Urlingford

Urlingford
Áth na nUrlainn
Town

The Mason's Apron, Urlingford
Urlingford

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 52°43′13″N 7°34′57″W / 52.7203°N 7.5826°W / 52.7203; -7.5826Coordinates: 52°43′13″N 7°34′57″W / 52.7203°N 7.5826°W / 52.7203; -7.5826
Country Ireland
Province Leinster
County County Kilkenny
Elevation 120 m (390 ft)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Urban 973
Time zone WET (UTC+0)
 • Summer (DST) IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference S282633

Urlingford (Irish: Áth na nUrlainn, meaning "Ford of the slaughter"[2]) is a town in the south east of Ireland. It is located in the north east of County Kilkenny in Leinster.

The town lies on the R639. The M8 motorway runs just west of the town, from which both Urlingford and nearby Johnstown are accessed via junction four. Urlingford is a bus hub, with major operator JJ Kavanagh and Sons based there.[3] Situated 125 km (78 mi) from Dublin and 129 km (80 mi) from Cork, Urlingford has long been a resting-point for travellers half way between the Republic of Ireland's two largest cities. As a result, until September 2013 the Bus Éireann Dublin to Cork bus service called here. It is now replaced by route 128X which connects with express buses at Portlaoise and Cashel.[4]

The Irish name Áth na nUrlainn means "ford of the slaughter" and has been anglicised as Aghnenurlin, Aghnenoorlin, Awnanoorlin and similar.[2]

It is located in the civil parish of Urlingford which is part of the barony of Galmoy.[5]

History

In 1526, Piers Butler, 8th Earl of Ormond, gave possession of the lands of Urlingford to John Tobin and Nicolas Mothing (chaplins).[11] The earlier settlement was focused around the castle, church and graveyard.[12]

The town had an organised planned growth with traditional plot patterns.[12] It was built over a cut-over bog, an extension to the Templetuohy Bog,[12] much of which has been reclaimed.[13] Urlingford is a linear town around the focused primary axis, the Main Street.[12] In 1837 it was the centre of a manufacture of coarse stuffs, flannels, and worsteds, and carries on an extensive retail trade with the surrounding districts.[14]

The town was recorded on Griffith's Valuation in 1864.[15] Urlingford has taken part in the Tidy Towns Competition.[16]

Geography

Aerial view of Urlingford

A tributary of the River Nore, the River Goul, enters the town from the southeast.[12] The river passes under Main Street and towards the bridge at Urlingford Castle (and mill).[12]

Culture

There is a library in Urlingford[17] which is based in the old courthouse.[18] Urlingford Castle and mill are located in Urlingford.[12]

Emeralds GAA is a junior Gaelic Athletic Association club, founded in 1972.

See also

References

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/1/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.