Carrickmacross

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search
Carrickmacross
Carraig Mhachaire Rois
Location
Location of Carrickmacross
centerMap highlighting Carrickmacross
Irish grid reference
H837039
Statistics
Province: Ulster
County: County Monaghan
Elevation: 80 m (26 ft)

Population ()
 - Town:
 - Environs:
  1,964
  10,210
Website: www.carrickmacross.ie

Carrickmacross, called Carrick or Cmx by locals, (Irish: Carraig Mhachaire Rois) is a town in County Monaghan, Ireland whose translated name means "The Rock of the Wooded Plain". It had a population of 5,066 (including rural area) according to provisional data from the 2006 census. The town won the prestigious European Entente Florale Silver Medal Award. It is a market town which developed around a Castle built by the Earl of Essex in 1630. The Convent of the St. Louis Nuns now stands on the original castle site. The local Gaelic Football and Hurling club is Carrickmacross Emmets.

The Nuns were largely responsible for the revival of lace-making skills in the region and the Carrickmacross Lace Co-operative has been instrumental in keeping the tradition alive today. This lace may be purchased at The Gallery Centre where demonstrations of this skill can be given by prior request.

Contents

[edit] Places of interest

  • One of the most imposing buildings in the town is the Roman Catholic church which was completed in 1866. Of particular significance in the church are the ten beautiful stained-glass windows which were designed by the renowned artist Harry Clarke in 1925.
  • Magheross Church, located on the outskirts of the town, is of historical interest.
  • Other buildings of note include the Courthouse and the restored Poor Law Union Workhouse.

[edit] Transport

Carrickmacross railway station opened on 31 July 1886, closed for passenger traffic on 10 March 1947, and finally closed altogether on 1 January 1960.[2]
The town was formerly situated on the N2 Dublin-Derry National Route. It is now bypassed.
It is situated approximately 1 hour from both Dublin and Belfast.

[edit] Education

Main Street Carrickmacross

There are three primary schools in Carrickmacross. St.Josephs, which is situated near St. Macartans Villas is an all boys school, it was run by the Patrician Brothers but they no longer run the school.

Bunscoil Lughaidh Naofa which is in Cloughvalley is an all girls school, was run by the St. Louis nuns who came to Carrickmacross in 1888.

Scoil Rois is the Gaelscoil in Carrickmacross it is a mixed school, they recently had a new school built, they moved from the Convent Avenue to Cloughvalley they are now across from Bunscoil Lughaidh Naofa.

The Patrician High School, PHS for short, [1] is one of three secondary schools in Carrickmacross. It was set up by the Patrician Brothers. It was situated next to the Church on O'Neills street, the building is now the scout hall.In 1970 they moved to Rockdaniel Rd but have more recently had a €4,000,000 extension. They have constantly produced great football teams through the years. It has approximately 350 pupils in attendance. The Inver College, called the TEC by students and townspeople, is a mixed school situated on the Castleblayney Rd.

The St. Louis Convent is an all girls secondary school set up by the St.Louis nuns in the 19th century. The school was set up in honour of St. Louis (Louis IX). The motto of the school is 'Ut Sint Unum' which is Latin, meaning 'that they may be one'. These words were spoken by Our Lord at the Last Supper (John 17:21). There are five stages of the story of the Sisters of St.Louis in Ireland: Fleur-de-Lys is the emblem of the French Royal House of Boubon and St. Louis, their main Patron belonged to it. The French words Dieu le Veult, means 'God wills it' and was the battle cry of the Crusaders. Louis IX (St. Louis) led a crusade to the Holy land in the 13th century. The sword signifies the Crusades, but is positioned to show the cross-like shape of the hilt.The Crown of Thorns was believed to have been found by Louis and brought back to France. The Tower is part of the coat of arms of Monaghan town, where the first Irish St. Louis convent was established in 1859. The red hand represents the Read Hand of Ulster, an ancient symbol of the province, in which Monaghan town is situated. It is situated on the Convent Ave.

[edit] People

[edit] International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

[edit] Twin towns — Sister cities

The following place is twinned with Carrickmacross:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.cso.ie/census and www.histpop.org. Post 12991 figures include environs of Carrickamcorss. For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee “On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses” in Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, and also “New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850” by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1984), pp. 473-488.
  2. ^ "Carrickmacross station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-15. 
  3. ^ RTÉ Weather presenters (retrieved 13 February 2007)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrickmacross"