Rathdowney

There is another Rathdowney in Queensland, Australia, named after the Irish town.

Rathdowney

Rathdowney (Ráth Domhnaigh in Irish) is a shit holetown in southwest County Laois, Ireland. It lies some 32 km southwest of Portlaoise in the Irish midlands, at the point where the R433 regional road from Abbeyleix to Templemore is crossed by the R435 from Borris-in-Ossory to Johnstown. The new M7 and M8 motoroways will pass within a few kilometres of Rathdowney. Some sections of this road are due to open in 2008.

According to the 2006 census the population stands at 1,207

The town's name arises from that of a nearby ringfort, or ráth, which was levelled in 1830. Brewing was a major industry in Rathdowney until 1966. The town is also home to the Rathdowney Designer Outlet Shopping Centre.

There is reason to believe that the area may have been inhabited in Neolithic times.

The town is mentioned three times in the Annals of the Four Masters. See below

• 874 Flaithri, son of Maelduin, Lord of Rath-Tamhnaighe (Rathdowney) died
• 909 Maelpadraig, son of Flaithri, Lord of Rath-Tamhnaighe, died
• 1069 Gillamoula, grandson of Bruaideadh, Lord of Rath-Tamhnaighe, died

Historical notes

The settlement of Rathdowney has existed since at least the 9th century. Historically it forms part of the Kingdom of Ossory Kingdom of Osraige, and today it remains part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ossory as such Rathdowney is not historically part of Laois. The present day county of Laois being a modern administrative construct.

The Croppy's Grave located in the town's central square is the still visible cobbled grave of a Croppy revolutionary hanged and buried there in 1798. The site also contains a recent memorial.

The town was raided at least once by anti- treaty forces during the Irish Civil War of 1922 to 1923.

Churches

Saint Andrew's Church of Ireland church, which dominates the square and the town to a lesser degree; stands on the traditional site of an older Roman Catholic church, which was located there from medieval times until the Reformation. Sometime later the penal laws allowed for the old structure to be demolished, which meant there was no Catholic church in the town for about 30 years. On repeal of the above laws a new church was constructed on Main Street in the 1830s this church served the catholic population of the area for the next 120 years before it too was tumbled; to be replaced by a shrine and carpark. A new larger, modern Catholic church, the Church of the Holy Trinity, was built on the west side of the town and opened in the late 1950s.

Some "mass pits" or outdoor areas used for Catholic masses during penal times are located in the vicinity of the town and are well signposted for those interested.

Economy

The Meadow Meats processing plant is part of the Dawn Meats Group and the largest employer in the town. This factoy stands on the old Perry's Brewery site, it was purchased by Lyons Meats in 1968 and converted by them to a meat processing facility, which went into production in 1971. Rathdowney is also something of a centre for several out lying villages and is the focal point of a large agricultural hinterland. Keanes Texaco service station the main provider of domestic fuel in the town has also gone from strength to strength since the Keane family took over in the summer of 2004.

People

• John Moyney (1895 – 1980), an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, was born in Rathdowney.
• Another Victoria Cross recipient, James Pearson, was also from Rathdowney.
• John Maher's novel The Luck Penny (Brandon 2007) is set in Rathdowney, in 1849. It is loosely based on the life of the Church of Ireland minister and Assyriologist Dr Edward Hincks.
• Tony Byrne, Irish international footballer was born in Rathdowney in 1946.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland