Nobber

Nobber An Obair
—  Village  —
Keogan's Bar in the centre of Nobber village
Nobber Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 53°47′27″N 6°44′40″W / 53.790858°N 6.74443°W / 53.790858; -6.74443Coordinates: 53°47′27″N 6°44′40″W / 53.790858°N 6.74443°W / 53.790858; -6.74443
Country	Ireland
Province	Leinster
County	County Meath
Elevation	56 m (184 ft)
Population (2006)
- Urban	652
Irish Grid Reference	N812880

Nobber (Irish: an Obair, meaning "the work" – referring to a moate around a Norman castle)^[1] is a village in north County Meath, Ireland. The village is built near a river called the Dee (from Irish: Abha Fherdiea meaning "river of Ferdia") and near Whitewood Lake which is situated in the town land of Whitewood. It is on the Navan–Kingscourt road (R162) about 12 miles (19 km) north of Navan. This places the village about 37 miles (60 km) from the M50 motorway ; the orbital motorway of Dublin. The town of Kells is to the west and the town of Ardee to the east and the town of Kingscourt is to the north. Villages that border the parish are Kilmainhamwood, Moynalty and Kilbeg to the west, Castletown to the south and Drumconrath and Lobinstown to the east.

History

The Normans were the first known people to settle at Nobber. It acted as a strong point on the road from the ports of Drogheda and Dundalk to the midlands. When the Kingdom of Meath was granted to Hugh De Lacy by King Henry II in the mid 1100s, Hugh granted the Barony of Morgallion to Gilbert de Angulo, who constructed a moate and bailey there. Recently several high crosses were discovered in the village's old cemetery (St Johns) dating from possibly the 10th century. These are much smaller and less ornate than typical celtic high crosses. This find is significant because it suggests that a hitherto unrecorded monastic settlement once existed on the site of the village. Moynagh Lake west of the village is the site of a multi-period crannog which dates to Mesolithic times. In the Medieval period Nobber was the chief town of the Barony of Morgallion.

Transport

A disused railway line dating from 1875 runs through the village which runs from Kingscourt to Navan. This was purchased by the Midland Great Western Railway in 1888. Until recent years it operated to haul gypsum from Saint-Gobain Gypsum Industries plant in County Cavan to the port of Drogheda. Nobber railway station opened on 1 November 1872, closed for passenger traffic on 27 January 1947 and finally closed altogether on 1 April 1963.^[2]

Amenities

• The village has two schools: Nobber National school for primary school children and O'Carolan College which is a comprehensive secondary school.
• The church of Saint John the Baptist is the Roman Catholic church in the centre of the village which also has a fire station, Garda Síochána (police) station and a branch library.

People

• It is reputed to be the birthplace of the blind harpist Turlough Carolan.
• There is a statue in memory of him at the southern end of the village.
• Famous technical graphics teacher Gerry McGiveny, is originally from Nobber.
• Nobber is also known for having two of the best footballers in Ireland that have represented Meath footballers in the past (Gerry McEntee)and also Brian Farrell who currently represents Meath.

Geographic Location

Town Lands

Nobber has 22 townlands. They are:

• Altmush, Arrigal,
• Brittas,
• Cloughmacoo, College, Cregg, Cruicetown,
• Garmanagh,
• Hennigan,
• Julianstown,
• Kilbride,
• Leafin,
• Moydorragh, Moynagh, Muff,
• Newtown, Nobber,
• Possexstown,
• Rathe, Rathgillen,
• Seller, Spiddal.

Cruicetown is the largest townland and Leafin is the smallest.

Sport

• Nobber has only one Gaelic Football team called Nobber G.F.C. In 2003, Nobber won the All-Ireland Junior Club Football Championship, beating Kilmeena of Mayo. Nobber are reigning Meath Intermediate football Champions. Nobber are currently in the Meath Senior Football Championship, which they have never won. Nobber's main Gaelic Football rival is Kilmainhamwood G.F.C. The Nobber colours are black and amber.

• The local soccer team are Electro Celtic FC who are currently in Division 3B of the Meath and District League.

Festivals and Events

The Nobber Fair Day is an annual event that is held on the third Sunday of May and has revived the tradition of the old fair that was held in the village for centuries.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland

References

1. ^ "Odd and Unusual Irish Place Names". DoChara. Archived from the original on 2008-06-14. http://web.archive.org/web/20080614212622/http://www.dochara.com/stuff/oddities.php. Retrieved 2008-07-07. 
2. ^ "Nobber station". Railscot - Irish Railways. http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-11-22. 

External links

• O'Carolan College
• Nobber in A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837) by Samuel Lewis