Castledermot

Castledermot (Irish: Díseart Diarmada, meaning 'Dermot's Hermitage')^[2] is an inland town in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about 75 km (47 mi) from Dublin, and 10 km (6.2 mi) from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford previously passed through the village but upon completion of a motorway bypass in 2010, it was re-designated the R448.

Castledermot Díseart Diarmada
Village
The Castle Inn, Castledermot at the R448/R148 junction
Castledermot Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°54′43″N 6°50′15″W / 52.91204°N 6.83757°W / 52.91204; -6.83757Coordinates: 52°54′43″N 6°50′15″W / 52.91204°N 6.83757°W / 52.91204; -6.83757
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Kildare
Population  (2016)^[1]	1,475
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid Reference	S780852

History

 

1903 Gordon Bennett Trophy. René de Knyff, driving his Panhard to second place, passes Alexander Winton repairing the Winton Bullet 2 on the first lap.

The earliest known Irish Parliament met at Castledermot on 18 June 1264. Also, the oldest intact window in Western Europe can be found in the town, being part of the ruins of a Franciscan Monastery. The window, although large, is only stonework. St. Laurence O'Toole, (1128 - 1180) or Lorcán Ua Tuathail, was born at Castledermot.

In July 1903 the Gordon Bennett Cup passed through Castledermot.

Public transport

Bus

The main bus route serving Castledermot is J.J. Kavanagh & Sons route 736 providing a limited number of daily services to Carlow, Waterford, Dublin and Dublin Airport. This service was reduced in 2015 which impacted local commuters and community members seeking to visit hospitals in Kildare and Dublin.^{[citation needed]} Visitors who wish to visit Castledermot outside of the small number of services that pass through the town must alight at slip road off the M9 for Carlow and avail of a taxi service into Castledermot. South Kildare Community Transport operate a route from Castledermot to Athy twice a day each way Mondays to Fridays inclusive. Bus Éireann used to serve Castledermot more frequently, but the solitary Sunday evening journey was withdrawn in 2015. Castledermot is also served by bus route 880 operated by Kildare Local Link on behalf of the National Transport Authority. There are several buses each day including Sunday linking the town to Carlow and Naas as well as villages such as Moone in the area.^[3]

Rail

Carlow railway station is approximately 11 kilometres distant. Athy railway station is around 14 kilometres distant.

Demographics

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1821	1,336	—
1831	1,375	+2.9%
1841	1,416	+3.0%
1851	666	−53.0%
1861	883	+32.6%
1871	727	−17.7%
1881	675	−7.2%
1891	536	−20.6%
1901	451	−15.9%
1911	388	−14.0%
1926	247	−36.3%
1936	276	+11.7%
1946	408	+47.8%
1951	449	+10.0%
1956	599	+33.4%
1961	551	−8.0%
1966	557	+1.1%
1971	583	+4.7%
1981	805	+38.1%
1986	792	−1.6%
1991	741	−6.4%
1996	733	−1.1%
2002	726	−1.0%
2006	887	+22.2%
2011	1,398	+57.6%
2016	1,475	+5.5%
^[4]^[1]

The population of the town was 887 at the time of the (January 2006) census, a 22% increase over the figure recorded in 2002.^[5] As of the 2016 census, the population of the village had grown further to 1,475 people.^[1] The settlement is growing due to its proximity to Dublin.^{[citation needed]}

Notable features

The River Lerr (a tributary of the larger River Barrow, the second longest river in Ireland) flows through the town.

In the town there are various remains including Castledermot Round Tower, Saint John's Tower and two well-preserved granite high crosses and the ruins of Castledermot Abbey, a Franciscan friary. 5 km (3.1 mi) away is Kilkea Castle, once the residence of the Duke of Leinster, but now a hotel and health farm. The castle was built by the English Norman Hugh de Lacy in 1180, and later passed to the Fitzgeralds. Gerald FitzGerald, 11th Earl of Kildare, is said to have practised magic in Kilkea Castle which earned him the nickname "the Wizard Earl".^{[citation needed]}

Education

There are two schools in the town. The national school, Scoil Diarmada, is on the Athy road out of Castledermot and was opened in January 2009. It has two floors, and an elevator for easier access for disabled people.^{[citation needed]} The secondary school, Colaiste Lorcain, is located on the main street.

Sport

Sporting organisations in Castledermot include the local GAA team, Castledermot GAA (which has men's and women's teams), and plays Gaelic football and hurling. There are also local Gaelic handball, basketball, soccer and cricket teams.

Castle Villa, whose grounds are at Mullarney Park, are one of the most successful soccer teams in Leinster.^{[citation needed]} Two of the club's most successful teams of the past were the 1979 team which won the Counties Cup and the Sheeran Cup winners of 1984. More recently, the club was crowned Lumsden League Cup Champions in 2016 and have been Kildare Senior League champions on several occasions.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland
• List of abbeys and priories in Ireland (County Kildare)

References

1. "Sapmap Area - Settlements - Castledermot". Census 2016. CSO. April 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
2. "Díseart Diarmada/Castledermot". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Government of Ireland. Retrieved 5 October 2021.
3. "Locals Encouraged to Use New Bus Route Serving Villages from Castledermot to Kilcullen". 14 August 2015.
4. "Castledermot (Kildare, All Towns, Ireland) - Population Statistics, Charts, Map, Location, Weather and Web Information".
5. "Locals Encouraged to Use New Bus Route Serving Villages from Castledermot to Kilcullen". Martin Heydon. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 30 July 2021.

External links

  Media related to Castledermot at Wikimedia Commons