relatives. University of Wisconsin, 1975. p.343
  5. ↑ "Ballyloughan Castle". Carlow Tourism – Castles. Retrieved 9 December 2007.
  6. ↑ "Ballymoon Castle, County Carlow". Irelands Eye.com. Retrieved 10 December 2007.
  7. ↑ http://www.bagenalstownparish.ie/2011/03/tuesday-march-29-2011/
  8. ↑ Mallon, Brian (1995-04-11). "Danoli's career still in balance after operation". The Independent. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
  9. ↑ Donaldson, William Rogues, Villains and Eccentrics: An A-Z of Roguish Britons Through the Ages pp 38–9, Phoenix, London, 2002
  10. ↑ "Bagenalstown station" (PDF). Railscot – Irish Railways. Retrieved 11 October 2008.


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