Delvin
Encyclopedia
Delvin is a small town in east County Westmeath
, Ireland
located on the N52
road
at a junction with the N51
to Navan
. The town is 20 km (12.4 mi) from Mullingar
(along the N52) and is the setting of the book Valley of the Squinting Windows
by Delvin native Brinsley MacNamara
, described under the fictitious name of "Garradrimna". The word Delvin comes from Delbhna
.
, Lord of Meath for his brother-in-law, Gilbert de Nugent. De Nugent came to Ireland with de Lacy in 1171 and settled on some land in Delvin. De Nugent was granted the title Baron of Delvin. The ruins of Nugent Castle remain near the center of the town. A second castle was built several centuries later, hundreds of metres from the centre of the Delvin settlement of that time.
Clonyn Castle
is situated on dominant ground south of Delvin between the N52
and the Collinstown road. An alternative access to the castle grounds exists on the Collinstown Road opposite the church. This access is also used by Delvin Golf Club members.
The Barony of Delvin remained with the Viscounts Gormanston throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was not until the 1990s that the Barony was once again deeded to a de Vere. Richard II granted Robert de Vere, the 9th Earl of Oxford and 10th Lord Chamberlain the Marquessate of Dublin and the whole of Ireland at this time, when the de Vere's took right to Kilkea Castle. (The Barony of Delvin was contained in the earldom of Oxford, by Aubery de Vere, until it was broken up by Robert de Vere's Irish dominions in 1392). The Viscounts Gormanston stood down on behalf of Lady Wendy DeVere Knight-Wilton in the 1990s giving assignment on behalf of her husband, so the deed of the barony could pass to Raymond John DeVere-Austin, also known as Raymond Austin (the DeVere family name was joined to Austin on his marriage to Wendy DeVere Knight-Wilton in 1984). The present holder, Baron DeVere-Austin of Delvin, carries the feudal title forward.
Delvin Garradrimna Book Fair
The 2nd annual Delvin Garradrimna Book Fair will take place on Sunday May 1 2011 between 12.00-6.00 pm at Delvin Sales Yard. It is our intention, like last year, to turn the Sales Yard into Ireland's biggest book store for just one day, where as the 3,000 visitors who attended last year can testify to the bargains they received on the day. Watch this space as more information on the day will become available
County Westmeath
-Economy:Westmeath has a strong agricultural economy. Initially, development occurred around the major market centres of Mullingar, Moate, and Kinnegad. Athlone developed due to its military significance, and its strategic location on the main Dublin–Galway route across the River Shannon. Mullingar...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
located on the N52
N52 road (Ireland)
The N52 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the M7 motorway from just south of Nenagh, County Tipperary to the M1 motorway north of Dundalk in County Louth.The road is long.-Quality of Road:...
road
Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from trackways suitable only for walkers and horses, to...
at a junction with the N51
N51 road (Ireland)
The N51 road is a national secondary road in Ireland.West to east, it starts in Delvin, County Westmeath at a junction with the N52. It passes through Athboy, a junction with M3 motorway, Navan and Slane, all in County Meath, before crossing the M1 motorway and terminating near Drogheda in County...
to Navan
Navan
-People:Navan was the childhood home of Pierce Brosnan, who appeared in the television series Remington Steele and was the fifth film actor to play James Bond. TV personality Hector Ó hEochagáin, and comedians Dylan Moran and Tommy Tiernan also hail from Navan....
. The town is 20 km (12.4 mi) from Mullingar
Mullingar
Mullingar is the county town of County Westmeath in Ireland. The Counties of Meath and Westmeath Act of 1542, proclaimed Westmeath a county, separating it from Meath. Mullingar became the administrative centre for County Westmeath...
(along the N52) and is the setting of the book Valley of the Squinting Windows
Valley of the Squinting Windows
Valley of the Squinting Windows is a novel by Brinsley MacNamara , set in the fictional village of "Garradrimna", County Westmeath, Ireland...
by Delvin native Brinsley MacNamara
Brinsley MacNamara
Brinsley MacNamara was an Irish writer.Born as John Weldon near Delvin, County Westmeath, he worked for the Abbey Theatre from 1909, and later as the registrar of the National Gallery of Ireland....
, described under the fictitious name of "Garradrimna". The word Delvin comes from Delbhna
Delbhna
The Delbna or Delbhna were an ethnic group in Ireland. They had a number of branches in central and western Ireland.*The Delbhna Tir Dha Locha were the most westerly branch, based in Iar Connacht....
.
