Rathangan, County Kildare: Difference between revisions
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== People == |
== People == |
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*[[Brian Dowling]]; winner of [[Big Brother (UK)|Big Brother]] in [[2002]], ex-presenter of [[SMTV]], and presenter of [[The Mint (game show)|The Mint]]<ref>[http://www.briandowling.biz/?page=body_bio Brian Dowling Biography]</ref>. |
*[[Brian Dowling]]; winner of [[Big Brother (UK)|Big Brother]] in [[2002]], ex-presenter of [[SMTV]], and presenter of [[The Mint (game show)|The Mint]]<ref>[http://www.briandowling.biz/?page=body_bio Brian Dowling Biography]</ref>. |
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== See also == |
== See also == |
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Revision as of 10:36, 7 October 2008
Rathangan (Irish: Ráth Iomgháin) is a town in the west of County Kildare, Ireland, with a population of 1,718 [1]. It is located Template:Km to mi from the centre of Dublin, and Template:Km to mi from Kildare, at the intersection of the R401, R414, and R419 regional roads[2]. The Slate River and the Grand Canal run through the town.
Rathangan is situated beside the Bog of Allen, and is in close proximity to the lowlands of the Curragh. In recent years, the town has grown significantly to become a big commuter base for people working in Dublin.
History
The rath or fort of Iomghain, from which the town gets its name, has been dated to between 600 and 700 AD, and is situated to the northwest of the modern town on the Clonbulloge road [3]. The extension of the Grand Canal to Monasterevin and Athy in the late 18th century led to the current layout of the town, due to the building of houses for the canal engineers which were complemented by grander houses for the local gentry[4].
Bord na Móna's increased activity in the 1940s boosted the population and the number of transient workers, but the closure of the canal systems and the decline of bog based interests of the company led to a decline in the town's fortunes. This in turn led to an increase in emigration by the town's young people.
The upturn of Ireland's economy in the 1990s again led to increased prosperity, and the extension of the M7 through the nearby towns of Kildare and Monasterevin has made Dublin more accessible, leading to a housing boom in the town.
Sports
The primary sporting activities in Rathangan are Gaelic football (Rathangan GAA), tennis, soccer, and hurling (cricket, rugby, polo, and chess are also played). Meggers, or horseshoe pitching, also takes place during the summer. Rathangan is famed for coarse angling for roach, bream, perch, and hybrids. Trout have been caught in the Slate River on occasion.
Culture
The Rathangan Lughnasa festival is held during the August Bank Holiday weekend [5], to celebrate the arts and crafts, music, literature, history, and sports of the town. Damien Dempsey, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, The Blizzards, The Walls, Jack L, and John Spillane have all performed in the town as part of the Lughnasa since 2004.
People
- Brian Dowling; winner of Big Brother in 2002, ex-presenter of SMTV, and presenter of The Mint[6].
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See also
References
- ^ CSO 2006 census population by town
- ^ Google Map showing Rathangan
- ^ [1] A Ramble In Rathangan, Seamus Kelly, 2005
- ^ Kildare.ie histoy of Rathangan
- ^ Rathangan Lughnasa Summer Festival 2006
- ^ Brian Dowling Biography