Clane
Encyclopedia
Clane is a town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 on the River Liffey
River Liffey
The Liffey is a river in Ireland, which flows through the centre of Dublin. Its major tributaries include the River Dodder, the River Poddle and the River Camac. The river supplies much of Dublin's water, and a range of recreational opportunities.-Name:The river was previously named An Ruirthech,...

 and in the barony of Clane in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...

, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

, 32 km (20 mi) from Dublin.

Its population of 4,968 (as recorded in the Census of 2006) makes it the eighth largest town in Kildare and the 78th largest in the Republic of Ireland.

History

The town most probably owes its origin to the foundation of an abbey in the sixth century, from about 520 A.D., when St. Ailbe, Bishop of Ferns, founded an Abbey in Clane, and made St. Senchel the Elder its first Abbot. St. Ultan Tua, who used to put a stone into his mouth to prevent him from speaking during Lent, and his brother Fotharnaise, are said to have been buried in Clane. They were brothers of Maighend, Abbot of Kilmainham, from whom the parish and church of Mainham, near Clane, were probably called.

The ruins of the Franciscan monastery founded at Clane by Sir Gerald FitzMaurice, 3rd Lord Ophaly, in 1272 still exist. In 1542 Henry VIII’s Commissioner granted the site and precincts of this House of Friars, manor or preaching-house of the preaching Friars of Clane to Robert Eustace, Roger Roche and Ed. Brown for £177. Besides about 70 acre (28 ha) of land in the neighbourhood - its possessions consisted of a church, cemetery, chapter-house, dormitory, store, kitchen, two chambers, stable and orchard. The dormitory and other buildings probably stood on the north side of the Abbey Church, and have long since completely disappeared.

The parish of Clane has the distinction of being the place where the rebellion of 1798 broke out; for it was at Prosperous that the temporary barracks occupied by some of the North Cork Militia, and a Welsh cavalry regiment called the Ancient Britons, were attacked and burnt; and Captain Swayne and most of the soldiers were slain.

Features

Clane has two Liffey tributaries, the Butter Stream at the south west, with a small park, and the Gollymochy River at the eastern side.

Places of interest

Clongowes Wood College, a secondary school run by the Jesuit Fathers is located nearby; James Joyce was educated there. Other places of interest include the Wogan Mausoleum and churchyard at Mainham, and Clane College, a local educational institute.

Clane today

Clane used to be a haven of peace and tranquility pleasantly situated on the River Liffey, but modern life and expanding housing has made it a virtual dormitory town to Dublin 32 km (20 mi), or 30 minutes drive outside rush hours, from Dublin, at the crossroads of the R403
R403 road
The R403 road is a regional road in Ireland, linking the N4 at Lucan in County Dublin to Carbury in County Kildare.It starts, heading west, at a roundabout on the Leixlip Road and crosses the M4 motorway past Weston Airport and into County Kildare.It follows the Dublin Road to Celbridge where it...

 and R407 regional road
Regional road
A regional road in Ireland is a class of road not forming a major route , but nevertheless forming a link in the national route network. There are over 11,600 kilometres of regional roads. Regional roads are numbered with three digit route numbers, prefixed by "R" A regional road in Ireland is a...

s, halfway between Maynooth
Maynooth
Maynooth is a town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to a branch of the National University of Ireland, a Papal University and Ireland's main Roman Catholic seminary, St. Patrick's College...

 and Naas
Naas
Naas is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. With a population of just over twenty thousand, it is also the largest town in the county. Naas is a major commuter suburb, with many people residing there and working in Dublin...

 in north Kildare
Kildare
-External links:*******...

.

Transport

A commuter railway station in Sallins
Sallins
Sallins is a suburban town in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3.5 km north of the town centre of Naas, from which it is separated by the M7 motorway. Sallins is the anglicised name of Na Solláin which means "The Willows"....

, some 6 km (4 mi) from Clane, has a regular service to Dublin. The town is also served by Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann
Bus Éireann provides bus services in Ireland with the exception of those operated entirely within the Dublin Region, which are provided by Dublin Bus. Bus Éireann, established as a separate company in 1987, is a subsidiary of Córas Iompair Éireann. The logo of Bus Éireann incorporates a red Irish...

, which operates regular bus service between Edenderry
Edenderry, County Offaly
Edenderry is a town in the north of County Offaly, Ireland. It is near the borders with Counties Kildare, Meath and Westmeath. The Grand Canal passes immediately south of the town through the Bog of Allen and there is a short spur to the town centre....

 and Dublin. A rapid town link service, provided by private operator J.J. Kavanagh and Sons operates hourly between Clane, Sallins
Sallins
Sallins is a suburban town in County Kildare, Ireland, situated 3.5 km north of the town centre of Naas, from which it is separated by the M7 motorway. Sallins is the anglicised name of Na Solláin which means "The Willows"....

 and Naas
Naas
Naas is the county town of County Kildare in Ireland. With a population of just over twenty thousand, it is also the largest town in the county. Naas is a major commuter suburb, with many people residing there and working in Dublin...

