Cootehill

Template:Infobox Irish Place Cootehill (Irish: Muinchille, meaning 'The Sleeve') is a rapidly-expanding market town in County Cavan in Ireland. It has a very wide street (Market Street), which boasts an impressive display of trees.

History

Cootehill was established as a market town in the late 17th century, and had strong ties to the Irish linen industry. The Cootes of Cootehill have had some notable members, for example, one Thomas Coote was a judge in a court of Common Pleas in the 18th century, and other Cootes have served as sheriffs and under-sheriffs in the 19th century.

A description from 1844 states: "The town is comparatively well-built and respectively inhabited; and is not equaled in appearance by any place between it and Dublin except Navan." The Cootehill of this era has a surprising link to communist and labour history, as well. A branch of the First International was established in Cootehill in 1872, along with branches in Dublin, Cork, and Belfast.

Many famous people have visited the town over the years: the President Mary McAleese visited in 2002, to open Damien House, Bertie Ahern, the Taoiseach visited Cootehill in 2006, and Gerry Adams from Sinn Féin has been known to pass through, John Wesley, this renowned evangelist visited our town in the mid-1700s. Over the years, Chris Tarrant has come to fish in the local lakes.

Heritage and culture

The dominant architectural style reflects the 17th and 18th centuries, with a number of fine Georgian buildings in the town centre. The town has a number of other fine architectural buildings: an arched sandstone facade now home to the AIB, stands at the far end of Market Street, juxtaposed to the Gothic architecture of the Church of Ireland place of worship. Within 90 metres stands the renovated St. Michaels Catholic Chapel, with its well kept grounds is an attractive place. The Cootehill Court House is another example of notable architecture, though the building is in need of refurbishment. It was designed and built in 1832 by William Dean Butler.

Cootehill's proximity to the artists' retreat at Annaghmakerrig makes it a favourite haunt for writers, poets and playwrights, including Patrick McCabe to Seamus Heaney.

Cootehill has strong links with the arts with poets, writers and visual artists attracted to the area. The Cootehill library regularly hosts exhibitions of local artists' work, and in 2006 it showcased a selection of pieces from the Irish Museum of Modern Art, including work by internationally-renowned artists. The Cootehill Arts Festival is also a key event in the Irish arts calendar, and features plays, workshops, readings, fringe theater and experimental work, such as the Duchess of Malfi, performed in 2002.

Live music - classical music, traditional music, country music and rock music - is an important part of local entrainment and weekends see local pubs and venues packed to hear both local groups and famous ensembles.

Industry and tourism

In 1837 it became the site of one of the first eight branches of Ulster Bank which remains to this day. The town is also home to Abbott Laboratories, which manufactures a range of infant formulae. Other factories include Eakins and Whelans Shoes, and the Cootehill Enterprise Centre is home to Carleton Bakery. Agriculture and related industry, as well as retail, are the main employers.

The surrounding lakes and rivers provide a scenic backdrop which attracts not only anglers, but other visitors and sports enthusiasts. Swimming and swimming instruction is available in the summer months, while boating and kayaking remain popular. Equestrians are also attracted to Cootehill and the surrounding countryside, and historians and architects find much to interest them. Bellamont House is widely regarded as the finest example of Palladian Architecture in Ireland, and remains in a well-preserved condition. There is a megalithic tomb on the Shercock road.

Walks in Dartrey and Bellamont Forest are available. A description from 1844 states: "the banks of the Cootehill (Dromore) River, for several miles above the town, furnish a constant series of very rich close landscapes, chiefly of the class which may be designated languishingly beautiful."

Infrastructure

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With the building boom of the last number of years the town has had a number of problems with parking and roads. The old Cavan Road and Chapel Lane have become one-way streets, to allow space for parking. With the growth of the national and local economy (and population) the town has seen the construction of a number of new housing estates. Cootehill is fast becoming popular with commuters to Dublin, Drogheda, Cavan and other major urban hubs. The widespread building of new accommodation and housing, coupled with improved infrastructure, has seen the population expand by about 30% in recent years. Cootehill is fast embracing cosmopolitanism and multi-culturalism, while trying to retain its traditional 18th century rustic charm.

At the end of 2006, Bindoo wind farm was completed close to Cootehill supplying the area with 48MW of wind generated electricity.

Transport

Cootehill railway station opened on 18 October 1860, closed for goods and passenger traffic on 10 March 1947, finally closing altogether on 20 June 1955.^[1]

Education

The town has two national schools: the Darley and St. Michael's. St Michael's is the larger of the two, with over 200 students from the ages of 4 to 12. The local secondary school: St. Aidans Comprehensive School serves the practical and academic needs of the area's population. The Holy Family School, Monaghan Road caters to students with special needs. Tanagh Outdoor Education Centre provides adventure sport activities (canoeing, orienteering, etc.) for school groups and others.

People

Author Mary Anne Madden Sadlier was born here in 1820, emigrating to America in 1844 after the death of her father, Francis Madden, a merchant in Cootehill. She published roughly sixty novels, short stories, plays, poems, children's texts and translations of French romances and religious works.
The late Archbishop of Dublin, John Charles McQuaid, was born there in 1895. He was Archbishop of Dublin from 1940 until 1972. McQuaid is famous for having played a part in the drafting DeValera's Constitution in 1937, and many of the Catholic overtones in Bunreacht na hÉireann are attributable to his influence.
Also born in Cootehill in 1895 was Major General Eric Dorman-Smith, (later Dorman-O'Gowan) a noted British Army soldier, served in World War II, and was the inspiration for Ernest Hemingway's "Colonel Cantwell". McQuaid and Dorman-Smith were boyhood friends, despite the apparent disparity of background and later career.
Paddy Smith, Fianna Fáil TD and the longest-serving member of Dáil Éireann was born there in 1901.
Also home of actor Hugh O'Brien imdb Profile

References

^ "Cootehill station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-23.

External links

[1] "Cootehill station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-23.

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