Leitrim, County Leitrim
Leitrim Liatroim | |
---|---|
Town | |
![]() ![]() Leitrim Location in Ireland | |
Coordinates: 53°59′27″N 8°03′49″W / 53.9908°N 8.0636°WCoordinates: 53°59′27″N 8°03′49″W / 53.9908°N 8.0636°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Connacht |
County | County Leitrim |
Elevation | 70 m (230 ft) |
Population (2011) | |
• Total | 485 |
Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
• Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
Irish Grid Reference | G958046 |
Leitrim (Irish: Liatroim) is a village in County Leitrim, Ireland.
Access and transport
It is located on the River Shannon at the junction of the R280 and R284 regional roads and is connected to the River Erne via the Shannon-Erne Waterway. Leitrim village is the gateway to the Shannon-Erne Waterway and boasts a jetty with excellent facilities for the cruising traffic which passes through. The village is just over 5 km from Carrick-on-Shannon and 155 km from Dublin.
History
County Leitrim takes its name from the village.
The village was an O'Rourke stronghold in medieval times and was a place of some strategic importance as the river nearby is comparatively shallow and narrow and therefore easily forded.
1540: The castle of Leitrim village erected by O'Rourke (Brian, the son of Owen) while a great war waged against him on every side, namely, in Moylurg, Muintir-Eolais, and Breifney-O'Rourke; and his own son and a party of the men of Breifney were also at war with him. He finished the castle in a short time, destroyed a great portion of Moylurg on his way to Drumshanbo in 1565
Modern times
![](../I/m/Leitrim_village_marina.jpg)
May 2nd, 2010
Successive Finance Acts during the 1990s encouraged the building of hotels and holiday houses in designated deprived rural areas. The village was a large beneficiary of these tax incentives. The resultant explosive growth in the period between 2002 and 2007 saw several large complexes of self-catering apartments blocks being erected around the mariana which was itself funded by the International Fund for Ireland under the auspices of the Anglo-Irish Agreement. It is a well kept village with an excellent record in the Tidy Towns competition, and it won the title once. Leitrim village is well situated as a base from which to explore the upper and County Leitrim.7
Education
- St Joseph's National School
Religion
- St Joseph's Catholic Church
Demographics
The village had over 618 residents by 2002. This number had increased to 1,033 by 2006.