Delvin Castle and Clonyn Castle
The original Delvin Castle (or Nugent Castle), now a ruin, is believed to have been built in 1181 by Hugh de LacyHugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath
Hugh de Lacy, Lord of Meath was an Anglo-Norman magnate granted the lands of the Kingdom of Meath by Henry II in 1172, during the Norman Invasion of Ireland.-Early life:Hugh de Lacy was born before 1135...
, Lord of Meath for his brother-in-law, Gilbert de Nugent. De Nugent came to Ireland with de Lacy in 1171 and settled on some land in Delvin. De Nugent was granted the title Baron of Delvin. The ruins of Nugent Castle remain near the center of the town. A second castle was built several centuries later, hundreds of metres from the centre of the Delvin settlement of that time.
Clonyn Castle
Clonyn Castle
Clonyn Castle also known as Delvin Castle, is situated in Delvin, County Westmeath some 18 km from Mullingar, in Ireland along the N52. The first castle is believed to have been built in 1181 by Hugh de Lacy the Norman, Lord of Meath for his brother-in-law, Sir Gilbert de Nugent...
is situated on dominant ground south of Delvin between the N52
N52 road (Ireland)
The N52 road is a national secondary road in Ireland. It links the M7 motorway from just south of Nenagh, County Tipperary to the M1 motorway north of Dundalk in County Louth.The road is long.-Quality of Road:...
and the Collinstown road. An alternative access to the castle grounds exists on the Collinstown Road opposite the church. This access is also used by Delvin Golf Club members.
The Barony of Delvin remained with the Viscounts Gormanston throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was not until the 1990s that the Barony was once again deeded to a de Vere. Richard II granted Robert de Vere, the 9th Earl of Oxford and 10th Lord Chamberlain the Marquessate of Dublin and the whole of Ireland at this time, when the de Vere's took right to Kilkea Castle. (The Barony of Delvin was contained in the earldom of Oxford, by Aubery de Vere, until it was broken up by Robert de Vere's Irish dominions in 1392). The Viscounts Gormanston stood down on behalf of Lady Wendy DeVere Knight-Wilton in the 1990s giving assignment on behalf of her husband, so the deed of the barony could pass to Raymond John DeVere-Austin, also known as Raymond Austin (the DeVere family name was joined to Austin on his marriage to Wendy DeVere Knight-Wilton in 1984). The present holder, Baron DeVere-Austin of Delvin, carries the feudal title forward.
Amenities/Facilities
The 18-hole Delvin Castle Golf Club is located near the town. There are a bank, school, church, hotel/guest house, a few shops and a take-away in the town. There are also a few pubs on the Main Street. The town expanded and work on a development in the centre of the village recommenced. Plans were unveiled for the provision of a new sports and leisure facility within the village. Some outdoor facilities are expected to be available by Summer 2007, while plans for the multi-purpose indoor leisure complex are being prepared.Delvin Garradrimna Book Fair
The 2nd annual Delvin Garradrimna Book Fair will take place on Sunday May 1 2011 between 12.00-6.00 pm at Delvin Sales Yard. It is our intention, like last year, to turn the Sales Yard into Ireland's biggest book store for just one day, where as the 3,000 visitors who attended last year can testify to the bargains they received on the day. Watch this space as more information on the day will become available
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland
- Sir Thomas Chapman, 7th BaronetSir Thomas Chapman, 7th BaronetSir Thomas Robert Tighe Chapman, 7th Baronet was an Anglo-Irish landowner, the last of the Chapman Baronets of Killua Castle in Ireland. For many years he lived under the name of Thomas Robert Lawrence, taking the name of his partner, Sarah Lawrence, the mother of his five sons, one of whom was T. E...
- Actress Mary McEvoy who played Biddy Byrne in GlenroeGlenroeGlenroe was an Irish television drama series broadcast between September 1983 and May 2001 on RTÉ One. The programme was a spin-off from Bracken, a short-lived RTÉ drama itself spun off from The Riordans. Glenroe was broadcast on Sunday nights at 20.30, generally from September to May. The show was...
is from Delvin. - NationalistIrish nationalismIrish nationalism manifests itself in political and social movements and in sentiment inspired by a love for Irish culture, language and history, and as a sense of pride in Ireland and in the Irish people...
politician Laurence GinnellLaurence GinnellLaurence Ginnell was an Irish nationalist politician, lawyer and Member of Parliament of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland as member of the Irish Parliamentary Party for Westmeath North at the 1906 UK general election, from 1910 he sat as an Independent...