Rathdowney
Encyclopedia
- There is another RathdowneyRathdowney, QueenslandRathdowney is a small town in south-eastern Queensland, Australia. It is on the Mount Lindesay Highway 32 km south of Beaudesert at the base of the McPherson Range. It is located in the Scenic Rim Local Government Area. At the 2006 census, Rathdowney had a population of 198.The town was named...
in QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, named after the Irish town.
Rathdowney or Rathdowny 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...
in southwest County Laois
County Laois
County Laois is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Midlands Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It was formerly known as Queen's County until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. The county's name was formerly spelt as Laoighis and Leix. Laois County Council...
, 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,...
. It lies some 32 km southwest of Portlaoise in the Irish Midlands, at the point where the R433
R433 road
The R433 road is a regional road in Ireland linking Templemore, County Tipperary and Abbeyleix, County Laois. It passes through the village of Clonmore, County Tipperary and Errill, County Laois and the towns of Rathdowney and Ballycolla, between which it forms junction 3 of the M8 Cork-Dublin...
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...
from Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix
Abbeyleix is a town in County Laois, Ireland about from Portlaoise and located on the N77 national secondary route. Formerly the N8 National Primary Route ran through the centre of the town, making Abbeyleix an infamous bottleneck on the Dublin-Cork corridor with up to 15,000 vehicles passing...
to Templemore
Templemore
Templemore is a town in North Tipperary, Ireland. It is a civil parish in the historical barony of Eliogarty. It is part of the Roman Catholic parish of Templemore, Clonmore and Killea....
is crossed by the R435
R435 road
The R435 road is a regional road in Ireland linking Borris-in-Ossory, County Laois to the R693 south of Johnstown, County Kilkenny. It passes through the town of Rathdowney Co. Laois en route. It joins the M7 motorway at junction 21 1km south of Borris-in-Ossory.The road is long.-References:* –...
from Borris-in-Ossory
Borris-in-Ossory
Borris-in-Ossory is a village in west County Laois, Ireland. Bypassed by the M7 motorway on 28 May, 2010, the village is situated on the R445 road close to the County Tipperary border between the towns of Mountrath and Roscrea.-Features:...
to Johnstown
Johnstown
- Places :Canada* Johnstown, Nova Scotia* Johnstown, Ontario, United Counties of Leeds and Grenville* Johnstown, Hastings County, OntarioRepublic of Ireland*Johnstown, County Dublin*Johnstown, County Kildare*Johnstown, County Kilkenny...
. The R433 provides access for Rathdowney to the Dublin-Cork M8 motorway
M8 motorway (Ireland)
The M8 motorway is an inter-urban motorway in Ireland, which forms part of the road from the capital - Dublin - to Cork city. The 149 km motorway commences in the townland of Aghaboe, County Laois and runs through the counties of Kilkenny, North Tipperary, South Tipperary and Limerick,...
, while the R435 links the town to the Dublin-Limerick M7.
According to the 2006 census the population stands at 1,207.
History
Rathdowney is named after a nearby ringfortRingfort
Ringforts are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Iron Age , although some were built as late as the Early Middle Ages . They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland...
, or ráth, which was levelled in 1830
1830 in Ireland
-Events:*10 May - Dublin Zoo opens. The first exhibit is a wild boar.*February - First Roman Catholics take their seats in the House of Commons at Westminster, among then Daniel O'Connell and Richard More O'Ferrall ....
. This ráth is mentioned three times in the Annals of the Four Masters:
- 874 Flaithri, son of Maelduin, Lord of Rath-Tamhnaighe (Rathdowney) died
- 909 Maelpadraig, son of Flaithri, Lord of Rath-Tamhnaighe, died
- 1069 Gillamoula, grandson of Bruaideadh, Lord of Rath-Tamhnaighe
The settlement of Rathdowney has existed since at least the 9th century. Historically it forms part of the Kingdom of Ossory Kingdom of Osraige
Kingdom of Osraige
The Kingdom of Osraighe , anglicized as Ossory, was an ancient kingdom of Ireland. It formed the easternmost part of the kingdom and province of Munster until the middle of the 9th century, after which it attached itself to Leinster...
, and today it remains part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory is a Roman Catholic diocese in eastern Ireland. It is one of six suffragan dioceses in the ecclesiastical province of Dublin and is subject to the Archdiocese of Dublin...
, as such Rathdowney is not historically part of Laois. The present-day county of Laois is a modern administrative construct.
The Croppy's Grave located in the town's central square is the still visible cobbled grave of a Croppy
Croppy
Croppy was a nickname given to Irish rebels during the period of the 1798 rebellion.- Origin :The name "croppy" derives from Ireland in the 1790s as a reference to people with closely cropped hair, a fashion which was associated with the anti-wig French revolutionaries of the period...
revolutionary hanged and buried there in 1798. The site also contains a recent memorial.
The town was raided at least once by anti-treaty forces during the Irish Civil War
Irish Civil War
The Irish Civil War was a conflict that accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State as an entity independent from the United Kingdom within the British Empire....
of 1922 to 1923.
Churches
Saint Andrew's Church of Ireland church, which dominates the square and the town to a lesser degree; stands on the traditional site of an older Roman Catholic church, which was located there from medieval times until the Reformation. A new Catholic church was constructed on Main Street in the 1830s this church served the catholic population of the area for the next 120 years before it too was tumbled; to be replaced by a shrine and carpark. A new larger, modern Catholic church, the Church of the Holy Trinity, was built on the west side of the town and opened in the late 1950s.Some "mass pits" or outdoor areas used for Catholic masses during penal times are located in the vicinity of the town and are well signposted for those interested.
Economy
The Meadow Meats processing plant is part of the Dawn Meats Group and was the largest employer in the town. This factory stands on the old Perry's Brewery site, it was purchased by Lyons Meats in 1968 and converted by them to a meat processing facility, which went into production in 1971.The largest employer currently is Dunnes Store Ltd. Rathdowney is also something of a centre for several out lying villages and is the focal point of a large agricultural hinterland.People
- John Moyney, an Irish recipient of the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
, was born in Rathdowney. - Another Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
recipient, James Pearson, was also from Rathdowney. - John Maher's novel The Luck Penny (Brandon 2007) is set in Rathdowney, in 18491849 in Ireland-Events:* 12 July — Battle of Dolly's Brae: Up to 1400 armed Orangemen march from Rathfriland to Tollymore Park near Castlewellan, County Down. When 1000 armed Ribbonmen gather, shots are fired, Catholic homes are burnt and about eighty Catholics killed....
. It is loosely based on the life of the Church of IrelandChurch of IrelandThe Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
minister and AssyriologistAssyriologyAssyriology is the archaeological, historical, and linguistic study of ancient Mesopotamia and the related cultures that used cuneiform writing. The field covers the Akkadian sister-cultures of Assyria and Babylonia, together with their cultural predecessor; Sumer...
Dr Edward Hincks.
See also
- List of towns and villages in Ireland