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Kilbeggan
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Kilbeggan is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland.
Geography
Kilbeggan is situated on the River Brosna, in the south of County Westmeath. It lies southeast of Lough Ennell, is around 4 kilometres north of the boundary with County Offaly, and 9 kilometres north of the nearest sizeable town, Tullamore. It is surrounded by the gently rolling Esker Riada, sand hills that stretch across the Irish midlands, left by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age.
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Encyclopedia
Kilbeggan is a town in County Westmeath, Ireland.
Geography
Kilbeggan is situated on the River Brosna, in the south of County Westmeath. It lies southeast of Lough Ennell, is around 4 kilometres north of the boundary with County Offaly, and 9 kilometres north of the nearest sizeable town, Tullamore. It is surrounded by the gently rolling Esker Riada, sand hills that stretch across the Irish midlands, left by retreating glaciers at the end of the last ice age. It is famous for the location of the oldest recorded incidence of a tornado in Europe and possibly the world.
Transport
Until mid-2008, the N6 - the main route between Dublin and Galway - passed through Kilbeggan, meeting the N52 in the town centre. Both the N6 and N52 have been re-routed to bypass the town to the south, with the road through the centre now reclassified as the R446 regional road.
Regular buses between Dublin and Galway call at the town, with some services also operating to Tullamore. The nearest rail services operate from Tullamore and Mullingar.
History
St Bécán, one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, founded a monastery here in the 6th century, giving rise to the town's Irish name Cill Bheagáin, meaning "the church of St Bécán". In time the monastery fell into disuse and disrepair. A new monastery was founded on the site in 1150, by a member of the MacCoghlan family, the ruins of the previous one having been rebuilt by the Dalton family. It was subsequently lived in by Cistercian monks from Mellifont Abbey. The great priest of Clonmacnois, O'Catharnaigh, died at the monastery in 1196 and Hugh O'Malone, Bishop of Clonmacnois, was buried there in 1236. In 1217 the monastery was involved in the riot of Jerpoint, and the abbot was punished as a result. Following the Conspiracy of Mellifont, the monastery was made subject to Buildwas Abbey. After its dissolution in 1539, the monastery again fell into ruin and, together with its lands, was granted to the Lambart family. It was rebuilt by the Lambarts and, with the addition of a tower, was used as a Protestant church. The church is no longer in use, and only the tower now survives, in a ruinous state, surrounded by the town's burial ground.
A ford crossing the River Brosna at Kilbeggan was the site, in 972, of a battle between the Danes and the Irish. More recently an uprising, led by the United Irishmen, took place in the town, as part of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 against British domination of Ireland.
The aforementioned Lambart family came to be politically dominant in and around Kilbeggan. Sir Oliver Lambart was made Governor of Connaught in 1601 and was subsequently granted of land and 60 houses. Lambart inaugurated a weekly market in the town in 1606, and Kilbeggan became a borough town by charter of James 1 in 1612. Kilbeggan's market became important to the surrounding agricultural community, and a substantial market house stands in the town, though no longer used for the purpose it was originally built.
Locke's Distillery, the oldest licenced distillery in the world, standing on the banks of the River Brosna, commenced whiskey production in 1757. Within the distillery complex, the owner constructed a house and gardens on an island in the river. A member of the Locke family established the Convent of Mercy in the town in 1879.
A branch of the Grand Canal, between Dublin and the River Shannon, served the town, opening in 1835.
21st Century
Today, the town serves as a service centre for the local farming community; hosts some light industry, including sand and gravel extraction in the surrounding area; and is seen increasingly as a Dublin commuter town, particularly since the improvement of the N6 and the extension of the M4 motorway west of the city.
The canal branch closed in the 1960s and the basin is now dry. The harbour buildings, however, have survived and are now in use as offices and workspace.
Although whiskey production ended at Locke's Distillery in the 1950s, the buildings survived and were reopened as a visitor attraction. Distillation has recently recommenced.
Kilbeggan Racecourse is around 1 kilometre north of the town. It is Ireland's only all-National Hunt course.
Kilbeggan is home to Mercy Secondary School, which stands on the Dublin Road and is linked to the Mercy Convent, still situated in the town.
Durrow Abbey is located around 4 kilometres south of the town, just across the county boundary with Offaly.
Gallery
See also
External links
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