Clonegal
Irish: Cluain na nGall | |
---|---|
Village | |
Coordinates: 52°41′26″N 6°38′43″W / 52.6906°N 6.6453°W | |
Country | Ireland |
Province | Leinster |
County | Carlow |
Elevation | 83 m (272 ft) |
Population | 278 |
Time zone | UTC+0 ( WET) |
• Summer ( DST) | UTC-1 ( IST ( WEST)) |
Irish Grid Reference | S916607 |
Clonegal, officially Clonegall ( /ˈkloʊnəɡɔːl/ KLOH-nə-gawl; from Irish Cluain na nGall, meaning "meadow of the foreigners"), [2] is a village in the southeast of County Carlow, Ireland. It is in a rural setting, close to the border between counties Wexford and Carlow, 5 km (3 mi) from Bunclody, County Wexford and 22 km (14 mi) from Carlow town. It is just over a mile north of where the River Slaney and the River Derry meet. [3] Clonegal has a much smaller "twin" village across the River Derry in County Wexford, Watch House Village.
The village is served by a primary school, and is the centre of an agricultural hinterland. [3]
Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes ringfort, bullaun stone and holy well sites in the surrounding townlands of Clonegall, Abbeydown and Huntington. [4]
Huntington Castle, also known as Clonegal Castle, is a 17th-century tower house close to the village centre. [5] Built by Laurence Esmonde, 1st Baron Esmonde on the site of an earlier (possibly 15th century) structure, [6] [7] Huntington Castle was further extended in the 18th and 19th centuries. [5]
Clonegal's Church of Ireland church, St Fiaac's, was built c. 1819 on the site of a much earlier church and ecclesiastical enclosure. [8] [3] The nearby rectory, now a private house, was the residence of the local yeomanry commander during the 1798 Rebellion, and several United Irishmen prisoners were reputedly hanged in a neighbouring yard at what is now known locally as the "Hanging Arch". [3]
The local Roman Catholic church, St Brigid's, was built c. 1845. [9]
There were once eleven malt houses in and around the village, along with a wool and corn store, a police station and other shops. [3]
Kildavin/Clonegal GAA club was formed in 1914. [10]
Clonegal won the "tidiest village" category in the 2014 and 2015 National Tidy Towns competitions. [11] [12]
According to the 2006 Census, Clonegal had a population of approximately 280, an increase of 20% since the 2002 Census. [3] As of 2016, the population was 278. [1]
Peter Murphy was born near Clonegal, Co Carlow