Rathvilly

Rathvilly Ráth Bhile
Village
Rathvilly
Rathvilly Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°52′52″N 6°41′42″W / 52.881°N 6.695°WCoordinates: 52°52′52″N 6°41′42″W / 52.881°N 6.695°W
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Carlow
Dáil Éireann	Wicklow
Elevation	120 m (390 ft)
Population (2006)[1]
• Village	796
• Urban	492
• Environs	304
Irish Grid Reference	S880817

Rathvilly (Irish: Ráth Bhile, meaning "ringfort of the sacred tree") is a village in County Carlow, Ireland. The village is located on the River Slaney near the border with County Wicklow, 11 km from Tullow. It is also on the N81 national secondary route. The area has the family seat of Baron Rathdonnell. Rathvilly has won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition on three separate occasions, 1961, 1963, and 1968.

History

In the centre of the village there is a statue dedicated to Kevin Barry a local 18-year-old who fought for Irish freedom in the 1920s. He was captured by the British and hanged in Mountjoy Prison on 1 November 1920.

Places of interest

Rathvilly Moat, a medieval structure, is found one mile off the village on the Hacketstown road.

Sport

It is one of the few clubs in County Carlow who can consistently challenge the dominance of the Carlow town club sides, Éire Óg and O'Hanrahans. The colours of Green and Gold grace the village's Gaelic Athletic Association jersey. They have also been Carlow Senior Football champions 8 times in their history, their most recent championship win came in 2014. Rathvilly's Brendan Murphy has represented his country in the annual AFL series on multiple occasions. In 2015, one of the best ever Rathvilly teams won the Under 16 Carlow A Championship. In 2013, the Rathvilly Junior-A team completed the double, winning both championship and league finals.

Transport

• Rathvilly railway station opened on 1 June 1886, closed for passenger traffic on 27 January 1947 and finally closed altogether on 1 April 1959.^[2]

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. "Census 2006 – Volume 1 – Population Classified by Area" (PDF). Central Statistics Office Census 2006 Reports. Central Statistics Office Ireland. April 2007. Retrieved 2011-06-18.
2. "Rathvilly station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-11-23.

External links

• The Tidy Towns of Ireland "Celebrating 50 years"
• Disused stations