Newtownmountkennedy

Newtownmountkennedy (Irish: Baile an Chinnéidigh, meaning "Kennedy's town") is a small town in County Wicklow, Ireland. It developed within the historic townland of Ballygarny (Irish: Baile Ó gCearnaigh)[2] (now Mount Kennedy Demesne), although all that remains is a motte where a church, graveyard and a castle or tower house once stood just 0.85 km (0.53 mi) north of the town.[3] It acquired its present name in the mid-seventeenth-century, when Sir Robert Kennedy, M.P. for Kildare, made it his principal residence.[4] It is just off the N11 road to Wexford, just south of Kilpedder and south-west of Greystones. It is about 15 km (9.3 mi) north of Wicklow town, 15 km (9.3 mi) south of Bray and approximately 35 km (22 mi) from Dublin. The R772 regional road passes through the village. This was the main Dublin-Wexford route, the N11, but the village was bypassed by the new N11 dual carriageway in 1990. This town has one of the longest place names in Ireland.

Newtownmountkennedy

Baile an Chinnéidigh
Town
Coillte HQ in Newtownmountkennedy
Newtownmountkennedy
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°05′24″N 6°06′37″W
CountryIreland
ProvinceLeinster
CountyCounty Wicklow
Elevation
82 m (269 ft)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Total2,835
 • Demonym
Newtowner
Time zoneUTC+0 (WET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+1 (IST (WEST))
Irish Grid ReferenceO262062

Between the 2011 and 2016 census, the population of the town increased by 17.6% (from 2,410 to 2,835 inhabitants), one of the highest growth rates in County Wicklow on the period.[5][1][6] The area is a dormitory town for some workers commuting to Bray and Dublin.

The headquarters of Coillte, the Irish Forestry Board, are situated in the village forest. Newtownmountkennedy is in the Roman Catholic parish of Kilquade and one of the Kilquade parish's two chapels of ease is located in the village at the junction with the Roundwood Road.

Education

Newtownmountkennedy Primary School (St. Joseph's Boys National School and St. Bridget's Girls National School) is located just west of the village. It was formerly split into three buildings, one for male students, and one for female students, while the third building was reserved for the Centre for Autism. The boys' school was known as St Joseph's, while the girls' school was known as St Bridget's. In 2007, the two schools were merged, leaving the lower classes (Junior infants, Senior infants and First class) in the former girls' school,[7] while the remaining classes (Second class, Third class, Fourth class, Fifth class and Sixth class) took residence in the former boys' school.[8]

The autism centre stayed in the third building. The name given to the new school is Newtownmountkennedy Primary School. The majority of secondary school students travel to the nearby Coláiste Chroabh Abhann in neighbouring Kilcoole.

Transport

The area is served by the 184 bus route connecting the town with Kilpedder, Greystones and Bray. Bus Éireann route 133 connects the town with Dublin, Bray and Wicklow. The closest train stations are Greystones and Kilcoole. Greystones and the further, bigger Bray Daly station are accessible by route 184. The nearest airport is Dublin Airport served by the 133X route three times a day and the nearest airfield is Newcastle Aerodrome. The closest ferry ports are Dublin to the north and Rosslare Europort to the south.[9]

Sports

Gaelic games

The Gaelic Athletic Association club of Newtown, known in Irish as Báile úi gCearnaigh, is one of the oldest clubs in the country, being founded in 1887. The club has two adult teams, one contesting the Senior League and Championship, one contesting the Junior A League and Championship. There are also underage teams, ranging from Minor (U-18) down to "Super Sevens" (U-8 and younger).

The club has a number of county championships to its name, including the County Senior Championship, won on in 1964 and 1975.

Newtown GAA Club[10] plays in the colours Black and White, leading to some fans to dub them "The Magpies".

Football

Newtown has two football clubs, Newtown United and Newtown Juniors. Newtown Juniors are for players up until the age of 16. After that, they move on to the senior teams of Newtown United. Both teams use the same home ground, the Matt Kelly Community Grounds.

Golf

Druids Glen Golf Resort, which hosted the Irish open from 1996 to 1999, is located about a kilometre east from Newtown.[11] Druids Heath Golf Course, another championship course, is also located in Druids Glen. Glen Mill Golf Club is located to the south of the Newtown past Killadreenan.[12]

Economy

Coillte, the Irish Forestry operator, has its headquarters just north of the town. French company Procap had its Northern European plant in the town.[13] There is also a small industrial estate located to the south of the village.

The Parkview Hotel opened in the village centre in March 2007. The hotel has 60 bedrooms and conference facilities.[14]

Ecologic received planning permission to build a data centre in Newtownmountkennedy that has an area of 1.1 million square feet (100,000 square metres).[15] This plan was approved by the Supreme Court in December 2013 after numerous appeals by An Bord Pleanála and quashing the High Court's refusal to approve the development.[16]

There is also a shopping center in the town, which includes a Dunnes Stores,[17] a pharmacy and a cafe. A major development was the creation, in 2015, of a new housing development "Wicklow Hills" which comprises a mix of two, three and four bedroom houses.[18]

People

References
  1. "Sapmap Area - Settlement - Newtownmountkennedy". Census 2016. Central Statistics Office. April 2016.
  2. "Newtownmountkennedy". Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  3. "Ballygarny (Mount Kennedy) Church". newtownmountkennedy.net. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  4. Ball, F.Elrington History of Dublin 6 Volumes Alexander Thom and Co. 1902-1920 Vol.4 p. 78
  5. "Newtownmountkennedy Legal Town Results". Central Statistics Office. 2011.
  6. "Newtown is fastest-growing town". Bray People. Independent News & Media. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  7. Newtownmountkennedy Primary School website, newtownprimary.net; accessed 9 March 2015.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 September 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "Transport". newtownmountkennedy.net. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. "New Town GAA Club". newtowngaa.ie.
  11. "Hotels In Wicklow - Druids Glen Hotel & Resort Wicklow - Wicklow Hotels - 5 Star Hotel In Wicklow". druidsglen.ie. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  12. "Glen Mill - Find Us". glenmillgolfclub.ie. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  13. "Procap - Plastic Caps and Plastic Closures". Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2012.
  14. "Hotels Wicklow, Newtownmountkennedy Hotel, Wicklow Hotels - Parkview Hotel, Newtownmountkennedy, Co.Wicklow, Ireland". parkviewhotel.ie. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  15. http://ecologicdatacentres.com/vision.html 15 July 2017
  16. "Developments get go-ahead after Supreme Court decision". RTÉ News. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
  17. BT Fresca Limited. "Stores - Dunnes Stores". dunnesstores.ie. Retrieved 17 June 2015.
  18. "€150m Newtown housing scheme". Wicklow People. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  19. https://www.independent.ie/regionals/wicklowpeople/sport/other-sports/newtowns-clarke-makes-move-up-to-premiership-27831158.html
  20. "My cultural life: Sonny Condell". independent.ie. Independent News & Media. 13 November 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2020.
  21. "Coaches - Leo Cullen - Head Coach". leinsterrugby.ie. Leinster Rugby. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  22. "Newtown's Heffernan signs for Bristol City". Bray People. 1 July 2004. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
  23. Ball, F. Elrington (1926). The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921. London: John Murray.
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