, while a route to [NUI Maynooth] served by the same company operates on weekdays.

Sport

  • There are 10 golf courses within 16 km (10 mi) of the town, the most famous of which is the K Club, where the 1995 European Open
    European Open (golf)
    The European Open was a European Tour golf tournament. Founded in 1978, up to 1994 it was played at various courses in England, including Sunningdale and Walton Heath, except for the 1979 event, which was held at Turnberry in Scotland...

     was held, and which hosted the 2006 Ryder Cup
    2006 Ryder Cup
    The 36th Ryder Cup Matches were held 22–24 September 2006 at the K Club, Straffan, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Team Europe won the competition by a score of 18½ to 9½ points, equalling their record winning margin of 2 years earlier. This was the first time Europe had achieved three successive victories...

    .
  • Clane Rugby Club http://www.clanerugby.com/ boast 2 senior sides and a strong youth set up, with pitches situated on the Ballinagappa Road.
  • Clane GAA
    Clane GAA
    Clane GAA is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in Clane, County Kildare, Ireland, winner of 17 Kildare county senior football championships, 16 county senior hurling championships and Kildare club of the year in 1975. Clane players are credited with bringing the handpass into Gaelic football...

     is located on Prosperous Road.
  • Clane United Clane Utd. Football Club.

Education

  • Scoil Mhuire (Community School)
  • Hewetsons N.S. (Primary school)
  • Scoil Bhride G.N.S. (Primary school)
  • St Patricks B.N.S. (Primary school)
  • Clane College (private college)
  • Longtown Creche and Montessori
  • Clongowes Wood College

Shopping

The town is a destination for residents of smaller areas located around Clane, boasting several stores such as Aldi
ALDI
ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. oHG, doing business as ', short for "Albrecht Discount", is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany...

, Lidl
Lidl
Lidl is a discount supermarket chain based in Germany that operates over 7,200 stores across Europe. The company's full name is Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG...

, Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...

 Express, and one of Ireland's largest SuperValu
SuperValu
SuperValu or Supervalu is a name used by grocery chains in multiple countries:* SuperValu * SuperValu * SuperValu * See also SuperValue, supervalue...

 stores. Other smaller stores in the town include a Londis and a Centra for convenience.

Food & Drink

Clane is home to several pubs and restaurants. There are maybe six bars in the town, including the GAA club, Millicent Golf Club and the Oak Bar at the Westgrove Hotel. Popular restaurants include Zést, the Exchange restaurant at the Westgrove Hotel, the Flaming Wok and the Lemongrass.

Clane in fiction

The town of Clane is one of the settings in the early life of Stephen Daedalus, the protagonist in James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...

's novel, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialised in the magazine The Egoist from 1914 to 1915, and published first in book format in 1916 by B. W. Huebsch, New York. The first English edition was published by the Egoist Press in February 1917...

.

Notable People associated with Clane

  • Charles Handy
    Charles Handy
    Charles Handy is an Irish author/philosopher specialising in organisational behaviour and management. Among the ideas he has advanced are the "portfolio worker" and the "Shamrock Organization" .He has been rated among the Thinkers 50, a private...

    , contemporary social commentator
  • Charles Wolfe
    Charles Wolfe (poet)
    Charles Wolfe was an Irish poet, chiefly remembered for his "exquisite elegy", The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna-Family:...

    , poet
  • Theobald Wolfe Tone
    Theobald Wolfe Tone
    Theobald Wolfe Tone or Wolfe Tone , was a leading Irish revolutionary figure and one of the founding members of the United Irishmen and is regarded as the father of Irish Republicanism. He was captured by British forces at Lough Swilly in Donegal and taken prisoner...

    , patriot
  • Josef Locke
    Josef Locke
    Josef Locke was the stage name of Joseph McLaughlin , a tenor singer who was successful in the United Kingdom and Ireland in the 1940s and 1950s....

    , tenor
  • Ronnie Wood, musician
  • Graham Hopkins
    Graham Hopkins
    Graham Hopkins is an Irish drummer. He is the drummer in The Swell Season, The Frames, and former drummer for the hard rock/punk rock band Therapy?.- Early years :...

    , musician

  • Willam Dongan, 1st Earl of Lymerick (ca. 1626-1698), Royalist and Cavalier, was a supporter of King Charles I of England during the English Civil War
    English Civil War
    The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

     and the contemporary wars in Ireland; afterwards he worked for the restoration of King Charles II of England during his exile in Europe. He was a landowner in Clane barony with 32000 acre (12,950 ha) in Ireland. Successor to Sir Walter Dongan, 3rd Baronet, he was 4th Baronet (cr. 1622/23), and was subsequently created 1st Baron Dongan of Castletown and 1st Viscount Dungan of Clane, both in 1661/62. He became 1st Earl of Lymerick (now spelled "Limerick") in 1685/86. Privy Councillor (I.); Knight of Alcantara, and governor and regimental colonel (Spain); Colonel, the Earl of Lymerick's Regiment of Dragoons; Governor of Limerick; and Lord Lieutenant of Co. Kildare

See also

  • List of towns and villages in Ireland

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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