Croom, County Limerick

Croom Cromadh
—  Town  —
Croom Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 52°31′17″N 8°43′14″W / 52.5213°N 8.7205°W / 52.5213; -8.7205Coordinates: 52°31′17″N 8°43′14″W / 52.5213°N 8.7205°W / 52.5213; -8.7205
Country	Ireland
Province	Munster
County	County Limerick
Time zone	WET (UTC+0)
- Summer (DST)	IST (WEST) (UTC-1)
Irish Grid Reference	R509411

Croom (Irish: Cromadh meaning 'Bend in the River') is a village in County Limerick, Ireland. It is located just off the N20 (which has bypassed the town since 2001) on the River Maigue. It is 8 km southeast of Adare on the N20.

History

Before being occupied by the FitzGerald dynasty, Croom was the last seat in County Limerick of the O'Donovan family, now principally of Carbery in County Cork. Their ancestor Crom Ua Donnabáin took his name from the place, and it is the origin also of the FitzGerald war cry "Crom Abu".

Places of interest

Croom is home to Croom Castle, rebuilt by the FitzGeralds from an earlier O'Donovan fortress, which may or may not have first been destroyed. In any case, it was restored in the 19th century. In the 18th century, it was the meeting-place of the "Maigue poets." West of Croom are the ruins of a 15th century church (National Monument) and a round tower (12th century), the top part of which is missing. To the east is the orthopaedic hospital which began life in 1852 as a workhouse, and became a hospital in 1924. Along the river Maigue is a ruin mill along with a newer mill which has been closed down.

Transport

Croom railway station opened on 1 August 1862, closed for passenger traffic on 31 December 1934 and for goods traffic on 9 September 1963, finally closing altogether on 27 March 1967.^[1]

The town is bypassed by the N20 Croom Bypass (2001), and Bus Éireann intercity buses (Cork-Limerick) no longer stop in Croom. The private bus operator Citylink provides services to and from Limerick, Galway and Cork.^[2]

Sport

The well known thoroughbred horse stud Islanmore Stud is on the south side of the village. The original 18th century house was built for a younger brother of the Earl of Dunraven.
There is a local GAA club ^[3]

Education

Croom has two schools, a primary school named "St.Marys" and a secondary school named "Coláiste Chiaráin".

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. ^ "Croom station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-09-23. 
2. ^ Citylink timetable
3. ^ Croom GAA Club