Castletown, County Laois

Infobox Irish Place
name = Castletown
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crest

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province = Leinster
county = County Laois
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Castletown is a small village and also a parish in the southern half of County Laois in Ireland near the town of Mountrath.

Castletown is known as “The Tidiest Village in Laois”. Chairmanof the Tidy Towns committee is Seán Fleming, TD. Not only is Castletown the Tidiest Village in Laois but in 1998, Castletown were just four points behind the national winner. They won The Tidiest Village in Ireland, in the category for villages with a population between 200 and 1,000.

History

According to an extract from a Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, by Samuel Lewis, London, 1837, Castletown was "a village in the Parish of Offerlane, barony of Upper Ossory, Queen’s county, and province of Leinster, 1 3/4 miles (S.by W.) from Mountrath; containing 367 inhabitants. It takes its name from an ancient castle, occupying a commanding situation on the bank of the River Nore, and which, in the early part of the 16th century, was garrisoned by Sir Oliver Norris, son-in-law of the Earl of Ormonde, with a view to curb the power of the Fitzpatricks, to whom it was afterwards relinquished." The extract continues “the village is pleasantly situated on the river Nore, and on the road from Dublin to Limerick, it contains 59 houses, many of which are good residences, and the whole has an appearance of neatness and respectability”.

Places of interest

Gash Gardens and the De La Salle Brothers monastery which has been in the village since 1881.

Education

There are three national schools in the parish - Castletown Primary School, Paddock National School and Rushall National School.

port

Castletown has a gaelic Athletic Association club called Castletown GAA, while another club in the parish is called Slieve Bloom GAA.

Transport

*A new bridge was built in 1972 which relieved previously serious traffic congestion in the village.
*Mountrath and Castletown railway station opened on 1 September 1848, closed for goods traffic on 3 November 1975 and finally closed altogether on 6 September 1976. [cite web | title=Mountrath and Castletown station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-11-18]

References

ee also

* List of towns in the Republic of Ireland