Knightstown, County Kerry
| Knightstown Baile an Ridire
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| — Town — | |
 Knightstown
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| Coordinates: 51°55′31″N 10°17′38″W / 51.92532°N 10.293846°WCoordinates: 51°55′31″N 10°17′38″W / 51.92532°N 10.293846°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Munster |
| County | County Kerry |
| Population (2006)[1] | |
| • Total | 156 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | V422773 |
Knightstown (Irish: Baile an Ridire)[2] is the largest settlement on Valentia Island, County Kerry, Ireland. It lies within the townland of Farranreagh, at the eastern tip of the island. Knightstown has a population of 156 (CSO 2006).[1]
Contents |
[edit] History
In 1830 Maurice FitzGerald, the 18th Knight of Kerry, commissioned Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo to draw up plans for a new village. During the 1840s, development began on what was initially known as the New Town of Valentia.[3]
[edit] Locality
The local RNLI lifeboat station moved to Knightstown in 1869 from Reenard Point and has since been known as the Valentia Lifeboat Station.[4] There is a selection of local coffee shops and bars in the town, as well as catholic and Church of Ireland churches.
Knightstown is also the location of the car ferry connection between Valentia Island and Reenard Point on the mainland.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "05. Population of Towns ordered by County and size, 2002 and 2006". Census of Ireland 2006 (Central Statistics Office of Ireland) 1 – Population Classified by Area: Knightstown, Valencia Island. http://census.cso.ie/Census/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=75471. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ Placenames Database of Ireland
- ^ "Knightstown" (PDF). West Iveragh Settlements Local Area Plan. Kerry County Council. http://www.kerrycoco.ie/en/allservices/planning/planspolicies/localareaplans/westiveraghsettlementslocalareaplan/thefile,1829,en.pdf. Retrieved 26 January 2012.
- ^ RNLI Lifeboat Station History
