Abbeylara

Abbeylara Mainistir Leathrátha
—  Town  —
Abbeylara Abbey
Abbeylara Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°46′00″N 7°27′00″W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Longford
Elevation	82 m (269 ft)
Population (2002)
• Urban	245
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
• Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	N363797

Abbeylara (Irish: Mainistir Leathrátha, meaning "Abbey of the half rath or little rath") is a village in the easternmost portion of County Longford, Ireland, located about three kilometers east of Granard on the R369 regional road. Its name is derived from a monastery, the great Abbey of Lerha, founded in 1205 by Hiberno-Norman magnate, Risteárd de Tiúit, for Cistercian monks. The monastery was dissolved in 1539, although its ruins are still apparent on approach to the village. An ancient earthenwork, the Duncla (Irish Dún-chlaí meaning "fortified ditch") or Black Pig's Dyke, which runs south-eastwards from Lough Gowna to Lough Kinale, goes through the larger parish of Abbeylara, and passes about one kilometre north of the village.

Because of its proximity to Lough Kinale and Lough Derragh, with a plentiful supply of trout, tench, bream and pike, Abbeylara attracts anglers and local angling clubs hold regular competitions.

On 20 April 2000, local man John Carthy was shot dead by the Gardaí (police) in a siege.

Abbeylara is home to the current UK handball open champion, Fintan "McLovin" Creamer (D.O.B. 24.03.1987) who won the 2009 title when the competition was held in London on September 4–7, 2009.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• Barr Tribunal - Inquiry into the John Carthy siege and shooting of 2000

Eugebox's Statue = Statue of the great Eugebox Lynch in the village of Abbeylara

External links

• Abbeylara pages on official County Longford site