Rathdowney

For the town of the same name in Queensland, see Rathdowney, Queensland.

Rathdowney Ráth Domhnaigh
Village
Rathdowney Location in Ireland
Coordinates:
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Laois
Elevation	100 m (300 ft)
Population (2011)
• Urban	1,208
Irish Grid Reference	S279783

Rathdowney or Rathdowny (Irish: Ráth Domhnaigh) is a town 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 R433 provides access for Rathdowney to the Dublin-Cork M8 motorway, while the R435 links the town to the Dublin-Limerick M7. According to the 2011 census the population stands at 1,208.

History

Rathdowney is named after a nearby ringfort, or ráth, which was levelled in 1830. This ráth is mentioned three times in the Annals of the Four Masters:

• 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

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 is 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.

Queen Victoria passed through Rathdowney during her first visit to Ireland in 1849 and in a letter to her maternal sibling Princess Feodora of Leiningen about the visit to Ireland she described passing through a town assumed to be Rathdowney by historians as "a quaint village, surrounded by hills" and went on to describe it as "an idyllic small town".

File:Rathdowney Panorama (Church St, Ossory St, Main St).jpg

Panorama of Rathdowney, Co. Laois, Ireland. Church Street on left, Ossory Street centre, Main Street on right.

File:Rathdowney, Co. Laois, Ireland (View of Main Street).jpg

View of Main Street,Rathdowney, County Laois, Ireland

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. A new Catholic 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 was the largest employer in the town. This factory 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.The largest employer currently is Dunnes Store Ltd. Rathdowney is also something of a centre for several out lying villages and is the focal point of a large agricultural hinterland.

People

• John Moyney, 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.
• James Ryan, an Irish novelist (South of the Border)
• Tony Byrne an Irish former professional football player was born in Rathdowney in 1946.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland