Kilmacthomas

Kilmacthomas or Kilmactomas (Irish: Coill Mhic Thomáisín), often referred to locally as "Kilmac", is a town on the River Mahon in County Waterford, Ireland. It lies on the R677 immediately north of the N25 national primary road from Dungarvan to Waterford.

The town has a population of some 1,200 people. The chief tourist attraction of the locality are the Mahon Falls.

History

During the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, in December, 1649, Oliver Cromwell, marched from Waterford to Kilmacthomas during the Siege of Waterford. The weather was wet and stormy and the river was in flood, so the army couldn't cross. Two nights were spent in the field that is now the public park. Cromwell was said to have described Waterford county on his march from Waterford to Kilmacthomas in the winter of 1649 as being a craggy and desolate place.

Daniel O'Connell passed through Kilmac' on a campaign trail and he wrote:

We breakfasted at Kilmacthomas, a town belonging to the Beresfords but the people belong to us. They came out to meet us with green boughs and such shouting you can have no idea of. I harangued them from the window of the inn, and we had a good deal of laughing at the bloody Beresfords. Judge what the popular feeling must be when in this, a Beresford town, every man their tenant, we had such a reception.

In the early 1870s the influence of the industrial revolution reached Kilmacthomas when the Waterford to Mallow railroad came to town. There is an example of a stone viaduct in the town spanning the Mahon River.Although the last passenger services ceased in the late 1960s the railway continued to operate with the haulage of oil and magnesite for another couple of decades. This railway is now disused. The viaduct at Kilmacthomas has been preserved.

Geography

The village is situated on the River Mahon, the eastbank is known as Kilmacthomas and the westbank as Gruaigeshuneen. The postal area of Kilmacthomas can include Newtown, Ballylaneen, Lemybrien, Kill, Mahon Bridge, The Nire, and Kilrossanty. The N25 bridge over the River Mahon is named after local sporting hero Percy Kirwan.

The Mahon River has a stock of wild brown trout. The salmon run mostly in the autumn and winter, but start running from the end of June. Salmon trout (know locally as "Pale") are also found in the river. Sea trout run in late July and August. There has been a collapse in fish stocks in the 1980s and 1990s^{[citation needed]} but stocks are on the rise once more since a moratorium on netting has been emplaced.^{[citation needed]}

Geologically Kilmacthomas gives its name to the "Kilmacthomas Formation", which is composed of Palaeozoic deep marine metasediments and metavolcanics. Evidence of manganese nodules have been noted in the new bypass cutting recently constructed near the village.^{[citation needed]}

Kilmac' is located halfway between Waterford City and the county capital; Dungarvan. West of the village are the foothills of the Comeragh mountains, while five miles to the south is the 'Copper Coast' with the beach of Bonmahon / Bunmahon(Bún Machan).

Economy

• The town is noted for its Flahavan's Porridge Factory. Flahavan's have been milling Irish oats for 200 years, supplying breakfast porridge for generations.
• Alaska Fireplaces make fireplaces at a cold spot in Kilmacthomas (hence the name due to being exposed to the Cuteen wind) which are sold nationwide. Now located in the former Work House, which has been converted into Kilmacthomas Business Centre.
• Kilmacthomas acts as a dormitory town for Waterford and Dungarvan.

Education

There are 3 schools in Kilmacthomas. St Declan's Community College is the largest second level school in the county area, with in excess of 500 pupils. The (Kilmac') Convent Primary school caters for the younger children, while the pre-school boys and girls attend the Naíonra on the High Road.

Bars

Pubs in the town include: Powers, Dannys (Kirwans), Kielys, Keatings/Lynns (Main Street), Philomena Flynns (Newtown), Morrisseys (the Square), Lenihans (Newtown), Harleys Bar (River Street), and Kierseys Bar & Restaurant (Main Street).

Sports clubs

Gaelic Athletic Association Clubs:

• John Mitchels GAA Club, Kilnagrange, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford
• Kilmacthomas GAA Club, Union Road, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford
• Kilmacthomas Juvenile GAA Club, Union Road, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford
• Saint Mary's Juvenile GAA Club, Dunphy's Pub, Newtown, Kilmacthomas, Co. Waterford

People

• Birthplace of Tyrone Power (1795-1841), actor, comedian, author and theatrical manager.
• Lord of the Dance and Feet of Flames original lead Gillian Norris currently lives and works in Kilmacthomas, where she runs her own beauty salon and spa.^{[citation needed]}
• Educational giant Jack Giles had a long and prolific career as a primary school teacher in the area before he retired to become the star of a string of unsuccessful sitcoms including the universally panned Grumpy Jack. Giles is regarded as a local hero in the area for his years of service, in particular his weekly Dangers of Alcohol seminars which he would invariably teach whilst severely intoxicated, specifially to demonstrate the effects of alcohol, in an attempt to deter his pupils from drinking. Jack Giles Day is held each year in the local park, whereby past pupils and colleagues assemble and share their favourite Jack stories. Giles currently fronts The Jack Hammer, a current affairs comedy show on The Word Channel. In 2011 Giles took The Jack Hammer on the road with The Jack Hammer Live-The Lumbered with Jack Tour, opening in Wexford on March 5. Thus far, the tour has been a critical and commercial failure.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland